Ruud Lighting Inc., a Racine-based manufacturer of lighting products, will launch KramerLED, a new exterior LED lighting division, in May.
Orders will begin shipping by late July or early August, said Alan Ruud, president and chief executive officer of the company.
Ruud Lighting Inc., a Racine-based manufacturer of lighting products, will launch KramerLED, a new interior LED lighting division, in May.
Orders will begin shipping by late July or early August, said Alan Ruud, president and chief executive officer of the company.
KramerLED’s lights are designed for commercial, institutional and government buildings. Ruud Lighting owns Kramer Lighting and Beta Lighting. KramerLED is a division of Kramer Lighting.
Last spring, Ruud Lighting launched BetaLED, a division of Beta Lighting that produces LED lighting used for exterior lighting for commercial, manufacturing and governmental buildings.
Ruud Lighting has more than 550 employees in its 450,000-square-foot headquarters and manufacturing facility in Racine, Ruud said.
BetaLED’s products have been on the market for less than one year now, but their early success has encouraged Ruud Lighting to launch KramerLED this year, Ruud said.
"All of the projects that we’ve done have led to more and more projects," he said. "The results have been so spectacular – they’ve met all of the claims we’ve made. If (customers) are willing to invest the money, there is no down side (to LED lighting)."
LED lighting uses far less energy than traditional lighting sources, Ruud said, and LED bulbs have much longer life spans. Despite higher purchase prices, LED lights and fixtures result in long-term savings because of lower energy use and longer life, he said.
Ruud Lighting is seeing more customers willing to adopt energy-saving technology, Ruud said, which makes him believe that both KramerLED and BetaLED have bright futures.
"I believe that within two or three years, KramerLED and BetaLED will be larger than the rest of the company combined," he said. "This is the first revolution in lighting since the fluorescent lamp in the 1930’s. It will change lighting like solid state changed computers. We’re in a digital age now, including lighting."
With the introduction of KramerLED, Ruud Lighting will have offerings for building interiors and exteriors. Both KramerLED and BetaLED are aimed at commercial, industrial and governmental buildings, Ruud said.
Eventually, the companies will likely make products for the home market, he said.
"Because of the price point, commercial and institutional (buildings) are a better market," Ruud said. "The first costs are more, but there are tremendous savings. There is (virtually) no maintenance."
In addition to its Racine headquarters and manufacturing facility, Ruud Lighting also owns a smaller manufacturing facility in Italy, an assembly plant in Australia and sales centers in Canada and Dubai, Ruud said. As demand for its LED products grows, the company will likely expand those facilities, he said.
"We’re doing all of the manufacturing in Racine at this time," Ruud said. "At some time, we will be manufacturing in Europe and Australia."
