Litecontrol Illuminates Energy Efficiency

Apollo News Service

Litecontrol, an employee-owned and unionized Massachusetts manufacturer of energy-efficient architectural lighting for commercial buildings and institutions, is a prime example of how the lighting industry is illuminating the nation’s path toward reducing our carbon footprint. Besides producing American-made, energy efficient lighting, Litecontrol is a woman-run company that provides good jobs to local workers.

Founded in 1936 in Boston, Litecontrol later moved its headquarters to Hanson in the cranberry bogs on Massachusetts’ south shore. The company opened a second, larger facility in 1995 in nearby Plympton, Mass. Its Hanson headquarters employs 59 workers on the factory floor and 62 in the office; 67 more work at the manufacturing and training center in Plympton.

Before introducing the nation’s first school fixtures in the 1950s, Litecontrol manufactured switch boxes for Navy destroyers and submarines during World War II. Today, Litecontrol is a $45 million company best known for its architectural product innovation and its perimeter fluorescent lighting.

President and CEO Veda Ferlazzo Clark, 56, started at Litecontrol in 1987 as vice president of marketing and product development. After engineering an employee takeover of the company in a three-stage purchase, she took charge of the company in 1999.

“We’ve been working toward lighting that is visually comfortable so that workers can do their jobs, but in way that minimizes power usage,” said Clark.

Litecontrol designs its products to emit one watt or less per square foot, putting the company at the forefront of industry standards recommended in 2004 by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). Ten years ago, indoor lighting typically emitted two watts per square foot, or twice as much energy as it does now. And whereas the industry once deemed 75 footcandles per classroom or workspace necessary, today 45-50 footcandles are now considered adequate.

“An overhead light that you turn on when the sun sets probably gives you 25-30 footcandles,” explained Clark. “Sitting in bed with a table lamp beside you gives five footcandles. Overall, the eye is pretty adaptable. It’s generally accepted now that your eyes need less light, but it needs to be better quality light than what we used to provide.”

More than 60 percent of Litecontrol’s employees are represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), earning, on average, $14 per hour. Litecontrol has been 100-percent employee-owned through an Employee Stock Option Plan since 1999, and the company contributes 50 cents for every dollar that employees pay into their 401(k) retirement accounts.

The economic recession only recently began impacting the lighting sector, which typically trails the overall construction industry by nine months to a year, since lights are the last things to be installed in a new building. After hiring approximately 20 to 30 employees per year between 2004 and 2008, Litecontrol was recently forced to cut its workforce by 10 percent — both union and non-union workers. Nevertheless, Clark says that the company typically unveils four to six new products every year and hopes to grow through acquisitions once the recession subsides.

Litecontrol has not directly applied for stimulus funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but the company is pursuing several applications for product development with money that is being allocated through the Department of Energy.

U.S Senator Sherrod Brown’s (D-Ohio) proposed “Investments for Manufacturing Progress and Clean Technology (IMPACT) Act of 2009” could help businesses like Litecontrol. Brown’s bill would support small and medium-sized manufacturers by providing capital for investments in energy efficiency and for retooling and expanding into the clean energy supply chain. If the bill is enacted, Litecontrol would be eligible for loans to improve energy efficiency in its facilities by installing solar panels.

The government’s commitment to green energy could help too. Before taking office, President Obama said in a speech last December while unveiling his plan for creating 2.5 million new jobs, “We need to upgrade our federal buildings by replacing old heating systems and installing efficient light bulbs. That won’t just save you, the American taxpayer, billions of dollars each year. It will put people back to work.”

Out of a common interest in making the company as profitable as possible, all Litecontrol employees recently underwent “lean training” to make themselves more efficient, both on the factory floor and in the office. “Every single person in the company analyzed what they do every day and how that can be done faster,” said national accounts project manager Greg Banks, who chaired Litecontrol’s Ownership Improvement Committee, a group of both union and non-union employees who suggested the training. “We looked at something as small as organizing file cabinets, to changing the way we make a fixture, from start to finish.”

All of Litecontrol’s products are manufactured in the United States (though not all components are American-made) and are silver-certified by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC), a consultancy that helps clients implement “cradle-to-cradle design,” which offers a new approach to sustainability and prosperity. Litecontrol is the first company to produce linear architectural fluorescent lights that are cradle-to-cradle certified.

“The MBDC analysis is a global look at how you make products, from start to finish,” said Banks.

“And not just our process, but also that of the vendors we buy from,” added Clark. “For example, we worked with paint vendors we buy from to develop a new process to make better, safer paint.”

Rather than producing cradle-to-grave products, MBDC believes that companies should focus on where a used product will ultimately end up. Litecontrol has achieved a silver-level certification. In Clark’s words, “anything that you use in a product eventually goes back into ecosystem. We’ll have to be prepared to eat again what is thrown away.”