Optronics Unveils Anti-Theft Lighting System, LED SuperLamp Technology
Concerns over vehicle lighting theft have been mounting because of the costs associated with lamp replacement, repairs, vehicle downtime and related safety violations, the company said.
It presented the new lighting system here on Feb. 16 during American Trucking Associations' Technology & Maintenance Council annual meeting.
Intermodal equipment providers in particular have experienced the problems, according to Optronics.
The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based company said that four intermodal equipment provider fleets reported spending $13.5 million, collectively, in 2013 to replace missing, broken or burned-out lighting on vehicle chassis. Stop-tail-turn and marker lamps cost an average of $13 each, including labor and parts, the company said.
“It’s clear that vanishing lights is a big problem for intermodal carriers, and this issue has plagued fleets and owner-operators within the shipping industry for years,” said Brett Johnson, president and CEO of Optronics International. “We set out to solve the problem by designing an LED-based anti-theft lighting system that’s both easy to use and price competitive.”
The LampLock anti-theft system replaces the lights by precisely fitting new lamps into the holes left by the missing lamps, the company said. The system is made up of a specially designed single-diode LED lamp, an integrated anti-theft ring and a foam rubber gasket. The lamps have to be destroyed in order to remove them.
The lamps are expected to begin shipping in late March.
Optronics also said that it has completed development and testing of its LED SuperLamp Technology, designed to resist environmental factors.
“With the introduction of our LED SuperLamp technology, we’ve created a new category of super-tough, super-long-lasting vehicle lamps,” Johnson said.
Also a stop-tail-turn lamp, it was designed to withstand assaults on its internal electrical components, while a specially formulated coating and bonding system protects its exterior lens and housing.
The SuperLamp has also been demonstrated to be highly resilient in tests involving UV exposure, flammability, vibration, temperature cycling, accelerated aging, high-velocity water spray, free-fall drops, humidity, salt fog corrosion, dust, thermal shock and gravel bombardment, according to Optronics.
“Our new LED SuperLamp is designed to take on the worst of what the commercial vehicle environment has to throw at it,” Johnson said. “OEMs and fleets alike are going to benefit from reduced maintenance and warranty issues.”
A final release date is pending, the company said.
