'SELLING' YOUR SALESPEOPLE - Amazon S3

TODAY’S

DISTRIBUTORLIGHTINGSUMMER 2016 | VOL. 24, NO. 2

‘SELLING’ YOUR SALESPEOPLE:‘SELLING’ YOUR SALESPEOPLE: HOW TO RECRUIT, RETAIN THE GOOD ONES

Surviving the LED Revolution

Member Profile: C.N. Robinson

Lutron ‘Future Proofs’ University’s Lighting

INSIDE

NAILDOfficers & Board Members

PresidentBecky Phillips

President-ElectRobin Watt

Secretary/TreasurerCory Schneider

Immediate Past PresidentGreg Ehrich, LC

DirectorsJosh Brown (Membership Chair)

Jim GoodwinKelly Laub (Business Development Chair)

Spencer Miles (Education Chair)Gerard DarvilleJoan Scott Trew

Past Presidents’ Council RepresentativePete Gray

NAILD Headquarters

Director of Education Linda Daniel

[email protected] (716) 875-3670

Association ManagerAnna [email protected]

Membership CoordinatorGrace Kim

[email protected]

Public Relations Account ExecutiveGreta Cuyler

[email protected]

TELEPHONE(609) 297-2216

WEBSITEwww.naild.org

[email protected]

NAILD Headquarters 191 Clarksville Road

Princeton Junction, NJ 08550

he NAILD membership has been on the cutting edge

of changes in the lighting industry since inception.

My husband and I joined 28 years ago, two years

after opening Professional Lighting in Greensboro,

North Carolina. We’re a small specialty lighting

distributor, but we think big. We take a holistic approach to providing mainte-

nance, replacements, remodels, energy retrofits and new construction designs.

Joining NAILD gave us a competitive edge. My husband, Sid, previously served

on the executive board and as president. Now it is my time to give back to the

lighting community and serve.

As the new president, I’m here to inspire you to stay the course while navigating

the current changes in our industry. I also want to encourage you to take

advantage of all that NAILD membership offers.

Participation helps you build relationships with other lighting distributors and

manufacturers across the nation. You can rely on those relationships when you

encounter a problem or challenge.

As we all evolve with the industry, let’s engage as a community. This is a call

to action to get you more involved and to leverage your membership more

meaningfully to keep our industry vital.

Next year’s conference will be our 40th. I want to focus this year on 40 years of

being the innovators of the lighting industry. This organization was founded by

a group of inventive entrepreneurs that saw a need in the electrical industry to

specialize in lighting. NAILD is still that group on the cutting-edge of technology,

services and education for the industry. We are here to lead the next generation

of innovators into lighting of the future.

To learn more about membership advantages, visit naild.org.

Best,

Rebecca Phillips NAILD President 2016-2017

EMBRACE THE CHANGE

T

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE SUMMER 2016TODAY’S LIGHTING DISTRIBUTOR

SUMMER 2016 | VOL. 24, NO. 2

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mailto:[email protected]




http://www.naild.org



SUMMER 2016 VOLUME 24, NO. 2

6101214

Growing Sales Bench StrengthNAILD members talk about the challenges of recruiting and retaining salespeople.

By Christian Horn

Member Profile:C.N. Robinson Lighting Supply Company embraces the LED revolution and Millennials.

By Greta Cuyler

Case Study:Lutron ElectronicsLutron “future proofs” Liberty University’s lighting systems.

By Staff Reports

Surviving the LED RevolutionNAILD’s Annual Conference pro-vides tools to sell more lighting in an evolving industry.

By Jennifer Kohlhepp

President’s Message

Roundtable Meetings

Association/Member News

Industry Updates

New Products

Educational Training Opportunities

4 Today’s Lighting Distributor | SUMMER 2016

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Today’s Lighting Distributor magazine is published four times a year for NAILD members in conjunction with Creative Marketing Alliance.

PublisherJeffrey [email protected]

Executive EditorErin [email protected]

Advertising ManagerJude [email protected]

Managing DirectorKenneth [email protected]

Managing EditorJennifer [email protected]

Contributing EditorChristian [email protected]

Staff WritersGreta [email protected]

Victoria [email protected]

Creative DirectorDave [email protected]

Production ManagerScott [email protected]

Advertising Index

EiKO Global, LLC .........................................................................................................Back Cover

Forest Lighting USA .................................................................................................................17

Halco Lighting Technologies .......................................................................................................5

Sylvania ........................................................................................................... Inside Front Cover

Universal Lighting Technologies ...............................................................................................11

Keystone Technologies ..................................................................................... Inside Back Cover











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It is a given that the best lighting dis-tributors have, among other important organizational assets, the best sales teams.

Yet, among the myriad changes sweeping through lighting and electri-cal distribution today is the impact of shifting work force demographics and the growing prevalence of digital com-munications for the recruitment and retention of distributor salespeople.

As an older generation of sales staff approaches retirement age, younger talent must be brought—and kept—on board to refresh and renew distributor sales excellence. This challenge is com-pounded by a looming labor shortage in the construction industry and rapid technological advances in many electri-cal product categories which require salespeople to command not only sales skills, but a high degree of technical knowledge and application expertise as building systems begin to be integrated with each other through the Internet of Things.

With experienced salespeople increas-ingly in short supply and retiring Baby Boomer salespeople thinning distributor salesforces even further, Today’s Lighting Distributor (TLD) spoke with several NAILD members about how they are coping with this looming challenge:

Patti Thayer, president of Thayer Lighting in Machesney Park, Illinois, has an out-side sales team numbering six. Sarah Hanus, vice president of operations at Conserve-A-Watt Lighting in Denver,

Colorado, has a dozen outside salespeo-ple. Bill Cooley, executive vice president of Voss Lighting in Lincoln, Nebraska, looks to 85 salespeople fanning out from 16 branch locations across the country to drive company growth.

TLD: Is recruiting salespeople more challenging today than it was 10 years ago?

Sarah Hanus: Yes, absolutely. We’re right in the middle of this issue. We have a great but older salesforce that’s been with us for a while. We’re trying to add to that salesforce and deal with a general lack of experience and younger generations’ attitudes and ideas about work ethic and how they want to work. The Denver region is booming right now, so there’s more business competition, as well as competition for experienced sales staff.

Patti Thayer: No, for me, it’s no different. I’m very well connected. I keep my sights on the marketplace and always look for opportunity. Actually, I just hired two salespeople. I recently met a salesperson at an industry event who had worked for another distributor in the area and she mentioned she was no longer working for that company. So we had lunch today and she is going to join us. The other individual was a trade ally in the field and has an engineering background. He will be a great addition to our team. So I think being well con-nected is very important. For me, that’s the most effective.

Bill Cooley: Yes and no. I will say the

quality of the people is a big issue, and so is retention. Perhaps it’s because we tend to promote from within the company, but we haven’t found it that difficult to recruit new sales staff.

TLD: What qualities do you look for in a sales hire?

Thayer: Talent. Drive. But I also watch people’s careers. I look for people that I’ve known over the years who are, hopefully, people I’ve worked with. The woman I just hired was someone I had served with on a nonprofit board. She was so thorough and detailed that, when the opportunity came, I knew her talents and capabilities.

And I’m not specifically focused on younger generations. Both of the indi-viduals we just brought on are younger Baby Boomers. If they had been talented Millennials, I would be just as open to the opportunity. Most of my staff are Millennials and I’m open to any talented person regardless of their age.

Cooley: I look for somebody who, first of all, is looking for a career. That’s number one. They’ve heard about Voss. They know the company’s history. They apply and when we interview them and they say, “I’d like to make a career at a company like this,” that’s one thing you look for. And you just kind of ask people what are your goals? Are you looking to make a million bucks by the time you’re 35 or are you looking to be able to sup-port a family? That kind of stuff. Little questions that help separate realism from idealism.

COVER STORY SUMMER 2016By Christian Horn


continued on page 8



Hanus: We’re trying to recruit people who are interested in staying with our company, growing with our company and who also have experience. The biggest challenge and the starting point is finding salespeople with some experience within the context of what we do. We’re constantly re-evaluating whether we should take that require-ment off the table because, so far, people with experience are pretty hard to find. But we need somebody now. What are the right requirements for someone who doesn’t have that direct experience? That’s a big challenge that we’re looking at all the time.

TLD: Is promoting from within an effective strategy for finding new salespeople with at least some degree of distribution experience?

Cooley: Particularly with regard to sales-people, a lot of our people who come in at entry level positions, whether it’s a customer service rep or a warehouse worker, often eventually apply for sales positions. If they’re qualified, we like to give them the opportunity to do that.

We also have a central call center for all our branches and everyone in our call center takes the NAILD Lighting Special-ist I training. So they’re familiar with the products and most of the calls they take are from our salespeople calling in wanting product information, wanting price information. So these people know how it’s done. After they are in the call

center for a while some of them will come to us and say, “I’d like to go into sales.” If we think they can do it—and most people can if they get right down and realize that they’re going to have to work hard and get their sales system down—we’ll give them the opportunity.

Hanus: We do. Historically, our inside sales have come up through the company. Drivers work their way up through the warehouse and then some warehouse staff come to inside sales. Inside sales do occasionally become outside salespeople. We have attempted that move. I could absolutely see that as a possibility and a potential great opportunity, but I’ve been here 10 years, and we have not had that successfully happen too often. But we always push and back our goals to bring inside sales all the way outside.

Thayer: Absolutely. Actually, I have a salesperson who is now project manag-ing and quoting, and someone else who was doing outside sales is now doing some inside sales. It just depends on the individual’s talent.

TLD: Are there other sales recruitment strategies you have found effective? What about social media?

Hanus: The most effective in bringing us the best employees has really been word of mouth. We communicate with reps and other people in the industry, because I’m looking for people, if I can

find them, who have experience. Maybe it’s old school, but just talk to industry people you have relationships with.

We use an online job board posting that I continually refresh, but I find most of the responses I get are pretty much irrelevant. LinkedIn, we use a little bit, just put it out there. The feedback I’ve gotten is you should use LinkedIn more. But overall, we don’t have much of a social media presence.

Thayer: Be open to people that you work with in different arenas for opportunities. When you’re working with people who are manufacturer’s reps or even lighting salespeople from other companies, let them know you’re looking to bring a salesperson on board. That’s what works best for us.

Cooley: Again, because we’re focused on hiring from within, we rarely go out and post jobs outside our company. We always give our current employees the first shot at a new sales position and are usually successful at finding someone internally.

TLD: What salesforce retention strate-gies are most important?

Cooley: The way we retain salespeople is to try to make them as successful as we possibly can. We have several sales incentive programs, that’s one thing, and we train them on the basics, if they need that. Once a month we have com-pany-wide sales meetings which we call

COVER STORY SUMMER 2016

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“Truth and Train.” It’s kind of in-depth product training. We try to have our local branches provide additional product and sales training at least once a month at the branch level.

Our biggest problem in retention is other lighting distributors going after our salespeople. They know our people are good. They know the products. They know how to sell. It doesn’t happen a lot, but it does happen. That’s why it’s important to hire salespeople who are sincere about a career, about being with you and the company.

Thayer: We have sales meetings once a week. We are constantly taking advan-tage of opportunities for training. We meet with manufacturers who will come and do presentations. We are taking eight people next week to a presentation on exterior LED lighting. Technology is changing so fast. We all have to stay on top of it. Knowing the products, the ap-plications and how things fit together is critical for a salesperson.

Hanus: We train and collaborate with our outside salespeople. We work as a team. We feed them accounts and sup-port them. Once we find people, most of our employees are long-term. And that’s part of how we hire people. We show them how long other employees have been here because we have a great work environment. We don’t have much turnover, but the big challenge is finding people to come in.

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C.N. Robinson Lighting Supply Co. Inc. has always evolved with the times. Founded in 1870 by Charlie Robinson, the Baltimore-based business has distributed a wide variety of products over the years, from farm equipment to ladders to auto parts.

When gas lanterns lit up the City of Baltimore, the company distributed ladders to light them. When the city lights became electric and bulbs needed frequent changing, C.N. Robinson ex-panded its ladder distribution business and added electrical supplies.

Bob Mills, Jr. and his business partner, Barry Kronsberg, bought the company in 1975 and by the mid-1980s had pivoted the business to focus strictly on lighting distribution.

“Over the years, we’ve always done a lot with energy-efficient lighting,” said Vice President Pete Gray, who joined the company in 1990. “As time has gone on, we’ve seen the technology change dramatically, but at our core, we’ve always been a distributor.”

Today the company is led by Robert Mills III and employs 35 people in two locations—the headquarters in Baltimore and a showroom/training center in Herndon, Virginia that opened in 2009

to serve the Washington, D.C. and Virginia markets.

The company’s clients range from small businesses to large conglomerates. One of the largest Philips Lamp distributors in the United States, the company has a lighting specialist (LC) certified by the National Council on Qualifications for the Lighting Professions as well as many LS 1 Lighting Specialists.

“For many years, we sold a lot of lamps, but with the advent of LEDs, companies are no longer replacing lamps several times a year,” Gray said. “The key is looking further down the road and partnering with our clients to find holistic solutions for their lighting needs. It’s about being consultative and finding solutions.

“With the LED revolution that’s going on, it’s an exciting industry to be in,” Gray continued. “There’s always some-thing new to sell that brings value to our clients. We haven’t seen something like this since the invention of the incandes-cent lightbulb.”

The company was the sole lighting supplier for projects including Annapo-lis Town Center, the National Institute of Health at Johns Hopkins Bayview

Medical Center and the C4ISR Center for Excellence, a project that included a 10-building complex of laboratories for military and government contractors.

At the University of Maryland, C.N. Robinson helped retrofit about 80 percent of the campus’ 300 academic, dorm and athletic facilities’ lighting fixtures. The three-and-a-half-year project was about $4 million in scope, Gray said.

C.N. Robinson is a family-oriented company and nearly a third of employees have worked there for at least 20 years, Gray said. They have several mother-daughter and father-son teams in the business.

“I think we’ve developed a culture where people feel it’s a good place to work and people are seeking us out,” Gray said. “We’re passionate about what we do, but try not to take ourselves too seriously.”

The key now is trying to attract people to the industry as a whole.

“Not a lot of people set out to join the lighting distribution industry, they just find themselves in it and they like it,” Gray said. “We need to encourage people to consider this career at the outset.”


By Greta Cuyler

C.N. Robinson Embraces LED Revolution, Encourages Millennials to Join an Exciting Industry

MEMBER PROFILE SUMMER 2016

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C.N. Robinson is proud of its long-term employees and employs several pairs of family members. From L-R, Customer Service Manager Donna Schools recently celebrated her 38th anniversary with CNR, works with her daughter Tanya Grim, an account executive assistant, who has been at CNR for two years.

Vice President Peter Gray, who joined the company in 1990, works at its Virginia location (see below).



Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia is in the midst of a $500 million campus rebuilding plan.

CHALLENGE

Charles Spence, senior vice president for planning and construction, wanted a standardized system that would provide essential, beautiful lighting and shade control and that could be expanded easily as the university continues to grow.

SOLUTION

Working with the Lawrence Perry and Associates engi-neering firm, Spence chose Lutron standalone wireless and Quantum Total Light Management systems to deliver energy savings and provide the ability to measure and analyze lighting use. Wireless protocols help to “future proof” the system, allowing changes and reprogramming without rewiring or otherwise disrupting the previously installed controls. The university was determined to work with a manufacturer that would set a design standard, establish a sequence-of-operations and provide lighting control strategies for every type of space. To ensure they were making the right proposals, members of Liberty’s facilities team and Lawrence Perry and Associates visited Lutron’s Experience Center in Washington, D.C. to get hands-on experience with the suggested control strategies.

RESULTS

Much of the campus is now using advanced lighting control strategies to maximize energy efficiency and enhance personal comfort. In the Jerry Falwell Library, occupancy sensors are broadly used to ensure that lights are never left on when a space is vacant and that people are not ever left in the dark. In residence halls, simple, wireless vacancy sensors in each room reduce energy waste without relying on students to remember to turn off the lights. Students can still turn lights on and off from convenient, wireless wall controls.

To create more vibrant, welcoming spaces at any time of the day, the university installed integrated lighting and shade control solutions that automatically change according to time of day and daylight availability.

Networked, digital control offers the ability to standardize lighting across the campus and deliver customized results depending on the specific building purpose and the way occupants utilize lighting control. Wireless systems also made it possible to reduce installation and materials cost and meet aggressive construction timelines while ensuring that the systems deliver comfortable, energy-efficient lighting.

Light-emitting diode (LED) lamps and controls are used

CASE STUDY SUMMER 2016

LUTRON PROVIDES UNIVERSITYWITH A LONG-TERM SOLUTION

Occupancy controls placed throughout the Jerry Falwell Library ensure lights are off when an area is vacant.

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throughout the campus to reduce lighting electricity costs. Integrated, solar adaptive shading systems in academic buildings and public areas automatically adjust according to the position of the sun in order to take great-est advantage of daylight, reduce HVAC costs, and create a dynamic environment for students, staff and visitors.

Saving energy helps the university ensure that its financial resources are not wasted and neither are natural resources. Providing total light management control helps professors provide a learning environment that is comfortable and productive, and lighting controls help to manage visibility in both classroom and non-classroom spaces.

As the university approaches its 45th year, its leaders recognize that every aspect of the campus environment works to improve the student experience. Installing lighting controls that help reduce energy costs while improving the living and learning atmosphere is one important piece of a master plan that defines a vibrant future for the Liberty University community.

Liberty University’s expansion plans include lighting control systems throughout cam-pus buildings, such as the LaHaye Student Union (shown below).

Wireless, energy-saving occupancy sensors in each residence hall room helped meet aggressive construction timelines.

Motorized shading solutions help ensure a positive, glare-free learning environment for students.

WHY TLD?

Ira GreenbergCEOKeystone Technologies

“TLD puts Keystone directly in front of the

dedicated lighting distributors that compose a

key part of our customer base. We find TLD

to be a cost-effective way to solidify brand

recognition and to showcase new products to

a highly targeted audience, which is especially

important as we develop and expand our line

of LED solutions.”

To advertise in the next TLD contact Jude Martin-Cianfano at 609-297-2212 or

[email protected] or visit our website at www.naild.org.





By Jennifer Kohlhepp

The National Association of Independent Lighting Distributors (NAILD) continued its tradition of providing cutting-edge programming at its annual conference to help members better understand light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and how they are affecting the industry.

More than 100 members attended the event from April 10-13 at the La Cantera Hill Resort and Spa in San Antonio. The theme this year was “Surviving the LED Revolution.”

To equip members with the tools they need to succeed during the current industry upheaval, NAILD provided numerous means of advancing professional development and building industry connections during the conference. Lighting distribu-tors left with key takeaways to strategically position their businesses as they move forward in the changing industry.

Jim Morris set the tone of the conference with his keynote speech “Never Give Up on a Dream.” The baseball legend who inspired the Disney Pictures’ film “The Rookie” spoke eloquently about the transformational power of dreams. His story about trying out for major league baseball at the age of 35 after dreaming about it since the age of 3 resonated with lighting distributors looking to accomplish their own goals.

Jack Curran, of LED Transformations Inc., shared his knowl-edge about how to predict the performance of LED products. Curran also moderated an interactive panel discussion with top lighting manufacturers Ron Bezdone of Keystone Technol-ogies, Jian Ni of Forest Lighting and Bill O’Connell of Osram Sylvania. Unfortunately, Rob Freitag and Jeff Emerson of Halco did not appear on the panel due to a NAILD scheduling error.

Steve Mesh of Lighting Education & Design educated attendees on the top changes taking the industry by storm. Jeff Barnhart of Creative Marketing Alliance walked members through a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis to give them deeper insight into their businesses and the industry at large.

NAILD PREPARES MEMBERS TO SURVIVE THE LED REVOLUTION

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FEATURE SUMMER 2016

NAILD PREPARES MEMBERS TO SURVIVE THE LED REVOLUTIONMany participants took advantage of the popular Organized Casual Conferences (OCCs), which gave manufacturers and distributors the opportunity to meet face-to-face in scheduled 20-minute meetings.

The Product Sprint presented exhibitors with a chance to pitch their products in front of distributors in organized speed networking sessions. Distributors cast ballots for the best entries in each product category and the manufacturers who received the most votes were honored with Product Sprint awards.

The “Best Luminaire” award went to Satco for its Freedom Architectural LED Downlight. Universal Lighting Technologies Inc. won “Best Lamp” for its Everline LED Sign Tube. Lutron Electronics Co. Inc. earned “Best Control” for its Vive Wireless System. The “Best Ballast/Driver” went to Keystone Technolo-gies for its Future Fit LED Kits. Veolia North America won “Best Accessory/Service” for making recycling easy for small quantities of tritium exit signs. Keystone Technologies also earned “Best Overall” for its Future Fit LED Kits.

This year’s conference also featured the first annual Gary Haverland Memorial Golf Outing held in honor of a longtime NAILD member who passed away this past year. The outing and the evening events gave members time to meet each other in casual and fun settings. Even though the scheduled Glow Golf event was canceled due to the weather, members made the most of Sunday evening by gathering at the City View Terrace to network and share their insights into and passion for the industry.

Overall, this year’s conference was more interactive with additional time for networking, strategic planning sessions and panel discussion. Attendees gained knowledge that will help them sell more lighting despite LEDs or any other upheaval in the industry.



FEATURE SUMMER 2016 By Jennifer Kohlhepp

DISTRIBUTORS DISCUSS HOT TOPICS IN THE INDUSTRY

The roundtable meeting during the National Association of Independent Lighting Distributor (NAILD)’s Annual Conference provoked lively discussions on key topics in the lighting indus-try. Participants commented on marketing strategies, ways to increase sales, handling manufacturer warranties, strategies for employee retention and staying relevant in lighting. Below are excerpts from the conversations and are not necessarily the opinion of NAILD.

Discuss marketing strategies that you employ or want to know more about.

• “Email blasts with tracking. Should they be created by a third-party or in-house?”

• “Send out emails on products. The challenge is who are the right customers? You need to keep the contact list/database accurate and up to date.”

• “Seasonal flyers with product information directly in the mail.”

• “Case studies. Get a manufacturer to assist in the write-up and publication.”

• “Social media, but you need to monitor it in case of negative content.”

• “Websites are important, but you need to keep them up to date, relevant and change things on a regular basis.”

How can lighting distributors increase sales?

• “Pound the pavement.”

• “Create an app to interface with the customer or to allow you to create a project from your phone.”

• “Use LinkedIn to target customers.”

• “Go to tradeshows, but make sure they are the right ones.”

• “Keep driving the customer back to your website.”

• “Get the right amount of LED information across to the cus-tomer. Too much information may hinder the sale. Detailed proposals work for some buyers, but deter others.”

• “We need samples. Some vendors are better at supplying them than others.”

• “You need to sell information and technology, not just a product.”

• “We need better sales training inside and out.”

Discuss ways to handle manufacturer warranties.

• “Get them in writing or in an email.”

• “Take digital pictures as support.”

• “Define warranties for clarity.”

• “Have the manufacturer involved at the front end of the transaction.”

What are some strategies for retaining employees?

• “Pay for training.”

• “Provide flextime.”

• “Host company outings to build and sustain morale.”

• “Know and communicate where your company is going.”

• “Create employee recognition programs.”

• “Create an employee-owned company.”

• “Offer bonuses.”

• “Hold sales meetings with open discussions.”

Can you offer some guidelines for staying relevant in lighting?

• “Offer specialized products.”

• “Partner with solar, HVAC and alarm companies.”

• “Use cloud management systems.”

• “Write service contracts for jobs.”

• “Educate yourself and stay on top of the technology.”

• “Join or better leverage your association memberships.”


More than 30 graduate NAILD Lighting Specialist I Program

NAILD continues to enroll NAILD, IMARK and NEMRA members, as well as many within the industry in both the NAILD Lighting Specialist (LS) I and LS II programs. Those who graduate from either course receive the appropriate certificates and pins and are invited to use the proper appellation (NAILD LS I or NAILD LS II) on their busi-ness cards.

Congratulations to the following LS I grads:

• 3E - Scott Siebrandt• Bulbs.com - Andrew Ptacek• Bulbs.com - Krystal Washburn• Bulbs.com - Dalila Ringland• Damin Sales - Justin Felber• Desco Inc. - Jeff Walker• Energy Pro - Leland Payton• Hite Co. (Corp.) - Tricia Ackerman• J.H. Larson Co. (Corp.) - Jamie Engelstad• J.H. Larson Co. (Corp.) - Tyler Viet• Key Lighting KC - Devon Parnell• Keystone Lighting - Holly Przasnyski• LED Supply Co. - Emily Myers• Lighting Supply Co. - Brittney Berry• Lighting Supply Co. - Olivia Pierce• Mustang Lighting - Ricky Sipes• National Electric Supply - DJ Armijo• National Electric Supply - Richard Friedman• National Electric Supply - Tyson Lanier• Northern Lights USA - Amanda Wiedmeier• Pacific Lamp & Supply Co. - Geoff Hugill• ProLighting - Toma Vulaj• Scott Lighting Supply Co. Inc. - Chris Soliz• Scott Lighting Supply Co. Inc. - Morgan Trew• Sequel Electrical Supply LLC (AL) - Kristi Spohn• ShineRetrofits - Kelli Decker• ShineRetrofits - Jessica Vargas• ShineRetrofits - Jeremy Wilson• Voss Lighting - Matt Jamieson• Voss Lighting - Jesse Jones• Voss Lighting - Jordon Sweezer

NAILD LSII can be the next step in continuing education for those who have successfully completed NAILD LS I.

For more information about the NAILD Lighting Specialist programs, contact Linda Daniel at [email protected] or 716-875-3670 or visit www.naild.org.

ASSOCIATION/MEMBER NEWS SUMMER 2016

USHIO America Invests in American Green Technology

USHIO America Inc., of Cypress, California, has made a strategic investment in American Green Technology (AGT), an advanced tech-nology lighting fixture and air purification system manufacturer for the industrial and healthcare markets. This partnership brings together two industry innovators with similar visions for future technology in the fields of lighting and healthcare. AGT was founded in 2009 with headquarters in South Bend, Indiana. It will continue to operate under the AGT name and manufacture its products in the United States in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

OSRAM Americas Unveils New Headquarters

Olaf Berlien, CEO of OSRAM Licht AG, and Grant Wright, CEO and CFO of OSRAM Americas, unveiled the new OSRAM Ameri-cas headquarters at a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony in Wilmington, Massachusetts. OSRAM Licht AG of Munich, Germany, is one of the two leading light manufacturers in the world. OSRAM Americas is comprised of a group of OSRAM companies in North and South America including OSRAM SYLVANIA, a leader in lighting solutions and services that specializes in innovative design and energy saving technology for homes, busi-nesses and vehicles.

Fulham Co. Broadens Executive Team

Fulham Co. Inc. has appointed James Cooke as CFO and Russ Sharer as vice president of marketing. In his role as CFO, Cooke will be responsible for Fulham’s overall financial strategy, planning and management in support of its global growth and leadership goals. As the new vice president of sales, Sharer will establish the company’s strategic brand direction and oversee the development and execution of new marketing strategies

designed to expand its customer base and strengthen the company’s market position.

An experienced CFO with international experience, Cooke brings a deep under-standing of financial strategy and planning. He joins Fulham from Hytwo Group, a provider of interim CFOs and other executives across a variety of industries. Prior to Hytwo Group, he was CFO for Idatech Group, a global developer and manufacturer of fuel cells for the telecom-munications industry. At Idatech, he played a key role in transitioning the business from a research and development organi-zation to a publically-traded commercial enterprise. Earlier in his career he held CFO positions at several London-based companies, including: Datong Electronics PLC, Investec Traded Endowments LTD and Network Security LTD. Cooke is a chartered accountant (Institute of England and Wales) and holds a bachelor’s degree in biochem-istry from the University of Liverpool.

Sharer joins Fulham with more than 25 years of experience in B2B marketing, business development and sales for a wide range of networking and telecommunica-tions equipment and software companies. Before joining Fulham, he was at Sharer and Associates, a self-founded consulting firm helping start-up companies achieve success. Previously, he was vice president of marketing for Occam Networks, a telecom-munications start-up company that grew to the No. 1 brand in the market with a $100 million revenue stream. In addition, Sharer has held various executive and senior man-agement positions at Ericsson Datacom Inc., Xircom and Rockwell International’s Communication Systems Group. He earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial and systems engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and a master’s in organizational leadership from Gonzaga University.



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Arlington Presents National and Regional Sales Awards at NEMRA

Arlington Industries Inc., of Scranton, Pennsylvania, is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2015 sales awards. These awards were presented to firms rep-resenting Arlington at the recent National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association (NEMRA) meeting held recently in Dallas. Arlington recognizes the recipi-ents’ outstanding achievement during the 2015 calendar year in selling its unique, innovative and labor-saving products.

Redona Harper, Power Tech Electrical Sales Inc., received Arlington’s Inside Sales Award. This award is given by Arlington’s customer service staff to the inside sales-person who delivers the best performance while working at a firm representing Arlington; Damin Sales Inc. received the National Sales Achievement Award; Hawkin’s Sales of Ohio earned the Central Region Sales Achievement Award; Agents West Inc. won the Western Region Sales Achievement Award; and George Pickett and Associates Inc. claimed the Southern Regional Sales Achievement Award. The Eastern Region Sales Achievement Award went to Pollart Electrical Sales Inc. McKenna Agencies Ltd. took home the Canadian Sales Achievement Award.

Arlington extends its congratulations to all of the winners.

Keystone Expands to New Headquarters

Keystone Technologies has completed its expansion to a new headquarters and dis-tribution center outside of Philadelphia. The new facility in North Wales, Pennsylvania, provides three times more capacity to ac-commodate an expanded engineering and product development division, as well as additional warehousing space to serve as a principal distribution center. Keystone’s new state-of-the-art distribution center will increase efficiencies in both inventory management and product delivery.

Fulham Names Mark Needham VP of European Sales

Fulham Co. Inc., of Hawthorne, California, has appointed Mark Needham as the new vice president of European sales. In his new role, Needham will oversee European expan-

sion of sales for Fulham’s expanding line of specialist lighting products, including LED drivers and retrofit kits, emergency LED lighting and ultraviolet and specialty lighting systems.

Needham has more than 25 years of experience in the lighting industry and an extensive background in sales. Most recently, he served as sales director for Venture Lighting Europe. Needham also has experience managing sales programs across Europe, including working with leading lighting distributors and OEMs.

Fulham is currently rolling out new lighting solutions based on advanced, sustainable LED technology. For example, Fulham recently introduced the HotSpot Plus, an all-in-one unit LED emergency lighting system with a dimmable LED driver and a replaceable battery.

EVERLINE LED Wall Pack Achieves DesignLights Consortium Listin

Universal Lighting Technologies Inc., of Nashville, Tennessee, recently announced its EVERLINE LED Wall Packs will be featured in the DesignLights Consortium Quality Products Listing, an efficiency program that maintains the leading list of high-quality, high-efficiency LED products for the commercial sector.

To meet “Outdoor Full-Cutoff Wall-Mounted” designation, the EVERLINE LED Wall Pack family is used in conjunction with the WCS-13BZ cutoff shield that reduces up-light and is required to qualify under the primary use category. The wall pack meets the “Outdoor Non-Cutoff and SemiCutoff Wall-Mounted” area luminaire designation without the

addition of any accessories.

The DesignLights Consortium promotes quality, performance and energy-efficient commercial sector lighting solutions through collaboration among its federal, regional, state, utility and energy-efficiency program members; luminaire manufactur-ers; lighting designers; and other industry stakeholders throughout the United States and Canada.

For more information on Universal’s EVERLINE Wall Pack luminaire, visit www.unvlt.com.

MaxLite Employees Partner with Habitat for Humanity

Team members from MaxLite, of Anaheim, California, volunteered to help prepare homes for Habitat for Humanity partner families in Cypress, California.

Led by experienced Habitat for Humanity crew leaders, employees of the company’s Anaheim office assisted with painting, trim work and other tasks on the final five homes being constructed in the Cypress II development on Lincoln Avenue. The sec-ond of two developments built by Habitat for Humanity in the city, Cypress II consists of 15 one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Six of the homes will be sold to moderate-income families with 81-120 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). Any income received from the sale of these units will be used to develop nine homes sold to buyers with less than 81 percent AMI. The homes will be compatible with surrounding neigh-borhoods and add a high-quality aesthetic value to the community.

The corporate volunteer program is part of a four-year, $1 million commitment by MaxLite to provide energy-efficient LED and CFL lamps and fixtures to Habitat for Humanity. The company’s New Jersey headquarters participated in a similar Team Build Day in November 2015 with Habitat for Humanity of Newark, New Jersey.

For more information, visit www.maxlite.com.

INDUSTRY UPDATES SUMMER 2016


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OSRAM SYLVANIA Awards Two Community Theatres New LED Fixtures

OSRAM SYLVANIA, of Wilmington, Mas-sachusetts, launched the “Let KREIOS Light Your Stage” contest to reward two theatres in the Unites States with 12 OSRAM KREIOS FLx LED fixtures each to illuminate their playhouses with high-quality light. After a lengthy process of reviewing the entries talking about how their organizations could benefit from the long-life LED fixtures, Mas-quers Theater in Soap Lake, Washington, and Schenectady Light Opera Company (SLOC) in Schenectady, New York, were selected as winners.

For more information, visit www.osram-americas.com.

Topaz Opens New Distribution Center

Topaz Lighting has opened a new Phil-adelphia-area distribution center at 905 Wheeler Way in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.

According to Brad Goodfriend, vice presi-dent of supply chain and global operations, the 75,000-square-foot facility expands distribution capabilities in the Northeast. “The new distribution center will better enable Topaz to meet the growing needs of our customers along the Northeast cor-ridor in a timely and efficient manner,” he said. “The Philly center, staffed with our unsurpassed customer support team, will be able to provide local, overnight delivery to customers from Vermont to Richmond, Virginia. Its location near Philadelphia is a direct route to the port of New York and New Jersey, from which we receive a high volume of our goods.”

“Topaz designed the new distribution center with the goal of creating an efficient warehouse operation to capitalize on the differing types and volumes of products we supply,” Goodfriend said. “With this newest warehouse opening, our national network now includes five distribution centers and 10 strategic stocking locations.”

With more than 17,000 SKUs of electrical fittings, electrical products, lamps, bulbs, LEDs, outdoor LEDs, ballasts and compo-nents, fixtures and exit signs, Topaz has earned recognition for its signature friendly service, unmatched value pricing and powerful solutions.

“We work hard to build long-term relation-ships and take pride in being known as one of the easiest companies in the industry to work with,” Goodfriend said. “Our compre-hensive inventory is always in stock, ready for fast delivery, and our expanding distribution capabilities will enable us to ‘wow’ even more customers in 2016.”

C.N. Robinson Lighting Led the Pack on Utility Savings for Customers in 2015

C.N. Robinson Lighting secured $1.7 million in utility rebate incentives for its customers in 2015.

C.N. Robinson Lighting is a 145-year-old specialty distributor focused on serving a broad clientele interested in enhancing new construction projects or existing facilities with quality lighting products at competitive prices. CNR’s family of long-time employees strive to use their knowledge and expertise to improve their customers’ quality of light while meeting or exceeding their energy efficiency goals on time and within budget.

Derek Benesch, service provider manager—C&I Programs, BGE Smart Energy Savers Program, said, “I am happy to announce that in 2015, CNR Lighting Supply led the way in energy efficiency amongst lighting and electrical distributors through the BGE Smart Energy Savers Program, achieving an extremely impressive $1.7 million in incentives on behalf of our mutual custom-ers. Through providing energy-efficient lighting, CNR helped save BGE businesses over 13,250,000 kilowatt hours annually in energy savings—lowering both utility and maintenance costs for customers. We appreciate CNR’s continued participation

in the BGE Smart Energy Savers Program as well as its commitment towards helping our mutual customers become energy-efficient.”

Rob Mills, CNR president said, “Everyone here at CNR is very proud to participate in the BGE Smart Energy Savers Program, and our ability to lead the territory in rebates earned for our clientele. Together with our expert sales team, Kelly Gray our rebate coordinator, has done a phenomenal job administering the program and ensuring that all project submissions are accurate, thereby ensuring our clients receive the maximum rebates allowed in the shortest possible timeframe. We thank our custom-ers for the opportunity to serve them and achieve this record performance, and we urge all property owners to contact CNR today to utilize this program and capture every rebate dollar possible.”

Since the program’s inception, CNR has helped mutual BGE customers take advantage of more than $3 million in energy-saving utility incentives. For more information on C.N. Robinson, see the article on page 10.

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NEW PRODUCTS SUMMER 2016

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Forest Lighting Offers New T8 LED Lamp

Forest Lighting, of Atlanta, Georgia, has announced the availability of new T8 LED Linear Lamps, named UniV8, designed to operate with or without a ballast. The Forest Lighting UniV8 T8 LED Lamp is 4 feet long and available in 15-watt and 19-watt models. Four color temperatures are available: 3500K, 4100K, 5000K and 6000K. CRI is >80 RA, and the efficacy is up to 115 lumens per watt. It will last 50,000 hours.

More information is available at www.forestlighting.com.

Fulham Announces HotSpot Plus

Fulham Co. Inc., of Hawthorne, California, now offers an all-in-one LED driver and emergency system. Combining a dimmable LED driver, emergency LED driver and replaceable backup battery, the HotSpot Plus delivers a complete LED emergency system in a small, efficient and cost-effec-tive package that completely eliminates the need for a separate emergency system. The Fulham HotSpot Plus functions as a 40-watt constant current LED driver during normal working conditions, delivering from 250-1400mA of current. If a power outage occurs, the system automatically engages an integrated LiFePO4 6.4VDC backup bat-tery to maintain the availability of current, delivering 5 watts of power for 180 minutes or 10 watts for 90 minutes.

Fulham has also released two new LED Engine Retrofit Kits as part of its ThoroLED product line. The new 32-watt and 39-watt LED kits are simple to install with minimal tools and are designed to replace existing florescent, incandescent and HID light fixtures with more cost-effective and brighter LEDs. All ThoroLED retrofit kits have a five-year warranty.

For more information, visit www.fulham.com.

GREEN CREATIVE Releases T5 HO DIR LED Tube

GREEN CREATIVE, of San Bruno, California, announced the launch of its T5 24W HO DIR LED tube. The T5 24W HO DIR tube is compatible with electronic ballasts so no rewiring is required during installation. The new T5 HO DIR tube combines a micro-de-signed driver and compact light engine to create a light emitting area of 270 degrees. The integrated driver is stored discreetly within the tube end cap to improve thermal performance and eliminate dark spots.

The result is uniform and seamless light from end to end. At 24 watts, this dimmable lamp emits upwards of 3,500 lumens on a programmed start ballast and is suitable for use in totally enclosed fixtures. It has a 50,000-hour lifetime and can replace a traditional T5 54W HO fluorescent lamp. The DLC-qualified

T5 HO DIR tubes come in a frosted finish in 3000K, 3500K, 4000K and 5000K CCT. A T5 HE retrofit solution will also be available from GREEN CREATIVE.

GREEN CREATIVE has also launched new PLS V 7W HYB, PLS 5.5W HYB, PLS 3.5W HYB, PLS 5.5W BYP and PLS 3.5W BYP lamps. Part of GREEN CREATIVE’s PL EDGE Series, the PLS HYB and BYP lamps are designed to replace a large range of PLS CFL lamp types and bases.

For more information, visit www.greencreative.com.

Leviton Launches Lumina RF 0-10V Dimmer

Leviton, of Melville, New York, recently announced the availability of the Lumina RF Decora Wall Switch Dimmer, which combines dimming capabilities for any 0-10V controlled load with wireless automation. The ZSD07 device can be used for stand-alone lighting control or attached to the Lumina RF and Lumina Gateway automation eco-system for ease of operations and energy savings in new

light commercial construction and retrofits. Pairing the dimmer with a Lumina Gateway allows users to automatically dim/brighten lights at scheduled preset times or control remotely via a touchscreen or app.

For more information, visit www.leviton.com/gateway.

LSI Unveils Mirada Architectural LED Area Lights

LSI Industries has announced its new Mirada series Area Light (XALM). The Mirada’s main strength is its industry-leading photometry through an exclusive, patent-pending optical system. It delivers more than 36,000 lumens via precise silicone optics that resist scratches and discoloration over time. The Mirada Area Light’s contem-porary and sleek design makes it perfect for architectural applications. From a cost standpoint, LSI Mirada Area Lights are competitive, since they feature die-cast aluminum housings. Award-winning in-tegral wireless controls are also an option, as are matching Wall Packs (XWM) in the Mirada series.

More details can be found at www.lsi-industries.com/mirada.

RAB Lighting Offers Energy-Efficient Fixtures for Tough Areas

One of the latest RAB Lighting products to be offered at ShineRetrofits.com are the SHARK LED Linear Washdown Light Fixtures. Made from an impact-resistant polycarbonate housing with stainless steel door clips, aluminum reflector/tray, poly-carbonate lens, EVA silicone foam gaskets, and protective powder-coat finish, these fixtures can be used in the messiest of environments, such as car washes, tunnels and stairwells. They are IP66-rated for dust and water and also UL-listed for use in wet locations. The SHARK LED Linear Wash-down Light Fixtures are available in either


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2-foot or 4-foot lengths and four different wattages. All fixtures are rated to last for at least 100,000 hours and are DLC-listed, meaning they qualify for utility rebates. They are also RoHS compliant, IESNA LM-79 and LM-80 tested and come with quick-mount surface spring clips with ad-ditional mounting accessories available.

Another recent addition is RAB Lighting’s PLED series of LED Pendant Light Fixtures. Built from die-cast aluminum with a tempered glass lens, these fixtures also feature double gasketing to help keep out bugs and dirt. They have a very low-profile design, making them an option for illumi-nating parking garages. The PLED series is available in three wattages. All three last for up to 100,000 hours and have dimming options available. Available in either white or bronze finishes, the PLED series pendants are fully shielded and offer full cutoff optics. They are UL-listed for use in wet locations, DLC-listed, IP65-rated, Title 24 compliant and backed by a five-year warranty.

For more information, visit www.shineretrofits.com.

First-to-Market SYLVANIA LED Portfolio Helps Deliver Future of Lighting to Price-Oriented Customers

The new SYLVANIA Contractor Series LED Portfolio from OSRAM SYLVANIA includes high-quality lighting solutions that are rated up to 11,000 hours (L70) at cost-effective price points for practically any socket. SYLVANIA Contractor Series A19 LEDs replace 40-watt and 60-watt tradi-tional lamps but use only 6 watts and 8.5 watts respectively. They provide instant-on lighting and are available in both 2700K (soft white) and 5000K (daylight) color

temperatures. In addition, the SYLVANIA Contractor Series LED Portfolio includes 75-watt and 100-watt replacement A19 LED lamps for when more illumination is needed; solutions for track lighting such as R20 (dimmable), MR16, PAR16, PAR20, PAR30, PAR30LN and PAR38 LED lamps; and dimmable BR30 and BR40 lamps and RT5/6 LED Recessed Downlight Kits for ceiling cans in various color temperatures. These deliver energy savings up to 88 per-cent compared to incandescent light lamps; are RoHS compliant; contain no mercury, lead or other hazardous materials; and emit no UV or IR radiation. For outdoor applications, the BR30, PAR20, PAR30LN and PAR38 LED lamps are UL-listed for use in damp locations and the RT5/6 kits are suitable for dry, damp and wet locations.

For more information, visit www.osramamericas.com.

Universal Lighting Technologies Releases EVERLINE Sign Tube

Universal Lighting Technologies Inc., of Nashville, Tennessee, has expanded its EVERLINE LED product line with the ad-dition of EVERLINE LED sign tubes. The EVERLINE sign tube is an LED outdoor replacement solution for T12HO or T8HO lit signs and offers a seamless conversion from existing fluorescent to LED technol-ogy. They are available in 2-foot, 4-foot, 6-foot and 8-foot lengths, and they utilize the same spacing as standard fluorescent systems. The EVERLINE sign tubes feature 90-degree adjustable RDC-style endcaps for correct lamp orientation. The end fits into the existing sockets and allows the installer to orientate the product to face the sign acrylic. Available in a 6500K color temperature, the tubes are rated for more than 60,000 hours of usable life. EVERLINE Sign Tubes are sealed to IP55 standards for dry, damp and wet locations, and they are RoHS compliant.

Universal has also broadened its EVERLINE LED Vapor Tight product offering with the addition of a 347V option. The EVERLINE

LED Vapor Tight Luminaries are durable fixtures featuring industry-leading lumens and the reliability of a complete in-house design (electronic, thermal and optical), including EVERLINE “matched” modules and drivers.

For more information, visit www.unvlt.com.

NEW PRODUCTS SUMMER 2016

Advance University(800) 322 2086

NAILD Universitywww.naild.org or call (716) 875-3670

NAILD Lighting Specialist ProgramFor information, call (716) 875-3670

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OSRAM SYLVANIA(978) 750-2464

Universal Lighting e-Learning Centerwww.unvlt.com

The Philips Lighting Technology Center(732) 563-3600

Educational Training Opportunities

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