I’m not normally one to turn down a visit to warmer European climes, and my trip south to Italy last month was no exception. With its international reputation standing well before it, CREE Lighting has been at the forefront of LED lighting, seemingly since time began, with its products adorning over 60 countries worldwide.
The simple transition from its primary manufacturing sector, street lighting, into the retail fuel sectors was a logical development for CREE Lighting. Throughout the USA and Europe during the last 40 years, CREE Lighting has brought a number of key forecourt lighting products to market, like the 304 and Dot.fuel series under canopy lighting units, used on major MOC sites like those of Shell, Q8, Circle K and Agip along the way.
Outdoor lighting and indoor lighting on service stations is now a major area of business for CREE Lighting, which I quickly discovered during my tour of its shiny and extremely smart manufacturing facilities in Florence.
Strangely, the first thing I noticed from above the factory floor was the absence of robots, which in my experience these days, seem make up a significant part of the workforce in most of the factories I visit. Nick Farraway, CEO of CREE Lighting Europe told me, “Most of the luminaires we manufacture here in Florence are modular designs, allowing customers to choose from thousands of configurations. Assembling modular luminaires is a complex business and that’s why we assemble our fixtures by hand. Our long-term employees train newcomers so that the skills are passed on.”
Watching over some of the 30 or so staff on the assembly lines, putting together the intricate components needed for a luminaire, it’s easy to see why ‘handmade’ in this case may be the sensible and most viable option, although looking after jobs might also be another key benefit.
In all, the factory has 12 modular product families on nine assembly lines, where more than 100,000 fixtures are built for worldwide distribution.
Like many factories I have seen over the years, this one relies on a ‘Lean’ assembly process, meaning that parts are only supplied to points in the factory, as and when they are needed. This reduces the space required for storage and involves the component suppliers being involved in every step of the process.
Manufacturing Manager, Lorenzo Sparnocchia told me “As the technology develops, our aim is to provide the best illumination in the most sustainable way. All our lighting ranges minimise the use of raw materials and when a luminaire is no longer needed, its components are reused or recycled.
Also with our modular products, through their design, they can be updated in an extremely effective and cost-effective manner”.
Nick Farraway talked to me from his perspective about the legacy and ethos of CREE Lighting. He commented “Cree Lighting is internationally recognized as being the LED lighting pioneering company that revolutionized the lighting market and today the brand still stands for innovation, performance, and quality. The company has been present in Italy since 1988 and we’ve always had a singular mission. To create lighting in the best way possible. Our specific aim is to transform innovation into unique solutions in respect of optics, colour quality, controls and product quality, whilst ensuring the highest levels of performance and reliability”.
Well from an observer’s point of view, I think everyone would agree with me that this seems to say it all, but for those who may wish to learn a bit more about CREE Lighting and its work in the retail fuel marketplace, you can address your interest directly to Nick, who will form part of the team on duty at the UNITI expo ‘24 exhibition in Stuttgart from May 14th – 16th, where Cree Lighting Europe will present its dedicated product family, the Dot.fuel series.
The Dot.fuel series has a modular design, facilitating retrofitting of LED solutions into existing applications, with features such as highly efficient LEDs, dedicated lens optics, auto-dimming capabilities, and smart lighting modules, including Zhaga sockets and sensors. The recently introduced Dot.fuel gen2 delivers energy savings whilst offering up to 12,000 lumens per LED module.
Alberto Gerli, Sales Director at Cree Lighting Europe, told me "We are looking forward to showcasing our products in Stuttgart, and with their lightweight design, ease of installation, and remarkable efficacy, we think there will be a tremendous amount of interest from major international fuel retailers and installers, for both new and existing service stations."
My tour was a truly worthwhile experience, seeing an effective, up to date, assembly facility, whilst meeting many nice people long the way. The walk around Florence was also a huge bonus. Magnifico!
More details at Cree Lighting (creelighting-europe.com)
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