GE Lighting Announces Investments in Cleveland-Area Landmarks and Education

EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GE Lighting announced the company will provide more than $200,000 in energy- and maintenance-cost saving LED (light-emitting diode) lighting systems for two Cleveland landmarks—the historic West Side Market and Cleveland’s Public Square—as part of a day-long GE Works celebration of its employees, heritage of innovation and Cleveland roots.

“Those who follow in his footsteps at GE value the education of our youth, not only because they will help to continue our legacy of innovation, but also because they will propel advances in our industry that can positively impact our communities for generations to come.”

“This investment reflects our commitment to Northeast Ohio and desire to better showcase two truly iconic and beloved Cleveland gathering spots,” said Maryrose Sylvester, president & CEO of GE Lighting. “We take great pride in GE Lighting’s more than 130 years of innovation and the century of industry firsts conceived in research labs right here at Nela Park.”

GE’s leadership in LEDs can be traced to the invention of the first visible LED by GE scientist Nick Holonyak nearly 50 years ago. GE LED systems are being used in a variety of applications, including traffic signals, signage, grocery cases, spot and flood lighting, office and residential lighting, parking lots and roadways.

Case Western Reserve University scholarship announced
In 2008, the Metropolitan Cleveland Consortium for STEM, or MC2STEM, High School was embedded at Nela Park, GE Lighting’s global headquarters in East Cleveland, making the company the first Fortune 500 Company to have a high school located at its headquarters. The year-round, multi-campus school focuses on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and emphasizes project-based learning by incorporating real-life business activities into the students’ studies. The sophomore class is located at Nela Park.

At a community event hosted at GE Lighting’s headquarters this morning, Sylvester announced a donation of $100,000 to Case Western Reserve University to support a four-year scholarship for a 2013 Cleveland Metropolitan School District MC2STEM high school graduate. Case Western Reserve will provide any remaining support, so that the student’s tuition, room, board and fees will be fully covered, resulting in a scholarship valued up to $200,000. The student will have spent his or her 10^th grade year at the MC2STEM high school at Nela Park.

“Our founder, Thomas Edison, understood that hard work leads to true success,” added Sylvester. “Those who follow in his footsteps at GE value the education of our youth, not only because they will help to continue our legacy of innovation, but also because they will propel advances in our industry that can positively impact our communities for generations to come.”

Customer education at Cleveland State University and local retailers
More than 100 GE Lighting employees were involved in local customer education initiatives taking place today, reinforcing the Company’s commitment to ecomagination.

Professional customers and Fenn College of Engineering students at Cleveland State University were offered a close look at state-of-the-art LED systems featured on the GE Lighting Revolution Tour truck parked on the CSU campus; while
GE Lighting employees fanned out across Northeast Ohio to more than a dozen retail lighting aisles to answer questions about lighting choices, such as energy-efficient soft white (halogen) bulbs, CFL bulbs and LED bulbs, and new language on packaging such as “lumens” and a “lighting facts label” that’s modeled after the “nutrition facts label.”

Lighting Overview: West Side Market and Public Square
In support of the West Side Market’s centennial celebration, GE Lighting will provide $80,000 in energy-efficient, ecomagination lighting products to light the exterior of the historic building. Its 137-foot-tall clock tower will be illuminated with nearly 30 GE LED spotlights and floodlights. Exterior facings, as well as the street lighting from the West Side Market on Lorain to West 26th Street and all of Market Square, will be re-lamped with energy-efficient GE solutions. An official lighting will take place at West Side Market’s Street Festival + Parade on Sunday, October 7, 2012.

Public Square—site of the first electric street lighting in the United States—will receive $125,000 in new LED roadway lights and lampposts through a donation to the Downtown Cleveland Alliance. The new LED systems will provide more uniform light and reduce shadowing and dark spots produced by traditional roadway fixtures, enhancing the beauty and feeling of security in this high-traffic area of Cleveland. The lighting installation is scheduled for completion by Thanksgiving 2012.

About GE Lighting
GE Lighting invents with the vigor of its founder Thomas Edison to develop energy-efficient solutions that change the way people light their world in commercial, industrial, municipal and residential settings. The business employs 16,000 people in more than 100 countries, and sells products under the Reveal^® and Energy Smart^® consumer brands, and Evolve™, GTx™, Immersion ™, Infusion™, Lumination^™ and Tetra^® commercial brands, all trademarks of GE. General Electric (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter to build a world that works better. For more information, visit www.gelighting.com.

For additional images, b-roll and the full press kit from the event, please visit the pressroom.

For more on GE's LED innovations, including an interview with LED inventor, Nick Holonyak, visit http://www.gereports.com/idea-factory/.