Royal Contract Lighting Adds Architectural Lighting Division and Expands Management Team

Royal Contract Lighting, known for its large-scale decorative fixtures for casinos, hotels, and restaurants, today announced that it has created a new architectural lighting division and expanded its management team. Larry A. Lieberman, who came to Royal Contract Lighting when the company acquired the assets of Vision Quest Lighting, will serve as Vice President of Sales for Architectural and National accounts; Sabine Godden has been promoted to Inside Sales Manager for the division. Torrey M. Bievenour, also formerly of Vision Quest Lighting, has been named Director of Engineering.

“We recognize the need to adjust our organizational structure as our product volume increases and we pursue our strategy of portfolio growth through acquisition,” said Paul Spacek, President of Royal Contract Lighting. “Likewise, we know we need a deep management team to direct our initiatives successfully. The addition of Larry Lieberman and Torrey Bievenour, along with the promotion of Sabine Godden, applies decades of design, engineering, and national-account sales to our key business initiatives.”

The newly created architectural lighting division will enable Royal Contract Lighting to expand its solutions to clients in commercial, industrial, and retail environments. It will also enable the company to extend its national and international representative network.

Deepening the Management Team

Larry Lieberman, Vice President of Sales for Architectural and National Accounts, has been designing and manufacturing products for nearly three decades. The developer of products still being manufactured 20+ years after they were designed, he is listed as an inventor of five patents and holds several awards for product design. A founder of Vision Quest Lighting, he helped the manufacturer grow from a custom design firm targeting the theatre world to a manufacturer that serviced national retail accounts such as Abercrombie and Fitch, Ann Taylor, Yum Brands, H&M, and Limited Brands. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Ithaca college and a Masters for Manufacturing Engineering from Polytech/NYU.

“I am excited about leveraging Royal Contract Lighting’s extensive resources to serve specification and national-account customers quickly and at advantageous prices,” said Lieberman. “Successful manufacturing of custom products requires a large, strong organization with skilled people, and that’s what has been built here at Royal Contract Lighting.”

Torrey Bievenour, Director of Engineering, began his career at Vision Quest Lighting. Coinventor of several patented items, he focused on electronic design, thermal design, optical design, safety compliance, and mechanical design, working his way up to Executive Vice President. He studied available manufacturing processes and helped choose and build tools tailored to the work to be done. As the business grew, he took on management responsibility for other engineers and led the implementation of an ERP system that covered all company operations from accounting to sales to production. Bievenour earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.

“I’m eager to help streamline and develop the design and build process at Royal Contract Lighting,” said Bievenour. “By engaging with the flow of new technology available in the lighting industry, we can harness it to the benefit of our customers as well as ourselves.”

Promotion of Long-Time Employee

Sabine Godden, Inside Sales Manager for Architectural and National Accounts, worked for high-end manufacturers Smallbone of Devizes and Christopher Peacock Cabinetry before becoming an independent designer. She honed her skills in design, planning, and project management, working directly with clients, managing projects in the field, and coordinating details of custom manufacturing with architects and manufacturers. Godden joined Royal Contract Lighting in sales and progressed to sales management before becoming Special Projects Coordinator, where she managed the hotel lighting program. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design at Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC.

“The new architectural division will enable Royal Contract Lighting to expand our offerings to commercial clients such as hotels, condominiums, and developers of large residential projects,” said Godden. “I’m excited to have a chance to apply my design, sales, and management background to this new role, which is the logical extension of the work I’ve been doing managing custom lighting projects for Royal Contract Lighting customers such as well-known hotel chains.”

Editors, Please Note: Head shots may be found at http://bit.ly/2BE0tPi.

About Royal Contract Lighting

Royal Contract Lighting offers sophisticated custom lighting solutions for the hospitality industry, national hotel account brands, corporate offices, high-end residential projects, and public facilities worldwide. In-house engineering and manufacturing departments collaborate with architects and interior designers to provide meticulously crafted custom-fabricated and specification fixtures that meet exacting budgetary and production requirements. Manufacturing facilities in the United States and China enable Royal Contract Lighting to source the highest-quality raw materials at the best price, shorten manufacturing time, and provide superior service. The global sales team works closely with customers in major U.S. cities and throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.