This year, we celebrated a milestone that means a great deal to us: 20 years of Bright World.
What started as a local company has grown into a regional business active across 20 European markets. Along the way, we have built our reputation on technical expertise, fast and reliable support and a practical understanding of what our partners need to succeed. For the third year in a row, that work has placed us among LG’s leading commercial laundry partners in Europe.
But Bright World has never been just about the machines.
Over the years, we have invested heavily in know-how, built our own R&D centre, launched BW Academy and continued to develop new solutions for the markets we serve. Most importantly, we have built long-term relationships based on trust.
We began our anniversary celebrations in very typical Bright World fashion: with an informal rooftop gathering in Zagreb, plenty of good company and very little ceremony.
But you only turn 20 once.
So we decided to do something bigger. We brought together 20 partners from across our BW One Team network and headed to South Korea, home of LG and the perfect place to celebrate two decades of working, growing and building together.
Over five days, the trip brought together business, technology, Korean culture, great food and, above all, the people behind the partnerships.
A Warm Welcome to Seoul
From the moment we arrived in Seoul, we were met with the kind of thoughtful hospitality Korea is known for, from personalised welcome gifts to an evening hosted by the global LG Commercial Laundry Sales & Marketing team.
Our first dinner together was traditional Korean barbecue and a chance for partners from different countries to sit around the same table again, this time thousands of kilometres from home.
It set the tone for the days ahead: business was always part of the trip, but so were conversation, laughter and simply enjoying the experience together.
305 km/h to Busan
The next morning, we boarded the KTX and headed south towards Busan at speeds of up to 305 km/h.
Once there, we sampled traditional Samgyetang and spent the afternoon seeing a different side of Korea, including the spectacular Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, set right on the coastline.
Dinner was seafood, naturally.
Technology may have been the reason we came to Korea, but the food made a very convincing case for itself too.
And because some of the best conversations happen after the official programme ends, the evening continued on the beach with drinks, plenty of laughter and a few stories that will probably stay off the meeting agenda.
Inside LG Smart Park
Day three took us to one of the highlights of the trip: LG Smart Park in Changwon.
We visited the Heritage Lounge and toured the production line, seeing first-hand how ideas developed in R&D become the machines we install and service across our markets every day.
There is something special about seeing the place where the technology you work with every day actually comes to life.
We also met with LG’s global leadership to discuss our results, the future of commercial laundry and the continued development of our regional network.
The day ended much as the previous ones had: around a table, in good company.
When a Laundromat Counts as Sightseeing
Back in Seoul, we made one stop that probably would not appear on the average tourist itinerary.
We visited Laundry 24, a fully automated self-service laundromat operating around the clock with LG Commercial equipment, including the latest Zeus machines, and cashless payment technology.
For most visitors, perhaps an unusual choice.
For us, it was an obvious one.
Our final evening brought everyone together once more, this time joined by LG’s Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing.
Before heading home, we received carefully selected Korean gifts. But the real takeaway from the trip was something much harder to pack into a suitcase: the shared experience itself.
BW One Team: More Than Business
If there was one thing this trip made especially clear, it is that BW One Team is much more than a business network.
It is a group of people from different countries and cultures who share similar standards, ambitions and a belief that good work should always be done a little better tomorrow than it was today.
But it is also built on friendships, humour, spontaneous moments, late dinners and all the things that never appear in a business presentation but often matter most in the long run.
Over the past 20 years, we have built projects, markets and expertise.
More importantly, we have built trust.
And that is what we want to carry into the next chapter: stronger partnerships, better solutions, new opportunities and the same belief that the best business relationships are built with people you genuinely enjoy building something with.
Here’s to the next 20 years of turning challenges into standards and good opportunities into stories worth remembering.
Look through the gallery below for a glimpse of our time in Korea.
