Hella goes non-automotive with LED street lights

Date Announced: 22 Jun 2009 -- Automotive supplier enters the LED street-lighting market; NRW Environment Minister Uhlenberg puts the first prototypes into service.Lippstadt, Germany -- With the motto "Hella goes Non Automotive", the automotive supplier Hella has put into service a test installation of its newly developed LED street lighting "Eco StreetLine" at the company headquarters in Lippstadt. Together with NRW Environment Minister Eckhard Uhlenberg, and the Mayor of the Stadt Lippstadt, Christof Sommer, Dr. Jürgen Behrend, Chairman and President of Hella, switched on the first prototypes on the works premises. [Photo caption: Bringing into service of the first prototypes of the new Hella LED Street lighting "Eco StreetLine" by Eckhard Uhlenberg (m.), Environment Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Christof Sommer (r.), Mayor of the Stadt Lippstadt, and Dr. Jürgen Behrend (l.), Chairman and President of Hella. May 2009.]"For us, the project is a new advance into the so-named non-automotive sector," explains Behrend, "we are thus starting a new chapter in the long-term strategy of the company." On the basis of the product, technology and process know-how gained in its core business, Hella's strategic thrust is to acquire new customer target groups outside the automotive industry and thereby widen the company's business base. "Not least against the backdrop of the currently very difficult situation in the automobile and supply industry, it can be seen that this path is both correct and forward-looking," Behrend states.The first tangible result of the Hella Non-Automotive Strategy is the modular, innovative street-lighting concept "Eco StreetLine", which is based on modern LED technology and which was presented in Lippstadt. The commitment of Hella in the field of LED street lighting lies in particular in the high level of competence of the company in the field of LED headlamp development - in 2008, Hella started series production of the world's first full-LED headlamp - and is founded on the highly developed industrialization know-how of the automotive supplier. "We therefore have an excellent basis for playing a key role in the growing market for LED street lighting," Behrend notes.In comparison with conventional types of street lighting, Hella's newly developed LED street lighting is characterized by numerous advantages. For example, energy consumption can be decreased by up to 50% just through the use of the LED technology. This is accompanied by a clear reduction in CO₂ emissions. Moreover, with a service life of approximately 12 years, the LED modules in the "Eco StreetLine" are designed in such a way that they hardly ever need to be serviced or replaced, therefore allowing operating costs to be cut significantly. Further key plus-points of the "Eco StreetLine", which should achieve series-production maturity by the end of the year, are targeted illumination, no light smog, a timeless design and easy conversion."The street-lighting project is a good way of showing how able, creative and flexible the family company Hella is," Behrend says, "in conjunction with the marked entrepreneurship of our employees, we will build on this potential consistently, in order to open up further business fields for Hella outside the automotive core business in a lasting manner."Hella KGaA Hueck & Co., Lippstadt: The automotive supplier develops and manufactures components and systems for lighting technology and electronics for the automotive industry. In addition, joint-venture companies produce complete vehicle modules, air conditioning systems and vehicle electric systems. Hella has one of the world's largest aftermarket organizations for automotive parts and accessories, with its own sales companies and partners in more than 100 countries. Sales of the Hella Group are 3.9 billion euros. Hella is one of the top 50 automotive suppliers in the world and one of the 100 largest German industrial companies. More than 25,000 people work in 70 plants, production subsidiaries and joint ventures in 18 countries. More than 3,500 engineers and technicians work in research and development throughout the Group. Customers include all leading automakers and system manufacturers, as well as the automotive aftermarket.

Contact
Hella KGaA Hueck & Co. Dr. Markus Richter, Company Spokesperson Lippstadt, Germany Phone: +49 (0)2941 38-7545 Fax: +49 (0)2941 38-477545

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