LED lighting manufacturing investment boosts UK industry to the tune of £150,000

So LED lighting in the UK looks set to get a big boost: British-based manufacturer Marl International is set to pump further investment into developing its LED output across the UK and further afield.

According to Electronics Weekly, the firm looks set to invest £150,000 into its site in Ulverston, Cumbria, as part of a £270,000 investment injection being made across its sites in the UK.

"LED lighting can be 20 to 60 per cent more efficient than standard lighting technologies, lasting up to ten times longer and providing an instant, controllable source of illumination," said managing director Adrian Rawlinson.

"Marl is able to design and manufacture LED lighting modules entirely under one roof in Ulverston, which gives Marl a short leadtime, and the ability to bring to market the latest, most efficient LED lighting technologies ahead of competitors."

As a result, the production line is primed to handle PCB boards up to 600mm long, a common requirement in current lighting developments to replace existing products.

And Marl isn't just ramping up production of LED modules as they become more common replacements for existing bulbs - the firm will also lend its development expertise to the electro-mechanical assembly business, dealing with clients as diverse as the Formula 1 Association, British Energy and the British Waterways Board.

As Marl operations director David Moorhouse notes, the dual development of both LED lighting components and the additional circuits needed will aid commercial clients who want to replace their lighting needs, but haven't yet got the facilities. Energy spend is increasingly important for commercial clients after British Gas figures found £1 in every £2 spent by UK businesses on lighting is wasted.

"They lack the capability to assemble these very specialist devices and the associated circuits," he said. "We can fill this gap, often providing a bespoke product that is a direct drop-in replacement for the less efficient solution."