A year ago, Vancouver-based TIR Systems Ltd. was near the end of its financial rope, with little to show in the way of profits or stock market value in return for years of slogging in the architectural lighting trenches.
Its shares, which topped $8 in 2004, were bumping along under the $2 mark and all the glowing TIR installations in the world - and there were many - couldn't hide the company's fading fortunes.
Now, following a bumpy stretch that involved a strategic shift and hiring an investment banker to hunt for a prospective buyer, TIR has found a saviour in the form of Dutch lighting giant Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV.
And thanks to growing consumer awareness about lighting's voracious energy demands, TIR also finds itself a torchbearer for a lighting revolution: one that goes beyond compact fluorescent bulbs to get rid of bulbs altogether.
"We like to say that we used to have fire, then we had oil lamps, then we had the light bulb, now we have the Lexel," says TIR chief executive officer Leonard Hordyk. "We think over the next 20 years a lot of people will move to solid-state lighting for the strong attributes that it has."
TIR's flagship product, the Lexel, is a solid-state lighting system based on light-emitting diodes.
The term "solid state" refers to the fact that the light in an LED is emitted from a solid object - a block of semiconductors - rather than from a vacuum or gas tube, as in the case of incandescent and fluorescent lighting. Efficient, sturdy and long-lasting, with lifespans that can be measured in decades, solid-state lighting is a hot topic in energy circles. The U.S. Department of Energy calls it a "pivotal emerging technology that promises to fundamentally alter lighting in the future."
And tiny TIR, perhaps best known for the glowing lights used in fast-food restaurants and traffic tunnels, has designed what Mr. Hordyk says is the first solid-state lighting system suitable for general lighting: That is, in homes and offices where users want warm white light that can be regulated with a dimmer switch.
So when the federal Conservatives announced a plan to ban inefficient light bulbs by 2012, TIR cheered.
"The ban reinforces the inefficiency of today's conventional light sources, highlighting the need to develop more efficient ones such as those based on light-emitting diodes," says TIR marketing director Grant Harlow.
LED-based lights are widely used for traffic lights, signs and displays, says Marc Ledbetter, program manager for emerging technologies with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Portland, Ore.
But several factors, including the quality of light produced, kept them from gaining a bigger foothold.
With the push for more energy efficient lighting and rapid technology advances, that's expected to change.
"Almost on a monthly basis you hear about announcements coming out of laboratories and manufacturers citing new performance records for these products," Mr. Ledbetter says.
TIR restructured to focus on the solid-state lighting market last April and shipped its first commercial SSL products last December. In March, it announced its agreement to be bought by Philips, which was apparently keen enough on TIR's technology to overlook patent lawsuits filed against TIR in Canada and the United States by Boston-based Color Kinetics Inc.
TIR says the claims are invalid but notes in its annual report that it expects to incur "significant legal costs" in connection with its defence and counterclaim.
By the numbers
$102-BILLION (U.S.)
Size of global lighting market in 2006
$30-BILLION
Annual energy savings expected from solid-state lighting systems by 2027.
25 per cent
Lighting's share of global electricity demand.
Wendy Stueck
TIR hopes Lexel is next step in lighting evolution
Product: Incandescent light bulb
The pitch: Cheap, popular and familiar. The first useable lamp was invented in 1879 by Thomas Edison. Casts a warm light that can vary in intensity from 25 to more than 100 watts.
The hitch: Short lifespan (750 - 1,000 hours) and an energy hog. The Edison bulb uses just 5 per cent of the electricity that flows into it and lets the other 95 per cent escape into the air as heat.
Product: Compact fluorescent lighting
The pitch: Uses up to 75 per cent less electricity than incandescents. Lasts much longer, between 8,000 and 15,000 hours. Generates 70 per cent less heat. Can be used with existing incandescent fixtures.
The hitch: Costs more. It's difficult to find ones that fit chandeliers, kitchen stoves, etc. Casts a harsh white light. Contains mercury, which presents disposal issues.
Product: Lexel (A solid-state light source based on light-emitting diodes)
The pitch: Uses up to 80 per cent less energy than a conventional incandescent bulb to produce the same amount of light; lifespan of a decade or more; produces desirable "white" light.
The hitch: Not yet widely available and requires new fixtures, currently more expensive than conventional lighting systems.
Wendy Stueck
Wendy Stueck