Mobern was founded in early 1944. Mobern's early storefront.. A partnership was formed by Mr. Hyman Bernstein and Mr. Nathan Movitz. The name Mobern was derived from the use of Mo from Movitz and Bern from Bernstein. However, the partnership did not last very long, as Mr. Movitz decided to pursue other interests. At this time Mr. Bernstein's two sons joined the business and it became a family run operation and remained so for more than 40 years. Mobern was one of the very first fluorescent lighting manufacturers in the world. Fluorescent lighting was first introduced at the New York Worlds Fair in 1939 by General Electric. Less than 5 years later, Mobern was producing lighting fixtures for residential and commercial applications in the Washington DC and surrounding areas. As a result of their hard work, the business became very successful and by the early 1950's, it became clear that the facility in Washington DC was no longer adequate for continued growth. They wanted to locate to an area to better serve both the Washington and Baltimore areas. The search for land to build a modern plant was very successful. They found 14 acres of property on US Rt. 1, just a mile north of Laurel, Md, which is the midpoint between Washington DC and Baltimore. At this time, US Rt. 1 was and still is a main north and south truck route. Construction of the new state of the art plant was started in 1956 and was completed and occupied in 1957. Production was greatly increased with the use of modern conveyers and material handling equipment as opposed to single fixture bench assembly at the old facility. The DC facility continued to be a sales office until the early 1960's. By 1962, constrained by continuing growth, the new plant was in need of more room for production. An addition was added for storage so that need could be met. By 1968, came another need for more room for receiving, inventory and storage. A second addition was constructed. This served the needs of the operation well until 1975 when the decision was made to fabricate their own metal and produce fixture bodies. The third addition was added which almost doubled the size of the other two. This section housed the metal division with its modern presses, roll-formers, machine shop, raw metal stock, and finished goods metal inventory. . The metal shop has been a great asset for the growth of Mobern by producing a consistent quality product for customers throughout the eastern United States. Business was good through the seventies and eighties. In 1987, both Mr. Bernstein and his oldest son passed away within four months of each other. In 1988, the business was sold to a new owner and for 19 years continued to produce quality lighting products. In June of 2007, the business was acquired by a group of lighting industry veterans with a background in innovative and energy efficient lighting products. Their experience combined with Mobern's history and reputation in the lighting industry creates a recipe for success. The future of Mobern looks bright as they plan to bring innovative lighting products into the market previously untouched. Mr. Robert Murrill Employee since Opening in 1944