A story as shiny as glass.
The Besa Lighting Co. has roots in 1986. American pop culture was caught up in big hair, glitz and glamour. Everything was layered— clothing, movie soundtracks, the synthetic sounds in pop music, etc. Just like the traditional art of glassblowing.
Under entrepreneur Richard E. Cash, Besa began selling lighting products that featured handcrafted glass, imported from Herner Glas in Germany. Since the beginning, the company stressed the value of quality and service.
As the variety of available glass decors and finishes grew, the vision of what Besa “means” as a company became clearer. The company’s reputation grew, closely connected to contemporary European-style glass lighting.
As consumer tastes (and the market) changed, the company evolved. For a while, Besa was located near Los Angeles, California. But as sales expanded throughout the United States and into Canada, Rick decided to relocate more centrally. He took the operations to his home town of Columbus, Ohio in 1994.
The popularity of Besa’s fashion pendants grew, and they became the cornerstone of the business. The company started creating its own fixture designs. Glass was imported from Poland, and later Turkey, as well as Germany.
In the late ‘90s, more luminaire types were added. Besa’s offerings expanded to well over 20,000 items. Wide selection became a company hallmark.
For many years, sales were strictly through retail showrooms and electrical distributors. As the first decade of the 21st century becomes history, Besa now also reaches customers through internet retailers, national accounts and specification sales.
Besa has been proactive in energy-efficiency since 1992, when it began to offer fluorescent lamping options. Today’s alternative lightsource offerings include LED pendants, spotlights and sconces, along with 4-pin compact fluorescent and spiral-style self-ballasted compact fluorescent in almost every product type Besa creates.
With such an extensive product line, the company needed more room. In 2006, Besa moved into its current headquarters, just outside Columbus in Blacklick OH. The space includes product development, assembly and warehouse space along with customer service and sales offices. It even has a model showroom space.
Rick’s vision of “Sensibly Contemporary” inspires everyone at Besa Lighting Co. to strive for new heights in offering beautiful yet practical glass luminaires to their customers. Besa offers a variety of glass and fixture designs that are unique in the North American market. The company designs and assembles its products locally, working with glass artisans, steel workers and parts suppliers from across the USA, Europe and the Middle East, and Asia.
