Lanthan Gmbh & Co. Kg

What Lanthan Gmbh & Co. Kg does

Lanthan GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of aviation obstruction lighting systems, founded in 1999 and headquartered in Bremen. The company designs and produces LED-based low, medium, and high intensity obstacle lights, tower lights, and infrared lights compliant with ICAO Annex 14 and FAA standards, serving wind energy OEMs and operators (including as the main OEM supplier to Enercon worldwide), high-rise building developers, crane companies, telecom operators, industrial facilities, and infrastructure projects such as ropeways and suspension bridges. With 100,000+ lights installed across seven continents and 25% of the Frankfurt skyline marked by its systems, Lanthan holds a leading position in the European aviation lighting niche.

The company co-invented transponder-based demand-responsive BNK/ADLS (Bedarfsgesteuerte Nachtkennzeichnung / Aircraft Detection Lighting System) technology beginning in 2004, with the first commercial installation at the Wiemersdorf wind farm in 2008. In April 2020, Lanthan contributed this ADLS technology to the jointly founded Lanthan Safe Sky (LSS) alongside Recase and Air Avionics. Production is vertically integrated, with 90% of manufacturing conducted in-house at the Bremen headquarters and the wholly owned TWE GmbH Trade Wind Energy subsidiary in Gefrees, supported by CNC machining, waterjet cutting, and robotic welding. The product portfolio also includes drop-in retrofit systems for discontinued lighting products from other manufacturers, leveraging identical form factors and connectors.

Lanthan generates revenue primarily through direct enterprise sales of lighting hardware and integrated systems, plus project-based consulting for BNK/ADLS implementation packages (delivered as manufacturer-neutral advice, not as ADLS control systems). Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is structured project-by-project. Distribution is direct from Germany via enterprise field sales with engineering support, supporting customers through international tenders. The company holds ISO 9001:2015, STAC (France), AVV/BMDV (Germany), APQP4Wind, and ICAO Annex 14 certifications, and is privately held under a GmbH & Co. KG structure with managing directors Gerd Möller and Olaf Schultz.

Name

Lanthan Gmbh & Co. Kg

Legal name

Lanthan GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://www.lanthan.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lanthan GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of ICAO-compliant aviation obstruction lighting systems for wind turbines, high-rise buildings, cranes, telecom, and industrial installations, with 100,000+ lights installed across seven continents and a leading OEM supply relationship with Enercon.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aviation Obstruction Lighting Systems

NAICS

Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional Electric Lighting Fixture Manufacturing (335132), Electric Lighting Equipment Manufacturing (33513)

SIC

Electric Lighting & Wiring Equipment (3640)

akta.pro primary industry

Airfield, Marine & Transport Signaling Lighting (Runway/taxiway, obstruction, navigation/marker lights) (IMAGAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Lighting Controls & Building Integration (Drivers, sensors, dimming, lighting control panels, networked lighting) (IMAGAIAI), Industrial & Commercial Luminaires (High-bay, Low-bay, Troffers, Downlights) (IMAGAIAA)

Keywords

• Aviation obstruction lighting
• Aircraft detection lighting systems
• Wind turbine lighting
• Obstacle lighting systems
• BNK ADLS retrofit

Headquarters

HQ city

Bremen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Aviation obstruction lighting systems: Manufacture and sale of aviation obstruction lighting systems including low, medium, and high intensity lights, tower lights, and infrared lights. Systems are sold as products (lights, monitoring units, power supplies) directly to wind turbine OEMs, operators, building developers, crane companies, industrial facilities, and telecom operators. Includes accessories such as integrated anemometers and brackets.
2. BNK/ADLS integration and consulting services: Manufacturer-neutral consulting and arrangement of comprehensive BNK/ADLS implementation packages for wind energy installations. Lanthan provides advice and arranges packages through Lanthan Safe Sky (LSS) or other ADLS providers on the market. Lanthan does not manufacture or sell ADLS control systems itself.
3. Retrofit and replacement systems: Supply of drop-in replacement systems for discontinued obstruction lighting products from other manufacturers, using original form factors, brackets, and connectors.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Lanthan manufactures aviation obstruction lighting systems compliant with ICAO Annex 14 and FAA standards, including low, medium, high intensity, and infrared LED lights for wind turbines, high-rise buildings, cranes, telecom towers, industrial installations, and ropeways. The systems integrate natively with BNK/ADLS (Aircraft Detection Lighting System) for demand-responsive activation, and the company also offers drop-in retrofit solutions for discontinued products from other manufacturers. With 90% of production manufactured in-house in Germany and over 100,000 lights installed across seven continents since 1999, Lanthan serves as main OEM supplier to Enercon and holds 25% market share on the Frankfurt skyline.

Product overview

Lanthan manufactures aviation obstruction lighting systems (also referred to as obstacle lights per ICAO Annex 14) through in-house production at its German facilities. The product portfolio spans five intensity categories: Low Intensity Lights (LIOL), Low Intensity Towerlights (LIOT), Medium Intensity Lights (MIOL), High Intensity Lights (HIOL), and Infrared Lights (IROL) — each designed for specific height thresholds and regulatory requirements. The systems integrate ADLS (Aircraft Detection Lighting System) capability natively, enabling demand-driven activation via transponder detection. Additionally, Lanthan offers drop-in Retrofit Solutions for discontinued products from other manufacturers, using original form factors and connectors. With over 100,000 installed lights across seven continents, the product line serves wind energy, buildings and infrastructure, cranes, telecom, industry, and ropeways markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ADLS (Aircraft Detection Lighting System): Aircraft Detection Lighting System - demand-responsive night marking technology that activates obstruction lights only when aircraft approach, co-invented by Lanthan in 2004
• BNK (Bedarfsgesteuerte Nachtkennzeichnung)

Products and services

• Low Intensity Lights (LIOL)

Quantifiable outcome

• 100,000+ installed lights across seven continents
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Lanthan Safe Sky (LSS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2020In April 2020, Lanthan contributed its transponder-based BNK/ADLS technology to the newly founded Lanthan Safe Sky (LSS) — together with fellow shareholders Recase and Air Avionics, who have jointly continued to develop the method. Lanthan does not manufacture or sell ADLS control systems; LSS continues ADLS development. Lanthan provides obstacle lighting systems that are compatible with LSS and other ADLS providers, offering manufacturer-neutral advice and comprehensive implementation packages.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ADB Safegate: ADB Safegate is a global airfield ground lighting and tower systems provider with broader aviation lighting scope. Competes with Lanthan more broadly in aviation/transport signaling lighting but is not specialized in wind-energy obstruction lighting.
• Dialight: Dialight is a global LED lighting manufacturer with industrial, hazardous-location, and obstruction lighting product lines. A broad incumbent that competes with Lanthan in industrial and infrastructure lighting and overlapping aviation/obstruction categories.
• Hughey & Phillips (Hubbell): Hughey & Phillips, now part of Hubbell, is a long-established US manufacturer of obstruction lighting for towers and tall structures. Broader incumbent with a wider electrical portfolio versus Lanthan's specialized obstruction-light focus, but overlapping core product categories.

Direct peers

• Flight Light Inc. Flight Light Inc. supplies FAA-certified obstruction lighting (L-810, L-864, L-865, L-866) for towers, wind, and tall structures. Direct competitor to Lanthan in the obstruction lighting category with similar regulatory positioning.
• Carmanah Technologies: Carmanah manufactures solar-powered obstruction and marker lighting for towers, wind, and infrastructure. Comparable to Lanthan on product type (aviation obstruction lights) and end markets, though differentiated by a solar/standalone power angle.
• TWR Lighting: TWR Lighting is a US-based manufacturer of aviation obstruction lighting systems (L-810, L-862, L-864) for towers, wind turbines, and buildings. It is the closest North American functional analog to Lanthan with overlapping intensity-category products and a similar FAA/ICAO compliance focus.
• Flash Technology (SPX): Flash Technology, part of SPX, manufactures FAA-certified obstruction lighting for towers, wind farms, and tall structures globally. Directly competes with Lanthan in the wind-energy obstruction lighting market and shares the ICAO/FAA dual-compliance angle.
• Obelux: Finnish manufacturer of LED aviation obstruction lights (low/medium/high intensity) for wind turbines, buildings, and towers. Comparable to Lanthan in product mix (LIOL/MIOL/HIOL), target customers (wind OEMs, infrastructure), and European market focus.
• Avlite Systems: Avlite (a Sealite company) supplies aviation obstruction, helipad, and tower lighting globally. Closely comparable to Lanthan in product scope and target markets (wind, telecom, infrastructure), with overlapping ICAO Annex 14 / FAA compliance positioning.

Emerging players

• Air Avionics: Air Avionics is a co-shareholder of Lanthan Safe Sky (LSS) and a developer of ADLS control systems. Comparable because it addresses the same wind-farm ADLS demand that Lanthan's fixtures integrate with; partial overlap since it operates in the control-system layer adjacent to Lanthan's lighting products.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lanthan
• Instagraminstagram.com/lanthanbefeuerung

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Lanthan Gmbh & Co. Kg