Jonathan S. Reiskin
| Associate News EditorTruck Lite, Grote Introduce LED Products
Firms Set Next Generation Headlamps, Markers
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two manufacturers of lighting products for trucks moved in different directions at the Mid-America Trucking Show here, with Truck Lite rolling out round, white LED headlamps and Grote Industries offering thousands of tiny points of colored light. Both debuted March 18.
Truck Lite has been working with light-emitting diodes since 1992 and LED headlamps since 2007, when it began selling them to the military. But that line used 24-volt current, said Chief Technology Officer Brad Van Riper. The 7-inch lamps unveiled at MATS for the civilian market run on the more commonplace 12-volt source.
Grote Vice President Dominic Grote said his family’s business offered its first LEDs — transistor-based lighting mech-anisms — back at the 1989 MATS. The company’s new marker lights are embedded in flexible epoxy strips thinner than a penny. Available colors are red, amber, blue and green.
Van Riper, as well as John Howells, Truck Lite’s vice president of sales, said the company will market the LED headlamps on their long life, brightness and the intense whiteness of the light. In a side-by-side demonstration with regular halogen bulbs on motor scooters, the halogens shined with a yellowish tint. The company also said U.S. Army veterans who fought in Iraq had sent testimonials praising the 24-volt models.
However, the lamps are not for the frugal — they are priced at $700 a pair or $350 each. Howells said production efficiency usually lowers the cost of electronics over time, but he did not offer a projection as to how much prices might drop or how quickly.
Grote, meanwhile, said his new LightForm line weighs only 2% of comparable, full-size marker lights.
“That’s 98% less impact on the environment,” he said.
The flexible epoxy cases can stick to curves with peel-and-stick tape or bend around 90-degree corners. Grote said the negligible profile of the strips also helps cut wind resistance.
He said the lights are priced competitively with P2 marker lights, but he did not give an exact price.
Each point of light is one ten-thousandth of an inch in diameter, and Grote said the company can manufacture the strips in a variety of widths and configurations.
Truck Lite has been working with light-emitting diodes since 1992 and LED headlamps since 2007, when it began selling them to the military. But that line used 24-volt current, said Chief Technology Officer Brad Van Riper. The 7-inch lamps unveiled at MATS for the civilian market run on the more commonplace 12-volt source.
Grote Vice President Dominic Grote said his family’s business offered its first LEDs — transistor-based lighting mech-anisms — back at the 1989 MATS. The company’s new marker lights are embedded in flexible epoxy strips thinner than a penny. Available colors are red, amber, blue and green.
Van Riper, as well as John Howells, Truck Lite’s vice president of sales, said the company will market the LED headlamps on their long life, brightness and the intense whiteness of the light. In a side-by-side demonstration with regular halogen bulbs on motor scooters, the halogens shined with a yellowish tint. The company also said U.S. Army veterans who fought in Iraq had sent testimonials praising the 24-volt models.
However, the lamps are not for the frugal — they are priced at $700 a pair or $350 each. Howells said production efficiency usually lowers the cost of electronics over time, but he did not offer a projection as to how much prices might drop or how quickly.
Grote, meanwhile, said his new LightForm line weighs only 2% of comparable, full-size marker lights.
“That’s 98% less impact on the environment,” he said.
The flexible epoxy cases can stick to curves with peel-and-stick tape or bend around 90-degree corners. Grote said the negligible profile of the strips also helps cut wind resistance.
He said the lights are priced competitively with P2 marker lights, but he did not give an exact price.
Each point of light is one ten-thousandth of an inch in diameter, and Grote said the company can manufacture the strips in a variety of widths and configurations.
