When the amount of work in the U.S. began to contract a few years ago with the onset of the recession, Illuminating Concepts reached overseas to fill the gap.
The Farmington Hills-based company that specializes in architectural lighting has buffeted its bottom line with work in the hospitality and gaming industries abroad in recent years.
"The casino industry in particular has expanded into southern Europe and Asia," says Ron Harwood, CEO of
Illuminating Concepts. "That has added volume and a lot of creative work."
It has also allowed
Illuminating Concepts to continue to grow its staff. The 30-year-old company now employs 60 people and a handful of interns after it hired 10 people over the last year. Those hire were in people in multi-media, software and electronic specialties.
Illuminating Concepts also sees significant promise in its
Intellistreets product. Intellistreets gives municipalities wireless control of its streetlights and signage, which should allow it control digital signage, the level of street lighting and help direct traffic through streetlights in emergencies. Harwood points out it would have been useful during Hurricane Sandy but could be utilized in the next U.S. disaster.
"It (Intellistreets) will be deployed in at least five of the 10 major cities in the U.S.," Harwood says.
Source: Ron Harwood, CEO of Illuminating Concepts
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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