16 November 2011

Cree’s Ruud Lighting breaks ground on expansion

LED chip, lamp and lighting fixture maker Cree Inc of Durham, NC, USA says that its Ruud Lighting subsidiary in Racine, WI, has held a groundbreaking ceremony to highlight a 208,000-square-foot expansion to its manufacturing facility. The $24.5m investment will focus on manufacturing and assembly of LED lighting and is expected to create 469 new full-time jobs over the next four years.

“Cree’s recent acquisition [in August] of Ruud Lighting and its BetaLED products brought together two leading LED lighting companies under one roof,” says Cree’s chairman & CEO Chuck Swoboda. “Last month this facility shipped its 500,000th LED luminaire — further evidence of the market demand for the latest LED technology and a need to expand our facilities,” he adds.

The expansion will extend component and product storage capacity and house several new manufacturing lines for new and existing Cree LED lighting products. The investment will also include equipment needed to expand manufacturing operations. Most of the full-time jobs will be assembly positions, with other opportunities to follow growing demand for LED lighting products. “It’s a long-term investment in the people of Racine County and the community’s manufacturing base,” comments Ruud Lighting’s president Christopher Ruud.

To help offset the $24.5m investment, Ruud Lighting will receive funding and incentives related to local job creation from sources including the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), Racine County, Racine County Economic Development Corporation (RCEDC), and the Village of Sturtevant, totaling over $8m.

See related items:

Cree acquires Ruud Lighting

Tags: Cree Ruud Lighting LEDs

Visit: www.CreeLEDLighting.com