5 Things to Know: July 26

The lighting industry has always had its quiet contradictions—partners who compete, rivals who co-brand. This week, the channel map got even more intertwined.

KSA and Current: Competitors, Now Partners.  Sort Of:  KSA, one of Acuity’s largest agents nationwide, is the subject of a new partnership announcement released by Current. The catch? It’s only for the Department of Transportation, municipality and utility channels, a carve-out that lets them sell Current’s GE Roadway luminaire products for municipal, utility and DOT jobs — but not other public- or private-sector work like schools or strip malls.

Acuity Lines Quietly Exit KSA:  Three Acuity-owned lines — American Electric Lighting (AEL), Cyclone, and Holophane — disappeared from KSA’s line card this week. The change, was spotted by the Inside Lighting I-Team on July 22. We’ve since learned that The Will Group, which previously represented Current’s GE Roadway luminaires, now represents these Acuity lines in select channels.

One Manufacturer, Multiple Agents:  In C&I channels, Current often splits representation in various markets.  In Chicago, Current’s HLI brands (the former Hubbell Lighting) are repped by PG Enlighten. But its GLI brands (Albeo, Daintree, GE lamps) go through The Agency, which also competes with PG Enlighten—and reps Cree Lighting. That’s two agents, one manufacturer, and overlapping competition.

USAI Exits KSA Too:  In a quieter shift, USAI Lighting, a high-spec brand with major influence, also recently left the KSA line card – heading to The Agency. Another realignment with strategic implications.

Channel Clarity?  Not in This Business:  These shifts are part of a long-standing tradition: manufacturers coexisting with competitors when the channel structure demands it. The KSA–Current partnership might look like an oddball combination, but it’s just the latest reminder — in lighting, alliances are rarely absolute.

Zumtobel Group closed its 2024/25 fiscal year with a 2.6% revenue decline to €1.10 billion ($1.28 billion), impacted by sluggish demand in construction and cautious investment across key markets. The company operates through two primary segments: Lighting and Components.

The Lighting Segment includes Zumtobel and Thorn brands and focuses on professional indoor and outdoor luminaires, lighting systems, and services for sectors such as industry, office, retail, education, healthcare, and public infrastructure. Revenues for this segment declined 2.8% to €864 million, reflecting market softness particularly in Southern and Eastern Europe and Asia-Pacific. However, there was growth in the UK, Ireland, and Switzerland.

The Components Segment, centered on Tridonic, remained stable at €299.3 million ($350 million). Tridonic develops and supplies LED modules, drivers, emergency lighting, controls, and sensor-based technologies for OEMs and lighting system integrators globally. It serves as Zumtobel’s innovation engine, emphasizing connectivity and intelligent lighting solutions.

For North America, Zumtobel noted disappointing sales in FY 2024/25, with the region contributing to the underperformance of the Americas and Middle East & Africa segment. While the U.S. represents a smaller share of Zumtobel’s global business, management cited tariff uncertainty and declining construction activity in Europe—partially linked to U.S. policy—as contributing factors to the wider downturn.

Looking forward, Zumtobel expects continued market headwinds, especially in new construction, and forecasts a slight revenue decline and narrower EBIT margin for 2025/26.

Pittsburgh is replacing tens of thousands of streetlights with smart, energy-efficient LEDs under a new ordinance to reduce light pollution — a move reported in depth by The New York Times.

The project, also drew local focus in a video report by KDKA CBS Pittsburgh News, features input from residents and city workers alike. Installer Chad Ott shared his experience swapping out fixtures, sometimes uncovering nests and even squirrels in the old lamps. Neighbors like Barb and Shawn Jackson welcomed the safety improvements but noted concerns about brightness. The city is responding by offering residents the option to request dimming or shielding for specific lights.

The $15 million upgrade involves swapping more than 35,000 existing high-pressure sodium and LED fixtures for warmer, downward-facing LEDs rated at 2700 Kelvin. Project manager Denny Robinson demonstrated the system’s flexibility to The New York Times, dimming lights via smartphone to 24% brightness. Backed by advocates like astronomer Diane Turnshek and aligned with DarkSky International guidelines, the new system is expected to cut nearly $1.5 million annually in energy and maintenance costs while reducing emissions and protecting nocturnal wildlife. Completion is scheduled for 2027.

Learn more (NY Times paywall) »

Cedric Cromwell, the former Chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and a central figure in a 2022 bribery case involving an architecture firm and the Tribe’s planned Taunton casino, has pleaded guilty to separate tax charges related to that same project.

Federal prosecutors said Cromwell failed to report over $177,000 in income between 2014 and 2017—much of it stemming from the First Light Resort & Casino development, including funds tied to the earlier bribery case. The income included payments from two architecture firms and proceeds from a carbon offset venture.

Cromwell’s sentencing, now set for November, will cover both the tax case and the previously reinstated extortion convictions. Inside Lighting reported in 2022 that Cromwell accepted bribes in the form of cash, a Bowflex machine, and a luxury hotel stay from architect David DeQuattro—whose firm held a casino design contract.

This latest guilty plea marks another chapter in a saga that blends public procurement, architectural services, and tribal governance with high-profile federal enforcement.

The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) has opened two standards for public review through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), with the comment period running from July 25 to September 8, 2025.

• The first draft, BSR/IES LS-1-2x, addresses lighting science nomenclature, updating terminology to reflect current industry usage. Revisions include standardized definitions for longitudinal and transverse light distribution, changes from “lamp” to “light source,” and expanded terms related to temporal light modulation.
• The second draft, BSR/IES RP-11-2x, updates lighting guidelines for residential environments, covering both interior and exterior applications. Key additions include guidance on visual glare, sustainability, color tuning, Power Over Ethernet (POE), and UV impacts from LEDs. The revision also introduces design strategies for spaces such as home offices, gyms, pools, and areas involving artwork and health-related lighting, while removing outdated content on legacy light sources.

Learn more »