David Shiller

  I had the pleasure of sitting down with Geoff Ling, Managing Director at Merrimack Group, at LEDucation, to talk about his predictions for M&A trends, looking forward. Merrimack Group provides M&A services to the lighting industry. Shiller: What are the overall trends that you’re seeing in lighting industry M&A, big picture? Ling: I started [...]

  Superdupertube is a linear LED luminaire with a housing made of hemp, considered a highly sustainable fiber. The product is a collaboration between a Swedish lighting manufacturer named ateljé Lyktan, and the product design firm Snøhetta. Hemp ended up being selected because of its durable fibers and minimal environmental impact, reducing CO2emissions by over 50% compared [...]

While turtle-friendly lighting isn’t new, there has been rapid growth in turtle-friendly tape light, from leading manufacturers. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) rated lighting can be Red, Orange, and Amber, without wavelengths below 560 nm. Some manufacturer examples include: Tivoli Lighting (released turtle-friendly tape light at LEDucation last week) Omni Light (found at [...]

Each LEDucation, I’m fascinated by the handful of manufacturers showing micro luminaires. Last week, I saw fewer exhibitors with micro luminaires, but I may have just missed them. One that I did see and stop to speak with was an Italian manufacturer, FLI. They specialize in micro fixtures for the high-end retail and retail display [...]

  High Point Market is certainly one of the oldest and most established in the furniture industry. The tradeshow dates back to when North Carolina was THE center of the furniture manufacturing industry. Of course, that all changed with globalization and the rise of Asian furniture manufacturing. It’s admittedly been many years (pre-pandemic) since I [...]

  A fun find at LEDucation was Tweener. As I walked by their table, I looked over for the one-second scan to put them in a category, and I was stumped. I had to stop and hear the pitch. Tweener is an alternative way to light tennis and pickleball courts. It uses linear LED fixtures [...]

While many bemoan the end of rapid LED chip innovation, LEDucation once again showed that there are a 100 new technology innovations finding their way into the lighting industry. Of course, you have to keep your eyes and mind open to spot them. Two of my favorite examples at LEDucation were incorporated into two new [...]

  I watched the virtual presentation, Better Than Blue Light, by Dr. Jay Neitz of the University of Washington last week that was presented by LEDucation. I’m not an expert on Light + Health, but I’ll try to explain it as best I can. Dr. Neitz claims that particular combinations of blue and yellow light [...]

  The Washington State legislature passed House Bill 1185, which will ban mercury-containing fluorescent lamps. Washington will become the 8th state to ban most fluorescent lamps. The bill is now on its way to Governor Inslee’s desk to be signed into law, which is expected. Some key provisions of the bill include: Beginning January 1, [...]