Lighting Industry

ARCHITECT Magazine recently published an article describing volunteering opportunities in the time of COVID.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to suppress face-to-face communications, manufacturers, service firms, and conferences are increasing their online presence and communication. Today, as an example, I received a nice, simple email from Calgary, AB-based lighting manufacturer Nemalux, which at a glance offers access to all forms of the company’s online presence, plus a link to schedule a webinar meeting at various lengths.

Today, Mark Lien at the IES held an excellent webinar about transformation in the lighting industry and of course covered the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. He asked me and several others to contribute our thoughts on long-term impacts of the pandemic on our industry. Here are my thoughts.

Ecosense recently announced it has acquired assets from Soraa. Under the terms of the deal, Ecosense acquires the Soraa name, intellectual property and lamps, including the company’s signature VIVID, BRILLIANT HL and HEALTHY product lines. This move is the first foray into the professional lamp category for Ecosense.

Starting early in the year, WAC Lighting ordered 500,000 Level-3 Surgical Masks with the intent of donating them to COVID-19 healthcare relief efforts abroad. As conditions dramatically worsened in the U.S., WAC is now shipping these 500,000 surgical masks to U.S. hospitals, primarily in the New York metropolitan area, where healthcare workers are being overrun by caseloads and are in desperate need of supplies.

The Global Lighting Association (GLA) recently issued a press releases urging authorities to ensure sustained access to lighting products during these challenging times by categorizing lighting as an essential product and ensuring lighting products can continue to be manufactured, supplied and sold.

The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) has posted a special Forces of Change virtual roundtable to provide a report on the impact of COVID-19 on lighting professionals, during these difficult times, from the vantage point of some prominent individuals representing various roles within our industry.

COVID-19 continues to make an impact on the lighting industry as OSRAM announces it will miss its 2020 target and Signify announces price increases for OEM customers.

The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have profound effects on the lighting industry and the construction industry overall, from macroeconomic effects to potential impacts on the supply chain. Here’s a round up of stories speculating on the fallout.