OSRAM’s history in South Africa dates back to 1971 when the company opened a sales office in Booysens, south of Johannesburg. During this time the company traded as Wotan Lamps in South Africa and in certain other Commonwealth countries as the name OSRAM was registered by G.E.C.

The small operation in Booysens distributed a few imported products, mainly HID lamps, via OSRAM’s parent company, Siemens. Soon automotive lamps were being assembled for the fast growing South African vehicle manufacturing industry. In 1974 the company moved to Alberton, starting production of Mercury Vapour and High Pressure Sodium lamps. A few years later, in a bold move, OSRAM South Africa became the first company in the Southern Hemisphere to manufacture the slim 26mm fluorescent lamp.<br />

In May 1987 the company’s name finally changed to OSRAM, as a result of OSRAM Germany buying out G.E.C. Lighting in the UK, thereby purchasing the rights for the Commonwealth countries to trade under the parent company’s name. This move gave South Africa accessibility to additional products, as the company was no longer limited to impose brand restrictions.

A major turning point in OSRAM South Africa’s history was the closure of the factory in Alberton in 1993. International prices were driven down as a result in globalization of lamp production, thus causing local prices to be uncompetitive, making the shutdown of the OSRAM and other local lamp factories unavoidable.

In July 1997, OSRAM moved from their long-time home in Alberton to larger and more strategically positioned premises in Midrand where they reside today. One of the first priorities was to build a state of the art Light Studio with functional displays of the latest innovative lamp technology. The Light Studio, which was recently upgraded, remains one-of-a-kind in the country and is open to the general public, attracting thousands of visitors from various sectors of industry.

OSRAM has introduced many new and innovative lamps to the South African market throughout the years, including compact fluorescents, low voltage halogen and metal halide lamps. Although these products are all fairly standard today, OSRAM helped to introduce the products by holding the OSRAM Design Awards for luminaire manufacturers. OSRAM was the first company in South Africa to receive the prestigious ELI approval for CFL’s.