International glazing solution provider Lumon was looking for new ways of presenting their product ideas to customers

They decided to go with Sweco’s virtual reality service VirtualSite™. Lumon feels that the solution gives them the competitive edge.

Lumon, which specialises in balcony façades and patio products, is an international operator. “The concept of glazing balconies is not established abroad yet. We need to work hard to help people understand what we are talking about,” says Lumon Development Director Risto Kivioja. “Previously, we used videos and printed material to explain our products to customers and displayed our physical products at trade fairs. However, we were looking for a way to allow the customer to experience the end result in the here and now.”

Cooperation with Sweco started in the summer of 2019 after Kivioja had seen the Sweco VirtualSite™ service at a construction trade seminar. Both parties feel that the cooperation has run smoothly. Kivioja praises Sweco’s way of managing the project: “Sweco experts knew all along what to do and there was never any room for surprises. We were well-informed and on schedule throughout the process.” Lumon’s IT department was especially pleased with the partner’s ability to propose specific tested equipment for the use of the software. Sweco’s strong expertise in the field of construction as a whole also facilitated the development of the virtual model.

”Our cooperation has been continuous and open. Excellent brainstorming and fruitful interaction with the customer made it possible to achieve a very comprehensive modelling experience,” says Sweco BIM expert Antti Hämäläinen, who was in charge of guiding the modelling work and testing the virtual models.

Lumon’s virtual modelling is a versatile combination of data from various sources. The model contains different weather conditions (rain, wind and sun glare), terrain photographed with a drone, detailed balcony glazing models, data models and animations. When combined, the end result is a unique, life-like experience of the impact of balcony glazing.

Lumon tested the performance of the VirtualSite™ service at the digitalBAU 2020 event in Germany. Customer feedback was encouraging: the virtual tool made the Lumon solution very life-like and easy to understand. “We got the reactions we were looking for. The service met our needs,” Kivioja says.

Lumon is going to be using VirtualSite™ at trade fairs in the future, as well. “We no longer need to build immense physical models to be able to showcase our products. Instead, we will be presenting our products virtually, at least to some degree,” Kivioja crystallises the benefit of the service. “Going forward, our experts can present our solutions to the customer virtually anywhere. You only need to pop a VR headset on and start the show,” Kivioja describes the added value of the virtual tool.

“Our vision is to be the best and most desirable operator in our field, and this solution is a perfect fit for our goal. We believe that this virtual solution will support our business,” Kivioja sums up.