What's the history of your business? How did it evolve? Owner Sam Massa used to work with high-performance trucks and tractors at his bio-fuel company in Washington, D.C. He saw a need for very bright, usable lighting. Five years ago, he established a snow-removal business in Fairfax County, Va. After moving to North Carolina a year ago, he began marketing off-road lighting in the utility markets. "We were able to increase productivity at night. We were able to do the job in half the time," he said. "I'm going to bring those high-quality lighting products into the commercial world."
Who needs your products? "Anybody doing outdoor work that needs to be able to see - emergency response, road blocks, warning products, stuff for construction companies. Anybody doing work after dark that's crucial that they see what they're doing."
Has business been good in this area? "It actually has. I joined the Summerville Fire and Rescue Department (in Lillington) because I wanted to learn from the inside out where they need light and why they need it. I'm gaining experience from the field."
Who are your customers? Utility providers, water plants and fire departments, he said. "We specialize in distribution. We're fully operational, and we're taking a product that's really good and pushing it in this market. We're looking at marketing to fire department and utility companies."
What have been the biggest challenges to get this business going in Lillington? "Getting the sales thing lined up. The lights sell themselves. The hardest part for me is getting to sit down so I can do a demonstration for the customer. I like to sell the lights by letting the customers use them. They put them on their trucks, and we let them use them at night. It's to educate the consumer on the lights and why they need them."
How much of an area do you sell in? Are you now national?
"We can (sell nationally). We're focused now on the Southeast, and we're really focused on North Carolina. We can actually sell anywhere in the world (to) the national fire and rescue market."
Who's your competition in this area? "There's really none, not in this area. As far as I can reach, there's not anybody else I have to worry about."
"When we sampled the screwdriver kits several months ago, we knew they would be the perfect holiday gift to our customers, who love to create, engineer and tinker," says Elemental LED Marketing Manager Charlotte Dick.
Elemental LED staff plans to include the screwdriver kits to customers who order LED color controllers and DMX decoders on a regular basis after the 2011 holidays. Those products have small screws that can pose a challege to customers without the jewel screwdrivers already in their tool kit.
2011年11月15日星期二
2011年8月29日星期一
Outages, closed roads mark day after Irene in NC
The aftermath of Hurricane Irene's weekend grind along eastern North Carolina came into focus Sunday as residents of Hatteras Island lost their highway tether to the mainland, residents cleaned homes scoured by floodwaters and power for some of the half-million once in the dark flickered back to life.
Officials blamed the storm for six deaths. While the numbers were decreasing, hundreds remained in shelters and more than 360,000 still had no electricity with warnings it could take crews days to get all the Diving lamp back on. Authorities up and down the coast said schools would stay closed Monday.
Gov. Beverly Perdue said residents were asking for food, water, generators and help with debris removal as she hopscotched to some of the most heavily damaged areas via helicopter. More than 1,700 people remained in 23 shelters around the state.
Still, the governor said the state fared better than she thought it would given early forecasts of the storm hitting with higher-speed winds.
"Overall, the destruction is not as severe as I was worried it might be, but there is still lots and lots of destruction and people's lives are turned upside down," Perdue said in Kill Devil Hills.
Despite the damage, Perdue said she didn't expect Irene to seriously dent the lucrative Labor Day weekend, when tens of thousands of visitors swarm the Outer Banks for a last summer holiday. All the state's beaches except those in Dare County were open Sunday, and Perdue said she expected Dare beaches would soon reopen.
In some places, relief will take a while. Ferries loaded with truckloads of food, supplies and emergency workers were being sent to Dare County to help residents stranded on Hatteras Island after four breaches chewed through Highway 12. The highway is the only road connecting the mainland to the island comprised of seven villages. State officials warned it may be days before the ferries could start taking people to and from the Outer Banks and gave no estimate on when the road might be fixed. Hurricane Isabel in 2003 chewed a new inlet in the island that took two months to repair.
"We're doing everything we can to help them. That's our focus," said Warren Judge, chairman of the Dare County commissioners.
Officials blamed the storm for six deaths. While the numbers were decreasing, hundreds remained in shelters and more than 360,000 still had no electricity with warnings it could take crews days to get all the Diving lamp back on. Authorities up and down the coast said schools would stay closed Monday.
Gov. Beverly Perdue said residents were asking for food, water, generators and help with debris removal as she hopscotched to some of the most heavily damaged areas via helicopter. More than 1,700 people remained in 23 shelters around the state.
Still, the governor said the state fared better than she thought it would given early forecasts of the storm hitting with higher-speed winds.
"Overall, the destruction is not as severe as I was worried it might be, but there is still lots and lots of destruction and people's lives are turned upside down," Perdue said in Kill Devil Hills.
Despite the damage, Perdue said she didn't expect Irene to seriously dent the lucrative Labor Day weekend, when tens of thousands of visitors swarm the Outer Banks for a last summer holiday. All the state's beaches except those in Dare County were open Sunday, and Perdue said she expected Dare beaches would soon reopen.
In some places, relief will take a while. Ferries loaded with truckloads of food, supplies and emergency workers were being sent to Dare County to help residents stranded on Hatteras Island after four breaches chewed through Highway 12. The highway is the only road connecting the mainland to the island comprised of seven villages. State officials warned it may be days before the ferries could start taking people to and from the Outer Banks and gave no estimate on when the road might be fixed. Hurricane Isabel in 2003 chewed a new inlet in the island that took two months to repair.
"We're doing everything we can to help them. That's our focus," said Warren Judge, chairman of the Dare County commissioners.
2011年8月22日星期一
Best breakfasts in Sydney
If you're riding a bike to a quaint breakfast cafe after a stroll in the vintage markets, Clipper Cafe in Sydney’s inner west village is down your alley.
What started as a random idea of mounting a bicycle on the wall, has led to a full-fledged collection of two-wheeled, three-dimensional wallpaper.
Pot plants hang in this green shed on Glebe Point Road, but arguments usually rage over who sits under the bicycle. But everyone gets free WiFi.
The toasted muesli ($9) packs serious taste: pistachio, bran flakes, dried pineapple and honey-coated oats provide a contrast of gooey, crisp, flaky textures. It's served with yogurt and mixed berries.
For a bit of dizziness to a balanced breakfast, order the Tunisian date syrup on the side. It's perfumed rosewater scent balances the sweet bowl.
Kings Cross doesn’t have the best reputation going for itself when it comes to sober dining.
If you steer away from the Diving lamp and clubs, however, and pass on the greasy deluge of cheeseburgers and kebabs, good taste is only a few blocks away.
At this gentleman’s club-inspired café, sipping on a Manhattan can seem more fitting than coffee. But it’s the earthy aroma of Brazilian coffee beans that brings queues of customers.
The soft and fluffy ricotta pancakes ($14.50) with sour essence of grainy rhubarb and a thin layer of light vanilla cream, then topped with maple syrup, is an absolute hangover cure after a night out in the infamous Cross.
If you don’t mind huddling around a communal table whilst being surrounded with fresh produce, bright flowers and wagging dogs, then the Earth Food Cafe could be the end of your hippie trek.
The unpretentiousness of this organic cafe serving gluten-free food in the middle of Bondi Beach’s fashion strip is refreshing.
The simple boiled eggs ($11) are made just the way you’d cook a good breakfast at home.
They're served on 100 percent rye toast and topped with (chemical-free, of course) avacado, tomato and goat’s cheese -- you can taste every ingredient.
What started as a random idea of mounting a bicycle on the wall, has led to a full-fledged collection of two-wheeled, three-dimensional wallpaper.
Pot plants hang in this green shed on Glebe Point Road, but arguments usually rage over who sits under the bicycle. But everyone gets free WiFi.
The toasted muesli ($9) packs serious taste: pistachio, bran flakes, dried pineapple and honey-coated oats provide a contrast of gooey, crisp, flaky textures. It's served with yogurt and mixed berries.
For a bit of dizziness to a balanced breakfast, order the Tunisian date syrup on the side. It's perfumed rosewater scent balances the sweet bowl.
Kings Cross doesn’t have the best reputation going for itself when it comes to sober dining.
If you steer away from the Diving lamp and clubs, however, and pass on the greasy deluge of cheeseburgers and kebabs, good taste is only a few blocks away.
At this gentleman’s club-inspired café, sipping on a Manhattan can seem more fitting than coffee. But it’s the earthy aroma of Brazilian coffee beans that brings queues of customers.
The soft and fluffy ricotta pancakes ($14.50) with sour essence of grainy rhubarb and a thin layer of light vanilla cream, then topped with maple syrup, is an absolute hangover cure after a night out in the infamous Cross.
If you don’t mind huddling around a communal table whilst being surrounded with fresh produce, bright flowers and wagging dogs, then the Earth Food Cafe could be the end of your hippie trek.
The unpretentiousness of this organic cafe serving gluten-free food in the middle of Bondi Beach’s fashion strip is refreshing.
The simple boiled eggs ($11) are made just the way you’d cook a good breakfast at home.
They're served on 100 percent rye toast and topped with (chemical-free, of course) avacado, tomato and goat’s cheese -- you can taste every ingredient.
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