Keystone Technologies Wins NAILD Sprint’s Best Overall Product for 3rd Third Year

March 26, 2018

Keystone Technologies, SATCO, Lutron Electronics and Gripple took home top honours at the National Association of Innovative Lighting Distributors (NAILD) 2018 Product Sprint Awards.

The awards honour lighting manufacturers with the best products in five categories. Exhibitors showcased their newest products during NAILD Innovation 2018 in Palm Springs, California.

“We’re pleased to introduce this year’s winners of NAILD’s Product Sprint,” says Cory Schneider, who was named the organization’s 2018 president at the conference. “These companies manufacture truly innovative products and these awards are given by lighting distributors, who know exactly how the products perform for the end user.”

Keystone’s SignHero earned “Best Lamp” and voters also named it “Best Overall” at the conference. In 2017, Keystone’s Smart Safe LED Emergency Battery Backup Kit was voted “Best Ballast/Driver” and “Best Overall.” Keystone also swept the same categories in 2016 for its Future Fit LED kits.

The 2018 Product Sprint winners are

  • Best Luminaire: SATCO, Blink Plus Profile LED surface mount fixtures. These ultra-low profile, edge lit LED fixtures are available in gun metal and bronze finishes, and seven different size options. They mount directly to any 3” or 4” box.
  • Best Lamp & Best Overall: Keystone Technologies Inc., SignHero chain or parallel. SignHero is the quickest way to retrofit or build a sign cabinet with LED. Operating off of line voltage, it bypasses the ballast and wire using the existing sockets, allowing for installation in less than five minutes. No external driver is required.
  • Best Control: Lutron, RA2 Select. The RA2 Select is a simpler, differentiated lighting, shading and home control system providing smart home capabilities while also providing easy setup for the installer.
  • Best Accessory/Service:Gripple’s The Angel, a cable hanger kit for lighting, is now available in black to blend into dark ceiling spaces.

Forces under 40

NAILD also named two young, dynamic lighting industry leaders as Forces Under 40 for 2018:

  • Jon Hermansen, 30, an industrial designer and new product development manager at LSI Industries. His concepts and product designs have led to a stream of products that are helping to transform the company. Hermansen is responsible for LSI’s latest luminaire family, the sleek LED Mirada Series.
  • Greg Ehrich, 37, Vice President of Premier Lighting. When he was first hired, he worked on straight commission and focused on cold calls. Thirteen years later, the company has tripled its sales and continues to be a lighting leader in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area. Ehrich also served on the NAILD board of directors, culminating in serving as president in 2015. During that time, he helped to redefine NAILD and relaunch the lighting specialist training programs.

“Jon and Greg represent the best of the next generation of lighting professionals,” Schneider says. “We’re thrilled to recognize their contributions to our industry so far and we’re excited to see their continued success.”

For more information about NAILD, visit www.naild.org or email info@naild.org.

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