Lighting Equipment Manufacture

The US lighting equipment manufacturing industry includes about 1,100 companies with combined annual revenue of about $12 billion. Major companies include Acuity Brands, Hubbell, and Philips Lighting. Divisions of large integrated companies such as General Electric also manufacture lighting equipment. The industry is concentrated: the largest 50 companies account for about 70 percent of revenue.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand depends primarily on residential, industrial, and commercial construction activity. Large companies have advantages in purchasing power, manufacturing volume, and distribution efficiencies. Small companies compete by offering specialized products and superior customer service in regional markets. Annual revenue per employee is about $200,000.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major product categories are lighting fixtures (about 80 percent of revenue) and lamp bulbs and parts (about 20 percent). Lighting fixtures consist of metal, glass, and plastic products in various decorative styles. Lamp bulbs consist primarily of incandescent, fluorescent, and three types of high intensity discharge (HID) lamps: metal halide, sodium, and mercury vapor.

Residential fixtures may be highly decorative while industrial, commercial, and institutional applications tend to be more basic. Portable fixtures, such as table and floor lamps, are used primarily in residential applications. Incandescent bulbs are the primary choice for residential applications, while longer-lasting, more expensive, fluorescent and HID bulbs dominate industrial, commercial, and institutional applications.

Raw materials for lamp bulbs include glass, tungsten, copper, and inert gases such as argon and nitrogen. Lighting fixture manufacturers use steel, aluminum, copper, brass, and plastics ...