Built for the demands of
modern service life.
Engineered for corrosive environments. No metal housing. No surface coating. Made in Sweden.
IP66 · IK08 · Marine · −40°C · 100,000 h
THE CHALLENGE
Luminaires have changed less than the light sources.
LED technology advanced rapidly. Drivers and LED modules now reliably deliver over 100,000 hours of operation. Many luminaires installed today will never fail due to an electrical fault.
Aluminium housings exposed to road salt, sea spray, or industrial pollution corrode over time. A corroded housing loses its IP rating. Once moisture reaches the driver and control gear, the luminaire fails — not because of the LED module, but because the housing gave way first.
On Smögenbryggan in Sotenäs, VALDUR luminaires have operated in direct marine exposure since 2024. See the full reference.
A DIFFERENT STARTING POINT
Developed from the ground up with a different materials philosophy.
The housing is manufactured from SMC — Sheet Moulding Compound, a glass fibre reinforced polymer composite. No metal on the exterior means no galvanic cell, no oxidation pathway, and no surface coating that can crack, peel, or abrade away. The material's corrosion resistance is intrinsic — not applied.
IP66
Ingress
IK08
Impact
Marine
Environment
−40°C
Temp. range
SWEDISH MANUFACTURING
Pressed.
Not cast.
Each VALDUR housing is compression-moulded under heat and controlled pressure. This produces a dimensionally accurate, void-free composite structure with consistent material properties throughout.
The process eliminates the porosity and surface imperfections associated with die-casting aluminium. No post-processing. No paint. No powder coat. No anodising. Nothing that weathers.
Manufactured at our facility in Fristad, Sjuhärad. About POLAB
SMC
Material
150°C
Press temp.
Sweden
Manufactured
THREE PRINCIPLES
Designed for
long-term ownership.
Built to last.
20-year structural warranty on the housing. Driver and LED module are accessible without replacing the full luminaire — reducing the cost of maintenance over a long service life.
One platform, multiple configurations.
Six output levels (VALDUR 10–100), five colour temperatures, four optic families. DALI-2, 0–10 V, Zhaga Book 18, and LumenRadio wireless. All configurable at the time of order.
Technical documentation available.
Photometric data, product sheets, and installation documentation available on request for registered projects. IES and LDT files provided for specification purposes.
AWARDS & DISTINCTIONS
Recognised in design, lighting, and materials engineering.
VALDUR has been evaluated by international jury panels in industrial design, lighting design, and advanced composite materials — three disciplines with entirely different assessment criteria.
THE PROBLEM NO ONE DISCUSSES
When the electronics outlast the housing.
Standard aluminium luminaires begin to show corrosion within 3–5 years in marine or de-icing salt environments. The housing deteriorates long before the LED module reaches end of life. The real cost is the replacement cycle — labour, logistics, disposal — not the component price.
Why luminaire housings corrodeHow materials perform over time.
| SMC Composite | Die-cast Aluminium | Extruded Aluminium | Stainless Steel | Polycarbonate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galvanic corrosion risk | None | High | High | Low–medium | None |
| Surface coating required | No | Yes | Yes | Possible | No |
| Structural warranty | 20 years | Varies | Varies | — | — |
| IK rating | IK08 | IK08+ | IK08 | IK10 | IK08 |
| Housing weight | Low | Medium | Low | High | Very low |
Comparison based on typical specifications. Contact POLAB for project-specific material assessment.
SMC composite housing
No metal housing. No surface that can oxidise. No galvanic corrosion at screw or fastener contact points. The composite housing does not age the way metal does in coastal environments, road salt, or industrial atmospheres.
Ingress protection
Protection against dust and powerful water jets.
Nordic climate
Designed for Nordic winter conditions.
Future-proof controls
Enables integrated wireless controls without apertures in the housing.
Smögenbryggan, Sotenäs
250+ VALDUR luminaires · Marine environment · 4000 K
REAL ENVIRONMENTS
Developed for places where reliability matters.
Six application environments where corrosion resistance, light quality, and long service life matter most.
Coastal & Marine
Coastal / IP66
Harbours & Quaysides
Marine / IK08
Municipal Road Lighting
Road lighting / DALI-2
Pedestrian & Cycle Paths
Pathway / EN 13201
Nature Reserves
Amber / Wildlife
Industrial Facilities
Industrial
REFERENCES
Installed in
Swedish municipalities.
A selection of current and ongoing installations across Sweden.
Sotenäs
Smögenbryggan
250+ VALDUR luminaires · Marine environment · 4000 K
Municipality
Örebro Municipality
Pedestrian and cycle path, Vivalla. Three orders since 2024. 150 luminaires total.
Defence
Fortifikationsverket
Western archipelago installations. Approximately 100 luminaires across three procurements.
Industry
ICA Distribution Centre
47 luminaires installed 2024.
KNOWLEDGE
Specifying for a 20-year service life.
LED modules are now the longest-lived component in a luminaire. Specifying for a 20-year service life means understanding what actually limits a luminaire's operational lifespan — and it's rarely the LED.
Knowledge
Why luminaire housings corrode
The mechanisms behind housing degradation in coastal and de-icing salt environments.
Knowledge
Why street luminaires fail
A systematic review of the actual failure modes in outdoor street lighting.
Knowledge
100,000 hours — what it actually means
What the L70B50 rating tells you — and what it doesn't.
CONTACT
Specify
VALDUR.
Contact us for project planning, lighting calculations, technical documentation, or a product walkthrough.
Frequently asked questions.
How does an SMC housing compare to aluminium in corrosive environments?
Aluminium corrodes over time in coastal and de-icing salt environments, particularly through galvanic corrosion at metal contacts and fastener points. An SMC housing has no metal on the exterior and no surface coating to degrade — so the mechanism that typically limits housing service life does not apply.
Does VALDUR require maintenance for corrosion protection?
No. Because the material itself does not corrode or rust, no periodic repainting is required for corrosion protection. Routine inspection and cleaning is sufficient.
What control systems does VALDUR support?
DALI-2, 0–10 V analogue dimming, Zhaga Book 18, and LumenRadio wireless (AirGlow). Fixed-output is available for simple installations.
What warranty does VALDUR carry?
20 years on the structural housing against manufacturing defects. 5 years on functional components (driver, LED module). Full terms on the warranty page.
How is colour consistency maintained across a large order?
Through bin-sorting within tight tolerance limits — typically ≤3 SDCM — so all luminaires in a project produce a consistent colour appearance across batches.
Is VALDUR suitable for chemical industrial environments?
Yes. VALDUR is installed at Yara Köping's nitric acid production facility. The SMC housing resists chemical attack from acid atmospheres. Contact POLAB for assessment of specific chemical environments.