Bivar and Marl International poised to address growing momentum of LEDs

Date Announced: 21 Feb 2013 Irvine, CA - As the market for LED indication and LED lighting products continues to grow at a staggering rate, Bivar and Marl International have seized the opportunity to form a global strategic alliance. The newly formed alliance brings new opportunities for Bivar and Marl to expand their presence and make products and solutions readily available to their worldwide network of distributors. In addition, the relationship makes possible the ability to create new technology together to better service niche markets. With a long standing history and solid reputation in the LED industry, Bivar brings 45 years of LED innovation to the partnership. Marl, whose longevity in the industry is a close match to Bivar's at more than 40 years of experience, shares an uncanny likeness to Bivar when it comes to customer commitment, technology innovation and a passionate workforce.The synergy and likeness between the two companies is too strong to ignore. And, each company has a set of core strengths that will be leveraged for the benefit of its customers. For example, Bivar brings to the table a strong network of global distributors and a mature volume manufacturing model, while Marl has excellent local prototyping, local support and strong project management. Both companies share a reputation for high quality products but each tackles LED lighting for different market segments. The end result is a unified presence that brings the best of both worlds together.According to Marl's recent announcement dated January 28, 2013, the CEOs of the two companies spent two years looking at how they can "most effectively combine their strengths to the benefit of both sets of existing and potential customers. Both companies fully recognize the importance of becoming a global player, and the agreement is the first phase of an exciting joint strategic plan.""We put a great deal of emphasis on the benefits to our customers and partners when formalizing this partnership," said Michael Finn, Bivar vice president of sales and marketing. "We share core principles and values and a common vision for where we see the LED market headed. The possibilities for our technology are endless and now we have more opportunity than ever to address a global marketplace together."However, the collaboration goes beyond increased field presence. In fact, the Bivar and Marl partnership includes talent and resource sharing. The two companies have a multi-level team engagement that includes sharing of key engineering, design and procurement executive level staff. The goal for this cross-discipline training is to ensure that each company can immerse themselves in the others technology, products and solutions to better service their growing customer base."This is not your standard technology partnership," added Finn. "We are very selective about the company that we keep and this alliance is a first of its kind for Bivar. The 'Old World' of LED design and manufacturing is getting smaller. We have a vision for global collaboration and we see a future where cross-continent teamwork and design is the norm."From a products standpoint, Bivar and Marl now have an expanded offering that includes their own products as well as products and solutions from the other company. Moving forward, the two will jointly develop and market new products and solutions and have already set in place a research and development strategy that addresses the needs of the worldwide customer base."We're both respected, long-term pioneers in the LED industry," said Paul McDermott-Roe, Marl sales director. "On our own, we certainly would have continued to provide high-quality, innovative LED solutions for our customers in the UK and North America. However, together we're stronger, better able to stage product around the world and our customers will reap the benefit."To learn more about Bivar, please visit www.bivar.com. For more information about Marl International, please visit www.leds.co.uk.About BivarBivar is a leading specialty provider of LED indication products and solutions with a long-standing history of more than 45 years of innovation in the optoelectronics industry. With a global base of customers in 35 countries, Bivar's products are designed to meet the increased demand for point-to-point indication and address a growing range of industrial markets and applications. Bivar's focus is on moving and positioning light. An employee-owned company, Bivar's corporate headquarters are located in Southern Calif., with manufacturing in Calif., China and Taiwan.Bivar's Asia Pacific production and logistics centers offer scalable capacity, execution, control and movement of product around the world. Bivar is widely supported by a highly-qualified network of authorized representatives and distributors. For more information, please visit www.bivar.com.About Marl International:Marl International has specialised in the design and manufacture of visible LED indication and illumination components and systems for nearly 40 years. As UK distributor for Citizen, Lighting Science, Bivar and a hub of a pro-actively managed international supply chains, Marl has unique access to some of the best Solid State Lighting and Electronics technology in the world. It integrates these technologies into energy efficient lighting and indication solutions. Marl International has world class design and manufacturing facilities, staffed by over 100 highly trained and experienced specialists operating from a single site on a dedicated technology park in Ulverston, England. As a unified team, they offer agility, speed, flexibility, and willingness to respond to both needs and expectations as projects evolve and mature through the entire product life cycle. Marl partners with leaders in Defence, Aerospace, Entertainment, Transportation, and Lighting industries in the UK, Europe, North America, and Asia.

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