Current going strong after merger
Last year’s merger announcement that GE Current, a Daintree Company was joining forces with Hubbell Lighting started several months of integration activities.
Current, headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, has completed Phase 1 of the process. Footprint consolidation, dedicated go-to-market channels, and merged digital infrastructure had to be coordinated. This took committed engagement from a combined workforce. Both companies have detached from a conglomerate environment and are now a focused commercial and industrial lighting and controls company. Many felt that Hubbell’s C&I lighting business and GE Current were joined as if they belonged together. The speed at which the company met its early post-merger goals would seem to indicate that being the case.
Taking the helm
Just recently, Current announced that Steve Harris has been appointed as the new CEO of the company, which became effective May 30, 2023.
For the last ten years, Harris was President and CEO—and then Executive Chairman—at Shape Technologies Group in the Greater Seattle area. He led the company into a wide array of emerging and expanding markets, connecting customers to future-forward manufacturing processes. Today Shape operates with record revenue and earnings. Prior to that, he spent 20 years in several world-class industrial leadership roles.
Harris said that he couldn’t be more excited to join the company and is thrilled to be a part of it. “Current has an unmatched legacy of product innovation. But more importantly, their ongoing commitment to reshaping the lighting and controls industry provides a unique opportunity to give customers more of what they want,” Harris said.
Current Now
Today, Current is a billion-dollar lighting company that is third in the market with room to grow and serves over 5,000 customers worldwide. Leveraging this market position across multiple agent networks and 35 combined & respected brands allows access to many categories of customers and an increasing number of applications.
“There is no skyline in North America that would be the same without Current’s lighting applications – from commercial office space, new construction, architectural, and healthcare to manufacturing, warehouse, industrial and retail space,” Current Chief Commercial Officer Chip Taylor said. “Our mission is simple…to meet customers varied needs with smart, sustainable lighting solutions that create safer, efficient, and inspiring environments.”
Current products dramatically improve lighting quality, reduce energy demand to support cleaner air, and have become synonymous with reimagined physical spaces. In this new era of lighting controls and software integrations, Current provides strong technical expertise and a long history of bringing innovations to the marketplace.
The first year of the merger was challenging for many reasons, but the Current team overcame the obstacles by accomplishing several major merger tasks, including ERP consolidation, manufacturing upgrades and Distribution Center improvements.
Priorities for the company include improving service performance and making that performance a competitive advantage. Current has been streamlining operations by strategically consolidating manufacturing plants where it makes sense and realigning distribution centers.
To Market
While Current is the merged company, the product portfolios are separated into HLI Brands and GLI Brands to help sort out any confusion in the established marketing channels. HLI Brands describes the brands that were formerly part of Hubbell Lighting, Inc. GLI Brands describes the brands that were formerly part of GE Current, a Daintree Company. These two portfolios include 35 industry-known brands that offer LED Lighting, Controls, Sensors and IoT Solutions, Energy Management Systems, Disinfection Solutions and Horticulture Lighting.
"Our new enterprise brand represents the most expansive, versatile portfolio of lighting and controls products available," Taylor said. "We are a house of brands for lighting professionals who want to accomplish more."
In order to prevent confusion in a marketplace already familiar with both lines of products, a new website currentlighting.com/discover will guide users to specific product brands as well as HLI & GLI Branded websites. Distributors will have access to a new upgraded distributor portal “Connect” that represents all product brands.
Latest Developments
Current has already shown and will continue to show off its innovation. The company has launched more than 50 new products since the merger. Most notably with NX Lighting Controls, formerly Hubbell Control Solutions, expanding its portfolio to include new innovative products in the integrated lighting controls sector. It’s not stopping there. Current is on track to launch several dozen new products or product updates in 2023.
Not just new products, but new brands such as LifeShield were launched last year to supply complex environment lighting solutions for behavioral, clean room, medical and vandal-resistant applications. New brands have also been born from both former Hubbell brands and from the newly merged company, like EXO, formerly Hubbell Outdoor.
Branding
With the new name of the company comes a new brand identity and logo.
"Our new logo, with a subtle nod to the shape of an LED chip, speaks to our 140 plus years of delivering innovation. The nesting circles and squares evoke the balance and synergy of artistry and technology embodied in lighting and controls and symbolizes the company's ability to innovate and scale quickly," Taylor said. "Perhaps most importantly, it suggests illumination, moving out from a central source representing the focus of all we do: our customer."
The team aimed at providing a user experience that will be continuously improving. “Websites aren’t static portals to our products and services. We’ll be reviewing the site on a consistent basis and will be making enhancements in the weeks, months, years to come,” Taylor said. “The continuous improvements will help our customers more easily navigate the variety of solutions that create inspiring, efficient, and safe environments.”
Distributor Focus
Adding to the new branding, Current has simplified, updated, and introduced new sales programs and marketing initiatives to its AD partners, in addition to GIBP and AD Rewards participation.
“From ExpressLine and DistributorEdge Sales Programs, TradeSELECT® and Quick Stock products, significant inventory investment and a complete basket of new marketing initiatives, tools and merchandising programs, Current has laid the groundwork in 2023 for significant growth and success with our distributor partners” Director of Channel Marketing Jodi Alston said.
A Complete Portfolio of Products and Services
Products from Current also give you a great return on investment. LED lighting and controls can realize up to 70% energy savings, longer life, and a short payback on your investment to upgrade, compared to traditional lighting.
While there isn’t a lighting problem Current can’t solve, it does more than offer great products. It’s also a service provider to help any organization with its commercial lighting solutions. With engineering services, controls design software, and lighting layout tools, Current has support available for all phases of a lighting project.
Taylor concluded, “We’ve done our job when our customers are happy with our innovative lighting and controls solutions, we’ve done our part to create a sustainable future, we’re educating our partners and the leaders of tomorrow and we’re keeping our employees front and center, knowing we couldn’t do any of it without our rich talent.”
Current remains committed to the lighting industry to make the future of lighting brighter.
Current is Always On.