Written By Doug Dauray-
Independence Day is an appropriate holiday to share why we choose to design, manufacture, and assemble our landscape lighting luminaires here in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA.
To begin, here are some statistics from a 2015 Consumer Reports consumer preference study. 8 out 10 Americans would prefer to purchase products made domestically. On average consumers would be willing to pay a 10% premium on those products. People cite feeling better knowing their money is going right back into our economy and helping create jobs for fellow citizens. That money is also recirculated and ends up being used for other goods and services extending its impact within our country. Other reasons cited include environmental considerations by reducing the carbon footprint of global shipping as well as supporting countries with labor protection laws and fair wages.
While these statistics are compelling, it is not the primary reason we made a commitment to building Made-in-the-USA products. Very simply, the ClaroLux mission has always been to provide the industry’s best performing fixtures. We were installers too, so we understand that professional grade landscape lighting luminaires must not only last a lifetime, they must be made from non-corrosive materials, designed for ease of installation regardless of the terrain, and field serviceable from the sockets to the seals and to the screws. We determined that for us to truly deliver on this fundamental promise, we needed the freedom or perhaps “independence” to monitor all aspects of our design and build process.
At the design level, we are not constrained by our supplier’s limitations and timeline. We rely solely on our team which allows us to innovate continuously throughout the year, react quickly to our customer’s needs, and deliver product to market when it is most needed. If you follow our Innovation by ClaroLux Newsletters, you’ll see we are methodically developing new luminaires and improving existing designs to maintain our position as the thought leader in the landscape lighting industry, and to provide our customers the highest quality most versatile fixtures available.
At the manufacturing level, there is no substitute for controlling the entire process. Our raw materials come to us in the form of domestically sourced sheet, tube, and bar stock. We manufacture everything in-house from fixture bases, visors, knuckles, thumbscrews, poles, and accessories to our strict tolerances to confidently know these parts will work both today and many years into the future.
Our quality assurance process runs through the entire factory as we continually inspect every single part through our multi stage finishing process. During final assembly we continue to trouble shoot to ensure each component works together as intended and is ready for final delivery to our valued customers. This attention to detail is why we proudly offer our lifetime warranty.
While this may seem a complex and time-consuming process (and it is), we think it is worth it and have found many additional benefits beyond our product quality that is a result of making our products here. We have a team of great people whom we know personally that are dedicated to their roles within the organization. We celebrate achievements both professionally and personally with our people and accept responsibility that our success will have a direct impact on their lives and that of their families. In turn we have employees at every level of the organization who understand and appreciate our pursuit of continued excellence and know they are an integral part of that journey. Whenever you see a ClaroLux fixture you know that many hands (and hearts) had a part in creating that piece.
Our decision to choose Independence is motivated by our belief that our team, right here in North Carolina has the desire, talent, and commitment to create a better product. As a group who collectively embraces the core values of quality and innovation, we are excited to continue to serve our customers by providing world-class lighting solutions that are proudly Made-in-the-USA.
