IWB apprentices recycle street lights in their own start-up
Trainees at Basel-based energy supplier IWB have turned their Metro project into a start-up. They are giving disused Metro 45 street lights a new lease of life as floor lamps. Basel-based lighting specialist Regent AG is acting as a partner for quality and safety testing.
A group of IWB trainees is turning disused Metro 45 street lamps into high-quality floor lamps. Sketches were turned into a prototype, and the first ten lamps have now been built. The team received support from experienced employees. According to a statement from IWB, a total of around 2,400 old lamps are suitable for reuse. The trainees have founded their own start-up to implement their project. The team includes a businessman, a business IT specialist, a road transport specialist, a network electrician and a metalworker.
In a video published alongside the press release, one of them says that it is “exciting to work together with other apprentices; it brings us closer together”. One colleague thinks it’s “cool that we’re allowed to take on so much responsibility and that they trust us to make the right decisions”. Another colleague points out that it’s “difficult to have to make all the decisions yourself”. “But somehow it’s also fun, especially when you see the final product of the prototype and know what the sketch once looked like.”
Project manager Saskia Damann explains the aim of IWB: “We want our students to learn as much as possible, for example things like entrepreneurial thinking, circular thinking and personal responsibility. These are skills they will need for their future.”
What began as an idea, according to the IWB in a further statement, “is slowly taking shape and shows what is possible when learners take responsibility and work together across disciplines.” As a partner, the Basel-based lamp manufacturer and retailer Regent Lighting made the decisive step possible. It carried out the safety and quality tests. Planning for the second production round is currently underway.