Arapidis, a flagship factory for our region, began in 1969 to bloom again. We, the Arapidis family, welcome you with a few words of acquaintance.
Athens, post-war. A child from parents of genuine Greek refugees from Asia Minor is born in 1948. He grows poor while going to school and doing a lot of work to help survive the large family in Nea Ionia Attikis,Athens. In the morning school at noon at his father's tavern and in the evening he sleeps in an old refugee house with very little minor asiatic warmth though. He is studying to be a mould mechanic at a night school until the moment greece country mother calls him and serves in the special armored forces on a junta dictator enviroment.
When he returns to Athens, he is the moment when he makes the decision to use his courage and his mould mechanical skills to create something from zero.
With the help of his brother's childhood friend, they make a tiny workshop in the basement of the old family house. They also find an abandoned Opel Olympia station wagon of the '50s, they are fixed it by themselves to be able to move ... and the adventure begins. The beginning has been made there, in Nea Ionia, in the refugees, in a tiny workshop that just holds a scissors and a small cutting press.And a craft of lighting fixtures for the balconies is created, something unprecedented in Greece at that period.
But this is not enough for Michalis Arapidis. His worries lead him to continue on his own with a 100% own company in a new larger rental space in Nea Ionia also. It works from 6am to 11pm every day 7 days a week.
At this time she meets his future husband ,Maria from Skyros island. Together they support each other and a titanic effort begins, creating the today’s factory and a lovely family. Also, two baby boys come to life as the fruit of this great love, Dimitris at 1978 and Kostas at 1980.
It is worth mentioning that helper in this effort was the Skyrian grandmother Anna (an exceptional strong woman) ,who takes care of helping the family with all her physical and mental powers up to her pass at her 99 years old.
The founder Michalis manages to bring his spotlights in all the electrical and lighting stores in Greece and he establishes himself as the "king of the spot". An unattainable title still holds in today’s greek lighting market circles.
His reputation is spread all over Greece and goes out of the borders following his successive visits to Italy and Germany as a visitor. From the slums of Nea Ionia, he manages to make trust him buying from him good quality spotlights by Presidents of Democracy, University Professors, Lawyers, Doctors, Entrepreneurs to working friends, known and unknown.
In the early 1990’s, the new 3,000 m² building was completed in Metamorfosi Attikis,Athens which is housed his industry. The passion for good manufacturing quality remains the driving force of "Arapidis" until today.
A "new generation of business" award from a Cosmote contest is just coming to confirm that such people need to be more prominent and not the random entrepreneurs of any easy, casual ,cheapiest commerce solutions.
The lab now produces only specialized spots for coastal use of special resistance to extreme weather conditions confirming the know-how on the subject.Indoor and Outdoor use too.
Difficult customers in the Middle East and Cyprus trust Arapidis spots due to their high durability. The business grows.
The second generation now on the wheel ahead of the third and extremely promising. Dimitris and Kostas hold a sense of great responsibility for the business that is sustainable in difficult times. Always with the basic principle of honest quality in relation to the money the final buyer is required to pay for the acquisition of Arapidis spots.
Unique patents give a record high quality construction to a recessed waterproof flooring spotlight that is the only one that does not spoil over time.
Dimitris and Kostas enter the company after long-term education at Italian School of Athens,TEI Engineering, ASSOE Higher Commercial, IEK Business Administration, Semesters in Machining and Office Computing, experience from Exhibitions,Visits in Industries in Italy, many seminars, hand practice in all posts and much more.
Special spotlights enrich our new catalog where you can find only the best spots for special uses of lighting in your home, hotel, shop or business.
And the story goes on in Arapidis Lighting.
Thank you all for being with us!
Welcome and enjoy our products.
