Max Franke

What Max Franke does

Max Franke GmbH is a Hamburg-based custom luminaire manufacturer founded in 1897 and continuously managed by the Schilling family since 1920. The company designs, produces, and delivers professional lighting systems and consulting services to enterprise clients across four vertical segments — retail, office, living/hospitality, and food retail — with 68+ documented reference projects including Elbphilharmonie, Miele, Rossmann, Airbus, and Hotel Melia. Operations run from a ~7,000 sqm "Point of Light" headquarters housing light planning, project management, purchasing, warehouse, production, assembly, showroom, and seminar facilities.

The firm's technical foundation is rotationally symmetrical TIR (Total Internal Reflection) lens technology, which captures and directs light onto target areas with higher efficiency and softer shadow edges than traditional reflector-based luminaires. It complements this with specialized LED color modules tuned for specific food categories — Green! for produce, Red! for meat, Blue! for fish, Gold! for bakery — and a standard product portfolio covering track lights (NEO85-SX, LUNA80-S, LEON900, etc.), recessed luminaires, linear luminaires, and emergency lighting (SALLY-S, EXIT-S, SYMFI-S). Production is ENEC-certified with 100% final inspection of every delivered luminaire and a 5-year extended warranty on full systems.

Max Franke operates a project-based enterprise field sales motion through dedicated interdisciplinary account teams (salesperson + lighting planner) managing a fixed customer base across the full project lifecycle: consulting, custom product development, AutoCAD/Dialux/Relux lighting design, order-related production, just-in-time delivery worldwide with customs clearance, and on-site luminaire alignment. Revenue is generated through custom luminaire sales, a standard portfolio, and professional design/consulting services. Pricing is project-specific with no public list; leasing through external financial partners is offered for renovation projects to align payment with energy savings. The company is privately held, with no institutional investors or external funding rounds disclosed.

Name

Max Franke

Legal name

Max Franke GmbH

Website

https://max-franke.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1897

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Max Franke GmbH is a Hamburg-based custom luminaire manufacturer (founded 1897, family-owned since 1920) serving enterprise retail, office, hospitality, and food-retail clients with TIR-lens LED lighting systems, project-based design, and on-site installation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Luminaire Sales: Max Franke develops and manufactures custom luminaires tailored to individual customer requirements. Each lighting project involves consulting, product development, lighting design, order-related production, and on-site alignment. This is the primary revenue stream, operating on a project-by-project basis with no explicit pricing listed publicly.
2. Standard Luminaire Portfolio Sales: In addition to custom solutions, Max Franke offers a portfolio of standard products including track lights (NEO85-SX, TILLY85-SX, LUNA80-S, GOBO95-S, PEPE100-SX, WALLY160-SX, LEON900), recessed luminaires (PAULI100-E, Luna80-EEK, PIZ85-E, Luna80-E, Luna80-E3EK, Lizzy70-EB, Line625-E), linear luminaires (Linon1500-P, Hugo50), and emergency lighting (SALLY-S, EXIT-S, SYMFI-S).
3. Lighting Design and Consulting Services: Services include advice and product development (tailor-made lighting concepts), professional lighting design (AutoCAD plans, Dialux/Relux calculations), configuration of lighting control systems, profitability calculation and financing, and on-site luminaire alignment. Services are offered as part of the complete lighting package.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Max Franke designs, develops, and manufactures custom and standard LED luminaires for retail, office, hospitality/living, and food retail projects. The company offers a full-service lighting package covering concept development, lighting design (AutoCAD/Dialux/Relux), in-house production with TIR lens technology, just-in-time delivery, on-site luminaire alignment, and financing options. Products include track lights, recessed luminaires, linear luminaires, and emergency lighting, plus specialized color-tuned LED modules for food presentation.

Product overview

MAX FRANKE is a German luminaire manufacturer (founded 1897) offering a comprehensive portfolio of professional lighting products and services. The product portfolio consists of four main product categories: Track Lights (including NEO85-SX, TILLY85-SX, LUNA80-S, GOBO95-S, PEPE100-SX, WALLY160-SX, LEON900), Recessed Luminaires (including PAULI100-E, Luna80-EEK, PIZ85-E, Luna80-E, Luna80-E3EK, Lizzy70-EB, Line625-E), Linear Luminaires (including Linon1500-P, Hugo50), and Emergency Lighting & Sound (including SALLY-S, EXIT-S, SYMFI-S). Specialized LED modules are offered for food retail applications (Green!, Red!, Blue!, Gold!) with color spectra optimized for specific food types. The company operates as a 'tailor-made manufacturer' providing not just products but complete lighting solutions including consultation, custom product development, lighting design, order-related production, just-in-time delivery, on-site alignment, and financing services. MAX FRANKE also offers lighting control systems with capabilities including Human Centric Lighting, motion-dependent control, heatmapping, and beacon-based customer engagement. The company uses TIR (Total Internal Reflection) lens technology as a core differentiator, achieving superior light efficiency compared to reflector-based alternatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Track Lights Product Line (NEO85-SX, TILLY85-SX, LUNA80-S, GOBO95-S, PEPE100-SX, WALLY160-SX, LEON900) Family of track-mounted LED spotlights designed for retail and commercial lighting, sold as part of Max Franke's standard product portfolio alongside custom project solutions.
• Recessed Luminaires Product Line (PAULI100-E, Luna80-EEK, PIZ85-E, Luna80-E, Luna80-E3EK, Lizzy70-EB, Line625-E) Range of recessed LED ceiling luminaires for professional lighting installations, including energy efficiency class variants and a linear recessed option.
• Linear Luminaires Product Line (Linon1500-P, Hugo50) Linear LED luminaires including the 1500mm Linon1500-P pendant and compact Hugo50, used for professional linear lighting in retail, office, and hospitality environments.
• Emergency Lighting & Sound Product Line (SALLY-S, EXIT-S, SYMFI-S) Safety and emergency luminaires including exit signage and a combined emergency/sound notification model, used to meet safety compliance in commercial buildings.
• Specialized Food Retail LED Modules (Green!, Red!, Blue!, Gold!) Spectrum-optimized LED modules for food retail: Green! for fresh fruit and vegetables, Red! for meat counters emphasizing red and white color components, Blue! for fish counters, and Gold! for bakery products. Sold to food retailers as a differentiator for color reproduction and perceived freshness.
• Custom Luminaire Development and Manufacturing End-to-end bespoke service developing and manufacturing individual luminaires tailored to a customer's brand identity, architecture, and lighting concept, produced to order in Hamburg with ENEC-certified quality.
• Professional Lighting Design (AutoCAD, Dialux, Relux) Professional lighting planning creating plans in AutoCAD tailored to local framework conditions, with optional light calculations in Dialux or Relux for large projects.
• Order-Related Production and Just-in-Time Delivery Order-related production with ENEC-certified quality inspection delivered just-in-time for store openings and project milestones, including worldwide delivery and international customs clearance.
• On-Site Luminaire Alignment Service On-site service in which Max Franke technicians align and swivel installed luminaires to deliver the planned lighting effects and optimal merchandise illumination.
• Profitability Calculation and Leasing Financing Service Financial service providing profitability calculations and leasing models via financial partners, typically used when renovating old lighting systems where energy savings cover the leasing rates.
• Showroom and Point of Light (POL) Seminars Showroom at the Hamburg headquarters where customers can see lighting effects on different products, combined with regular seminars educating customers on lighting topics under the Point of Light (POL) brand.
• Lighting Control System Configuration Service Configuration of dynamic lighting control systems creating tailor-made lighting concepts based on customer wishes and site conditions, supporting Human Centric Lighting, motion-dependent control, heatmapping, and beacon-based information delivery.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% final inspection of every delivered luminaire
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• iGuzzini: iGuzzini is an Italian architectural lighting manufacturer owned by Signify, focusing on retail, museum, and urban lighting. Comparable to Max Franke in custom architectural lighting for premium projects, though operates at significantly larger scale as part of the Signify group.
• Zumtobel Group: Zumtobel is a major Austrian lighting group offering professional lighting solutions across retail, office, hospitality, and outdoor applications. A broader incumbent serving the same enterprise customer base as Max Franke but with significantly greater scale, public listing, and broader product portfolio.

Direct peers

• RZB Lighting: RZB Lighting is a German manufacturer of indoor and outdoor luminaires for commercial, office, and public sector applications. Comparable to Max Franke in German manufacturing heritage, broad commercial lighting portfolio, and project-based enterprise sales motion.
• Modular Lighting Instruments: Modular Lighting Instruments is a Belgian architectural lighting manufacturer specializing in designer luminaires for residential, hospitality, and retail applications. Comparable to Max Franke in design-led custom architectural lighting targeting similar premium commercial and hospitality customers.
• Deltalight: Deltalight is a Belgian architectural lighting manufacturer offering custom and standard LED luminaires for retail, hospitality, office, and residential applications. Comparable to Max Franke in custom manufacturing and project-based enterprise sales across similar vertical segments.
• ERCO: ERCO is a German architectural lighting manufacturer specializing in custom and standard luminaires for retail, office, and cultural projects. Directly comparable to Max Franke in custom manufacturing, project-based sales, and enterprise focus on architectural and retail lighting.
• XAL: XAL is an Austrian lighting manufacturer producing custom and standard architectural LED luminaires for retail, office, and hospitality. Comparable to Max Franke in custom manufacturing capabilities and enterprise project-based sales across similar verticals.
• BEGA: BEGA is a premium German luminaire manufacturer producing indoor and outdoor architectural lighting. Closely comparable to Max Franke in German manufacturing heritage, premium positioning, and custom engineering of architectural luminaires for commercial applications.
• Regent Lighting: Regent Lighting is a Swiss manufacturer of architectural luminaires for office, education, and retail environments. Comparable to Max Franke in premium positioning and enterprise project focus, with similar DACH market overlap and custom lighting capabilities.
• Tobias Grau: Tobias Grau is a German premium lighting manufacturer designing and producing architectural LED luminaires for residential and commercial use. Comparable to Max Franke in design-led, German-made architectural lighting with focus on office and living segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/MaxFranke.led

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Max Franke