As Global 100 companies continue to move manufacturing, management functions and jobs overseas, CeeLite Technologies, LLC feels that despite lower foreign labor costs, the reputed benefits of manufacturing in Asia didn’t stack up in their highly technical marketplace.
Once made in Taiwan, the highly acclaimed Light Emitting Capacitor (LEC) technology manufactured by CeeLite Technologies is now being produced in a plant in Colmar, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia.
“Some of the unique attributes of our CeeLite® LEC panels are uniform surface light unlike any other lighting technology along with an ultra-slim profile of less than one millimeter. To achieve uniformity, we must have a very tight handle on quality control and consistency in our manufacturing process. We found it both difficult and ultimately more expensive to safeguard that quality overseas,” said Dr. Roger Nowell, CEO of CeeLite Technologies. “Reliable and timely delivery of product was often an issue as well, now we can control the entire process completely which results in a better product with short lead times and ultimately increased customer satisfaction.”
The move brings jobs to the Colmar facility, including management, which is headquartered there, but potential spikes in production loom on the horizon because of the product’s unique lighting capabilities, energy efficiency and green qualities. The number of jobs should swell to over 100 fairly quickly to meet increasing product demand in a variety of indoor and outdoor lighting and display sectors.
CeeLite Technologies received a commitment for $1.6 million from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to assist in the transfer of manufacturing assets from Taiwan to the Colmar facility, including $150,000 from the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority (BFTDA).
“The state assistance we received made it possible to open our new facility in Colmar while providing the expansion space we need to achieve our growth goals in the years to come,” Nowell said.
CeeLite LEC technology has won numerous awards in recent years for technology, lighting and energy savings, including one of Time Magazine’s “Inventions of the Year” in late 2006.
