Neil Peterson is CEO of LED Lighting Supply where they sell - you guessed it - LED lighting. But they don’t sell to just anyone. LED Lighting Supply excel’s at commercial, industrial and sports lighting. And the market is booming. Neil prefers to stay in that lane and remain really good at it. Neil has over a decade of lighting experience spanning lighting and pole product strategy, layout design, controls, and a wide range of product applications. As CEO of LED Lighting Supply, Neil leads a tea...
Jul 10, 2023•43 min•Ep. 411
Obtaining government contracts can be a challenging endeavor as the competition is fierce. However, a business partnership that includes a disabled veteran can provide your company with a valuable advantage. By doing so, this fulfills a requirement that government contracts often seek, while also offering a disabled veteran the opportunity to be a business owner. This arrangement creates a win-win situation. Nevertheless, it is important to note that being awarded government contracts still requ...
Jun 26, 2023•50 min•Ep. 410
You run a city. You need to know where all your street lights are. You want to know where the car, bike and pedestrian collisions areas are, what time of night they happen. And you need it tomorrow. Call Nick and Evari GIS will take that data and improve your safety record, reduce light pollution and enhance your energy savings. Nick Mesler, PE is the Director of Operations with Evari GIS Consulting, a data technology company specializing in street lighting, ADA infrastructure, and active transp...
Jun 19, 2023•43 min•Ep. 409
Brad does not work for a designer or manufacturer, so he considers himself “off the leash,” so buckle up: He thinks we’re in a race to the bottom in cost and quality. With the move to manufacturing in China, all the R & D money is gone. Sustainability is nearly non-existent. The industry is in a dark place. But despair not! Brad has some ideas to get us back on track. Brad Koerner has held a 20-year career in architectural lighting design and innovation in lighting technologies. He was at Ph...
Jun 14, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 408
David, a lawyer, might know more about gallium nitride and LED light bulbs than you do. He survived - and thrived - through the LED “patent wars” of the early 2000’s. David tells Michael and Greg about patent suits involving the Nobel Prize Winner Shuji Nakamura, Cree Inc., and Nichia Corporation. Listen to this episode to find out who won. If you’re involved in a patent dispute, you DO NOT want David on the other side. Similarly, if you anticipate getting involved with one, feel free to reach o...
May 30, 2023•50 min•Ep. 407
ALERT! ALERT! If you’re a middle class salaried or hourly wage earner, you’re going to keep earning less and less when you factor in cost of living inflation. But despair not! Michael and Greg have the answers. Maybe. You’ll have to listen to find out.
May 22, 2023•29 min•Ep. 406
After studying Renaissance Design in Italy, Architecture in Buffalo, and Communication Design in New York, Adam landed a job in… wait for it… cancer research! Eventually, via a series of career changes, he ended up at UL and finally, on the Get A Grip On Lighting Podcast. Adam schools us on the latest research in circadian lighting. Are Michael and Greg finally convinced about the merits of circadian lighting? You’ll have to check out this episode to find out. As UL Subject Matter Expert in Circ...
May 08, 2023•56 min•Ep. 405
With the kinds of customers Tim serves, good lighting can be a matter of life and death. Mines, factories, steel mills - all require lighting that isn’t going to melt, start a fire or blow up! Tim and his company, Dialight, keep sustainability at the forefront of their mission while helping customers achieve their environmental and safety goals. Tim does have one frequent customer complaint though: people can’t believe how dirty their facilities are once they’re properly lit! Tim Cillessen is Di...
May 01, 2023•37 min•Ep. 404
“Leave the earth better than how we found it.” That’s Melissa’s definition of sustainable. Of course she agrees that it is more complicated than that when it comes to the lighting industry. Luckily Brian Huff the chairman of NAILD's Distributor Committee for Sustainable Lighting joins us to add some flavor. Listen to this episode as we solve all the problems. Almost. Melissa divides her time between architectural lighting design and sustainable manufacturing consulting. As the leader of Sladen F...
Apr 24, 2023•32 min•Ep. 403
Michael has noticed, over the years, that vendor members who have quit NAILD, have experienced “the kiss of death.” In this short-form Get A Grip, Michael and Greg riff on private equity take-overs, change of ownership, ROI, education, and giving back. If you want to have a better chance at success and staying in business, join NAILD!
Apr 17, 2023•12 min•Ep. 402
You must check out some videos of Michal’s LED Tron Dance Suits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVt2OwMKiM8 . You’ll be mesmerized. Michal explains to Michael and Greg how his company continues to address the challenges of controlling the lights, maintenance of the LED diodes and trying to keep the dancers from beating up the suits! As Michael points out, if Michal and his company can figure out controls for dancing suits, why can’t our industry get it together? Michal Pokluda has a background ...
Apr 04, 2023•34 min•Ep. 401
If you don’t know Sid Phillips, you should. His experience and longevity in the business makes him a go-to for information and advice. Lucky for us, he gives some here on the Get A Grip On Lighting podcast. As Sid likes to say, he “kick’s the cans” and tries to fix what’s wrong. So listen up manufacturers call Sid and he’ll look at your latest product. Mostly, you’ll want to listen to this one to hear Sid tell Michael he’s wrong! Sid Phillips started Professional Lighting in 1985 with his wife B...
Mar 27, 2023•45 min•Ep. 400
“The human centric workplace.” That subject will always spark debate, especially the lighting part of it. Simone explained to Michael and Greg how she goes about it in her profession. She avoids the fluff and the trendiness of the subject and… Just. Makes. Sense. If she wasn’t across the pond in England, we’d have her over to shake up our workplaces. You could say Simone is a workplace thought-leader who’s passionate about creating human-centric workplaces, but at its most basic, what she does i...
Mar 20, 2023•57 min•Ep. 399
In this special edition of Get A Grip On Lighting, super-fan Peter Ma drops in the studio to chat with Michael. Peter, a long time listener, came by to meet Michael and to see the studio. But Peter is in the business, so he and Michael talk about how his parents went from manufacturing flash drives to manufacturing LED’s in Taiwan, starting Vyvyd Lighting in Toronto, and how he learned lighting design from Nelca Roco on Youtube. You can even learn a couple things about Taiwan's history. Vyvyd Li...
Mar 15, 2023•26 min•Ep. 398
Who knew that chemists would be working on light bulbs. Well, Jakoah and Shruti explain their research into different phosphors to find the most efficient ways to create colors - other than blue. Fifteen years in the business and we learned something new about LED’s: They don’t fade, the phosphor decomposes. Prof. Jakoah Brgoch is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and a Principal Investigator in the Texas Center of Superconductivity. Shruti Hariyani completed her Bachelor’s o...
Mar 13, 2023•50 min•Ep. 397
Light is a spectrum and our eyes see a thin slice of it. But that doesn’t mean the light outside of our visual perception doesn’t affect us. Dr. Krames and Dr. Berends talk with Michael and Greg about the research they have conducted and the conclusion they have reached on the effects of near-infrared light on human health. To put it bluntly, it’s good stuff, when used in the right dosages. You’re probably going to “see” this technology added to computer screens, webcams, cell phones, TV’s… You’...
Mar 06, 2023•39 min•Ep. 396
Come celebrate 300 with us! Okay, it didn’t quite fall on the actual 300th episode, but it doesn’t take away from the achievement. This group of misfits got together with Michael and Greg to talk about how the Get A Grip On Lighting Podcast got started. But they also talk about sustainability and mercury and drivers and… well, it seems there’ll be enough to talk about to make at least another 300 episodes. You already know all these guys - Josh Brown, EVP of Distributor Sales & Marketing at ...
Feb 27, 2023•55 min•Ep. 395
Nothing can beat real sunlight for an indoor environment. But sometimes, getting daylight into an interior space is difficult or impossible. Benjamin says he’s got the next best thing. Michael and Greg do their best to be skeptical, but Benjamin might have won them over with LIGHTGLASS Simulated Windows & Skylights. Let Get A Grip On Lighting shed some light on the subject for you. Benjamin is a Co-founder of LIGHTGLASS and lightly, a student of biophilic design, and a researcher of light’s ...
Feb 20, 2023•39 min•Ep. 394
Randy Reid is back and he’s here to clear up some confusion with his publication, The Edison Report. Accusations were leveled, mistakes were made and Randy gives his side of the story. Randy Reid is the editor of designing lighting (dl) magazine . He also publishes and edits the EdisonReport. Reid is president of LumEfficient, a company focused on industrial and hazardous lighting, and he also serves as the Executive Director of the National Lighting Bureau (NLB). Reid is a past president of the...
Feb 14, 2023•23 min•Ep. 393
Come on… you know you love it when Michael gets worked up! In this new short-form Get A Grip On Lighting podcast episode - he beefs to Greg about misguided incentive programs, purple lights, the state of rebate programs, and the leaderless lighting industry… heads need to come out of the sand and get their sh*t together.
Feb 13, 2023•18 min•Ep. 392
Winner of the L-Prize, Don Peifer lets us in on some of his designs and the principles that guide him in his design concepts. He’s adamant that some fixtures need to be made out of paper. We’re sure he’ll do it and probably win another L-Prize in the process. Don Peifer is an entrepreneur, lighting product designer, and sustainability expert. He received his Masters of Architectural Sciences in Lighting from the Lighting Research Center at RPI. Peifer is the founder of Earthlighting and Smash th...
Feb 07, 2023•45 min•Ep. 391
Is skipping a tradeshow treason? Probably not, but large presences backing out of a LightFair is a capitulation to foreign players in the industry. The industry as a whole needs to admit that there’s more to learn every year by going to the biggest show, and the manufacturers and vendors need to be visible there.
Jan 26, 2023•11 min•Ep. 390
You’ll wish you thought of this first. Jean-Côme, discusses with Michael and Greg, how Guardtex has developed Kanvaslight technology. Simply put, they weave fibre optics into fabric to create textiles that light up. They can even make the entire floor of your pool into a light source. This one is fun! Jean-Côme Mazière is a Mechanical Industrial Engineer with a diverse background in various fields and locations. Throughout his career, he has had the opportunity to study and work in Europe, North...
Jan 16, 2023•38 min•Ep. 389
Camilla has an interesting way of looking at lighting design. Rather than a lighting designer, she calls herself a “darkness designer.” Camilla explains to Michael and John her philosophy on darkness, and how it is revealed with the use of light. Camilla leaves you with a little exercise on how to embrace darkness. Camilla has a bachelor’s degree in Design Culture and a master’s degree in Lighting Design from Aalborg University in Denmark. She started working as a team manager in a museum in Cop...
Jan 11, 2023•56 min•Ep. 388
Al’s back! He’s got 11 predictions for 2023. First Michael and Greg review Al’s 2022 predictions, from such experts as Christopher Knowlton, Kraig Kasler, Bernadette Boudreau, and Tom Benton to name a few. Give this podcast a listen and see if you agree. Al Uszynski is an experienced executive with over 25 years of experience in the lighting industry. He is Principal of inside.lighting, an online media company that provides valuable insights and information to lighting industry professionals....
Jan 03, 2023•50 min•Ep. 387
In this special year-end episode, Michael and John discuss issues that have come up over the past year in the Darkness Restoration and Preservation movement. Have things improved? Are we getting there? 2023 is upon us, let’s get it done!
Dec 28, 2022•44 min•Ep. 386
He’s back! Tony gives us an update on his quantum technology. It’ll blow your mind if you can even understand it. The “Quantum Demon” is the quantum computers that nefarious entities are working on. Those will be able to get into any system in a matter of seconds - except ones that are using Tony’s quantum LiFi. You’re going to have to get on board eventually, so get a head start by listening to this podcast. Tony Lawrence is an entrepreneur, technologist, and prophet of quantum possibilities th...
Dec 27, 2022•37 min•Ep. 385
Matthew talks with Webster and Ron about “getting grandma to not click on bad things,” how to keep networks secure, and how to avoid a “spear-phishing” attack (as opposed to a just plain “phishing”). Matthew has been in the cybersecurity world for 24 years and he and Morphisec know how to make it EXTREMELY difficult to mount a successful cyber attack. Matthew encompasses a rare combination of qualifications in information security, networking, security research, forensics and incident management...
Dec 22, 2022•38 min•Ep. 384
This one’s a little different. Brooke is a recruiter for the electrical and lighting industry. Brooke lets us in on some of the trends like the growing demand for lighting designers (there’s your career path, kids!) and the traits and work history that she looks for in a candidate, which might surprise you. Brooke Ziolo is the President of Egret Consulting, an executive search firm exclusive in the electrical industry for the last 23 years. Brooke has been recruiting for 14 years. She focuses so...
Dec 19, 2022•41 min•Ep. 383
We’ve had some brainiacs on this podcast before, but the products Pathway Connectivity has engineered around switching, PoE and networking… well, suffice to say, you’ve probably used something they have or his team has built. Robert discusses, with Webster and Ron, how switches, designed for entertainment, are making their way into architectural lighting and “architainment.” Robert Bell a Consulting Director for Product Market at Acuity Brands and oversees the development of the entire Pathway C...
Dec 15, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 382
