June 23, 2023
5 Things to Know: Week Ending June 24
A $1 million streetlight order goes sideways. Plus ABQ's leading news team visits an architectural lighting manufacturer.
Here's a roundup of some of the week's happenings curated to help lighting people stay informed.
1. Cree Lighting claims Long Island business owes them nearly $1 million
Cree Lighting is suing the Long Island company, Best LED Group, for non-payment of $971,710 for streetlight products purchased in multiple phases for the Town of Hempstead project dating back to 2018.
On its website, Best LED Group claims to have "been recently awarded a contract to provide over 50,000 LED street lights for the Town of Hempstead." The company's homepage also appears to display a photo of a Cree EDGE LED streetlight.
A significant portion of Best LED Group’s counterarguments seem to hinge on assertions that they were conducting business with Cree Lighting before it was acquired by Ideal Industries. Therefore, according to Best LED Group, Ideal-owned Cree Lighting can’t demand payment from them since all sales agreements were allegedly made with the former company. Best LED Group also alleges that 2,900 out of 35,000 fixtures failed, a claim that hasn’t yet been substantiated with any evidence on record.
Email exhibits show that the lighting agent, SDA Lighting & Controls, was involved in the orders, but the agency is not a party to the lawsuit. Cree Lighting does not comment on ongoing litigation and did not respond to our question about whether commission payments were made to the lighting agent, SDA Lighting & Controls, for this unsettled order. Best LED Group did not immediately return our call regarding this matter.
2. Game over for Deco Lighting
After publishing two news stories on Deco Lighting this week, we didn’t want a third headline story to be perceived as piling onto a negative situation, so here’s a quick update on developments since our Tuesday article: “Deco Lighting: Server Shut Down & Doors Locked”
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The U.S. bankruptcy court held an emergency hearing on Wednesday.
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Deco Lighting fired employees and shut down the operation last week, which in turn has shut down all conversations to obtain further financing to keep the Deco Lighting operation alive.
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The judge ruled that the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case be immediately converted to Chapter 7, which will initiate a liquidation of company assets under the guidance of a soon-to-be-appointed U.S. Trustee.
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Signify and numerous other lighting companies, including dozens of lighting agents, are not expected to receive any monies owed to them.
3. Insight Lighting featured on KRQU
Insight Lighting, a Rio Rancho, New Mexico architectural lighting maker was recently featured on a 4-minute news clip produced by the Albuquerque KRQE News 13 I-Team.
Insight Lighting has become known for its unique lighting solutions and has illuminated prominent venues worldwide. Their portfolio includes projects such as the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, the Presbyterian-Highlands Skybridge, and the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics' bobsled track.
Watch Chris Kreuter, Executive Vice President, share his insights into Insight Lighting.
4. New HQ building for Cree LED
Cree LED, an SGH company (Nasdaq: SGH), announced that it has officially moved into its new headquarters at the Park Point campus in Research Triangle Park, NC.
This new location will focus on research and development. The new facility offers a total footprint of 85,866 sq. ft., with 42,000 sq. ft. dedicated to new laboratory space. One of the key features of the facility is a components pilot production line that supports a wide range of products, from video applications to high-power lighting.
5. Total Construction Starts Rebound in May
Dodge Data & Analytics reports that total construction starts rose 8% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.11 trillion, according to Dodge Construction Network. Nonresidential starts rebounded following the decline in April, improving 8% thanks to a sizeable gain in manufacturing starts.
The largest nonresidential building projects to break ground in May were the $1.9 billion Steel Dynamics aluminum plant in Columbus, Mississippi, the $1.9 billion Eli Lilly & Co facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the $1.5 billion Ford Ohio EV plant in Sheffield.
