Nordisk Solar Compagni A/S was founded in 1919 by Jacob L Jørgensen and Herluf Sørensen. Based in Kolding in Denmark, they initially concentrated on enamelware, but in 1922 moved into the production of electrical goods and in 1924 radios. By the late 1930s they had diversified into other household products including light fittings. In 1958 a separate company, Audiola Radio A/S, was set up to deal with radio production as Nordisk Solar Compagni began to concentrate increasingly on lighting design, some of the early designs taking advantage of the company’s plastics expertise gained from the radio production. Over the following two decades Nordisk Solar Compagni lights won a reputation for quality and a number of international design awards, but in the mid 1980s the company, by this time known simply as Solar, began to specialise in industrial lighting and solar technology. Domestic lighting production was first transferred to Hans-Agne Jakobsson A/S, the Swedish lamp manufacturer acquired by Solar A/S in 1989, then ended completely. Designers working with Nordisk Solar Compagni included the Sydney Opera House architect Jørn Utzon and K Kewo.