Customization, Quick Turnaround, Right-sized - Be "Just Right."

We’re likely all familiar with the story of Goldilocks and the three bears where one bowl of porridge was “just right.”

At SONARAY the folks believe they have the ingredients for that “just right” lighting. You can see it in the new product development, the quick turnaround on responses, and the willingness to do things that other lighting manufacturers won’t.

For example, SONARAY recently told me about several jobs where they had to develop custom-colored finishes for projects. One was a very significant project, the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge in Nashville, Tennessee that connects a good bit of the downtown area. It’s very close to Nissan Stadium and leads a pathway right to a lot of the vibrant downtown area as it crosses the Cumberland River.

Obviously when the project is an infrastructure opportunity such as a bridge then the toughness and durability of the products involved are key. This really goes without saying. IP and IK levels of fixtures have to be strong; beam angles have to correct, the fixture has to be able to withstand a beating and be long-lasting. These are all elements that anyone could expect for such a project. I remember not so long ago standing in another manufacturer’s warehouse and staring at some boxes of products that were being shipped. On the side of the box was a list of bullet points that talked about the benefits of using the product. Believe it or not, one bullet point actually said “Good Quality” as if that is not already a given assumption when someone is purchasing something - especially something that isn’t cheap. I thought almost aloud that these people had really missed the mark with their marketing points, but it also probably says a lot about the company itself. They likely don’t understand the special things that have to go into a bowl of porridge to make it great.

Anyway, sometimes aside from the obvious things needed for a bridge project are things that are special - not overly difficult, but just special. Sometime larger manufacturers won’t take such a job because it just isn’t relevant enough to them, so it isn’t worth their time or trouble. Then smaller manufacturers also can’t touch the project because they just don’t have the resources to do so. That is where people or manufacturers who can and will develop a bowl of porridge that is “just right” can flourish. Such is the case with the Seigenthaler Bridge project and SONARAY.

SONARAY has told me over and again as I have visited with them that they are a “right-sized” company. I asked them what do you really mean by that statement? SONARAY is really quick to point out and talk about how they are first a technology company with decades of experience in technology solutions and almost a decade in LED lighting. They build their own proprietary fixtures that they design and have strategic alliances with a few select other folks to fill in gaps that may be needed for other lesser demanded products. They have the financial and human capital to engineer and develop solutions, but the key thing is that they are not so big as to thumb their nose at special requests.

On the Seigenthaler Bridge to begin of course was the budget, timeline, and quality that just got folks to the starting point. If you didn’t have those in your products, then you weren’t even in the race. Again, quality means a lot more than just saying it or putting it on a box. That’s where the ratings, the case studies, the history, the look, the feel, the track record come in. Literally you are what your record says you are in sports and in things that measure quality and performance. And while the past isn’t an absolute indicator of the future it is a good barometer to look at performance.

Budget is always, always, always a consideration and anyone who says it isn’t is out of touch with reality. Somewhere, no matter how big the project, there is someone who controls the budget and they know what they can spend and how they will spend it.

Timing is said to be everything and if you can’t deliver then meeting budgets and having great quality probably won’t get you the job. SONARAY has a really good stock of products in their QuickShip program and they are quick at turning special requests into executable actions. The ability and willingness to do the special things are what separates SONARAY from many.

The bridge project required a special paint that fit in with everything else on the bridge. While that sounds kind of simple to most people, “Ask some of the larger companies and see what kind of response you might get” I’m told. For whatever reason, special orders do upset larger companies a lot.

SONARAY was able to deliver on-time, on-budget, with desired quality and color for the bridge project and that really exemplifies what a “right-sized” company should do.

Also, SONARAY is now starting to offer some different colors in fixtures that can be promoted as more of a standard so the offering of products is starting to differ in look and feel. It is one of the ways that company executives and sales folks tell me that SONARAY is starting to show that it can be different in the way it responds or anticipates customer needs.

Finally, I decided before leaving the facility at the main warehouse to take a look at the inventory in-stock to see if SONARAY had a lot of their typically used products in-stock. It really was quite impressive as I have to say that the warehouse really seemed full. And despite looking around I didn’t find any boxes with bullet points on the side that said “good quality.” I guess some things are just better left unsaid.

Until next time, when you are in the market for high bays, flood lights, solar lighting, marine lighting, bridge lighting, or heavy industrial lighting then a real name to know is SONARAY. After all, the 299 LED flood lights on the Seigenthaler Bridge can’t be wrong. That porridge tastes just right!