LED could bring expansion to C-Vision

AMHERST - If all goes according to plan, one of Amherst's most successful firms could be in expansion mode next year.
Speaking to members of the Amherst Rotary Club recently, C-Vision president Chuck Cartmill said his company's LED roadway lighting project is doing very well and that the Amherst plant should begin seeing some of its benefits next year.
"I think it will be mid-year next year that we will start seeing big volumes," Cartmill said after speaking to Rotarians about LED Roadway Lighting Ltd., the sister company of C-Vision which is developing the green technology. "We started off with five and six, then 40 and 50. Now we're starting to see requests for 100 and 500. It's starting to pick up."
He expects orders will begin to flow once more pilot projects are put into place and people begin having increased confidence in the new technology.
Cartmill said he can see signs that more orders will start coming, especially from Europe where there seems to be more of a commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
"We're piloting all over the world and getting great reception, especially from Britain and Europe where they have carbon reduction commitments. They have a real incentive to find a solution quickly," Cartmill said. "We are getting commitments for pilot orders pretty much everywhere we go."
Just like Nova Scotia has been a leader in waste reduction, Cartmill believes there's any reason why it can't be a leader in LED technology.
"We've got funding available, a great product and from an economic standpoint it makes perfect sense for Nova Scotia to get behind this," he said, pointing out the biggest challenge is getting some of the big users to commit to the technology.
"The energy savings are there and the environmental benefits are outstanding."
He hopes to be able to work with the province, Nova Scotia Power and the federal government to further develop and implement LED technology.
Cartmill's company started development of the LED project several years ago and was assisted by a $1-million industrial expansion loan through the province earlier this year.
The lights, powered by light-emitting diodes, are environmentally friendly and popular because they are about 50 per cent more energy efficient than traditional high-pressure sodium lights used by most municipalities.
Cartmill demonstrated the product's abilities during the meeting showing Rotarians various pilot projects already in place in various Nova Scotia communities, including in front of C-Vision in the industrial park. Amherst is spending $9,000 through a pilot project to place 85 of the LED streetlights in the industrial park.

dcole@amherstdaily.com