OEM · Track Systems
Lighting Track Made in China: How G-Tracks Builds Track in Zhongshan
G-Tracks makes lighting track in its own factory in Zhongshan, China: profile, conductors, assembly and a test on every length. What made in China means here.
Lighting Track for Retail Chains: One System for Every Store
A chain does not buy track once. It buys the same track fifty times, for stores that open months apart. The specification has to survive every repeat order without a single part changing.
A retail chain needs one lighting track system that looks, fits and wires the same in every store, ordered again and again for years. That means fixing five things in the specification before the first store opens: the track type (3-phase or DALI), the profile and mounting, one colour, the lengths per store, and the adapter every luminaire will use. Get those right once and every new store is a repeat order, not a new project.
Why chains standardise on one track system
A single store can use whatever track the installer has in the van. A chain cannot. When stores open in different cities, years apart, with different contractors, small differences add up: a slightly different black, an adapter that fits one brand of track but not another, a connector that is no longer made. The result is a ceiling that looks wrong next to the brand's own shelving, and spares that do not fit.
One standard system fixes that. It also makes every later decision cheaper:
- Luminaires move between stores. Spots from a store that closes or is refitted can go to the next one.
- Merchandising can relight without an electrician. Adapters click in anywhere along the track, so spots follow the displays.
- Spares are simple. One list of codes covers every store.
- Installers learn it once. The same feeds, joints and fixings in every store mean fewer mistakes on site.
Step 1: choose the track type
For most chains the choice is between two systems that share the same power side: 3-phase track (4-wire) and 3-phase DALI track (6-wire). Both carry three phases and a neutral at 230 V per phase, 400 V between phases, up to 16 A per phase, to IEC/EN 60570.
| If every store needs… | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Window, sales floor and night lighting switched separately | 3-phase | Each phase is one switched group; no bus to commission. |
| Dimming per spot, scenes, timers or presence sensors | 3-phase DALI | Each DALI driver has its own address. |
| Escape-route lighting on the same run | 8-wire DALI + emergency | A separate, unswitched emergency phase in the same profile. |
| Short runs in fitting rooms or displays only | 1-phase | One phase is enough; smaller profile. |
Pick one for the whole chain. Mixing systems between stores is what breaks the "same luminaire everywhere" rule. For the detail behind the choice, see 3-phase vs DALI track.
Step 2: one profile family for every ceiling
Stores rarely have the same ceiling. A mall unit has a suspended grid, a high-street store has plasterboard, a flagship has a high open ceiling. The track profile should follow the ceiling while the adapter stays the same:
- Surface track for solid ceilings, fixed with ceiling clamps, such as the 3-phase surface track GT-4W-T.
- Recessed track set flush into plasterboard for a cleaner ceiling, such as the recessed 3-phase track GT-4W-TR.
- Suspended track on wire suspension for high ceilings, using the wire suspension kit GT-4W-SU on the standard profile.
Write into the specification which profile goes with which ceiling type. Then a new store needs only a ceiling survey, not a new lighting design.
Step 3: fix one colour and finish
Track is the most visible part of a store ceiling after the luminaires themselves. A black that is slightly warmer in one store than in the next is noticed by the brand team, even if customers never see it.
- Name one RAL number and gloss level in the specification, not just "black".
- Match track, feeds, connectors and end caps to the same finish.
- Keep a reference sample from the first order and check repeat orders against it.
Black and white come from stock. Any other colour, including a brand colour, is powder-coated to order.
Step 4: lengths cut per store, not on site
Sawing track on site is where most installation faults begin: burrs on the profile, conductors pushed back, ends left open. For a chain, the better approach is to send each store its run lengths from the floor plan and have the track cut at the factory.
- Track is cut, capped and fitted with conductors at the factory, at any length from 0.1 m to 6 m.
- Each length arrives ready to join, so installers only fix, feed and connect.
- Long runs are built from standard lengths with straight couplers, so the same coupler appears in every store.
Step 5: one adapter for every luminaire
The adapter is the part that ties the luminaires to the track. If every spot the chain buys, from any luminaire supplier, is fitted with the same adapter, every spot fits every store.
- Choose the adapter rating for the heaviest luminaire, for example the 10 A adapter GT-4W-AD10 or the 16 A version.
- Give the adapter code to every luminaire supplier, so they fit it before shipping.
- On DALI track, standard 3-phase power adapters still fit; DALI driver adapters add the control.
Step 6: ordering for a rollout
A chain rollout is a series of small, identical orders, not one big one. The ordering set-up should make each store a copy of the last:
- One frozen bill of materials per store type, by code, with lengths taken from the floor plan.
- No minimum order, so each store can be ordered when its opening date is fixed.
- Packing per store: one consignment labelled with the store name or number, so the site receives exactly what its plan needs.
- Your own label if the chain or its lighting partner wants its name on the profile, carton and datasheets.
- Samples first: approve a sample set, then order every store against the approved codes.
Specification checklist
| Item | Fix in the specification |
|---|---|
| Track type | 3-phase, 3-phase DALI or 8-wire DALI + emergency, for the whole chain |
| Standard | IEC/EN 60570; CE and RoHS declarations |
| Profiles | Surface, recessed or suspended, matched to each ceiling type |
| Colour | One RAL number and gloss level, reference sample kept |
| Lengths | Per store from the floor plan, cut at the factory (0.1–6 m) |
| Adapter | One code, given to every luminaire supplier |
| Joints and feeds | Codes for end feed, couplers, corners and end caps |
| Packing | One consignment per store, labelled with the store |
| Spares | A small spares kit per store: couplers, end caps, one feed |
Mistakes that cost chains the most
- Letting each contractor choose the track. Every store ends up slightly different, and luminaires stop moving between them.
- Specifying "black track" without a RAL number. Repeat orders drift in colour.
- Cutting on site. It saves a day at the order stage and costs it back in faults.
- Mixing 3-phase and DALI between stores. Spots bought for one store do not control the same way in the next.
- Ordering all stores at once before the first store has been installed and checked.
The aim is a specification that a new contractor in a new city can follow without calling head office. Fix the track, the colour, the lengths and the adapter once, and every store after the first is a repeat order.
Frequently asked questions
Can every store use the same track if the ceilings are different?
Yes, if the system has surface, recessed and suspended versions that share one profile family and one adapter. The ceiling changes how the track is fixed; the adapter, the luminaires and the phase layout stay the same in every store.
Should a retail chain choose 3-phase or DALI track?
Choose 3-phase track when stores only switch groups of spots, for example window, sales floor and night lighting. Choose DALI when head office wants dimming per spot, scenes or sensors. Most chains standardise on one of the two so that every store can take the same luminaires.
Do we have to buy all stores at once?
No. G-Tracks has no minimum order, for stock or OEM items. A chain can order store by store against one frozen specification, and every order is built to the same profile, colour and codes.
Can the track be cut to length for each store?
Yes. Lengths are cut, capped and fitted with conductors at the factory, anywhere from 0.1 m to 6 m, so installers do not cut or re-terminate track on site.
How do we keep the colour the same across years of orders?
Fix one RAL number and finish in the specification, keep a reference sample from the first order, and order every repeat against the same code. Black and white come from stock; any other colour is powder-coated to order.
