W-A-C Lighting reports that
they recently became ISO 9001 Certified. ISO, the International
Organization for Standardization assures quality in research and
development in purchasing, production, quality control and administration.
W.A.C. Lighting's motto and philosophy has always been, LIGHTING
EXCELLENCE FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW. All W·A·C Lighting products are
listed with either Underwriters Laboratories or the Electrical Testing
Laboratory.
W.A.C. CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS
615 SOUTH STREET
GARDEN CITY, NY 11530
Backgrounder: W.A.C. Lighting (As provided by WAC Lighting)
Manufacturing Leader of Track/Recessed LightingFounded in 1984 by Tony Wang as a supplier of lamps and lighting products (primarily metal functional lighting such as desk lamps and torchieres, and novelty lamps), W.A.C. Lighting has grown into the industry's premier manufacturer and designer of innovative track and recessed lighting.
Throughout the eighties, Mr. Wang, with wife Tai by his side, built the business around a strong management team and loyal customer service. Mr. Wang, a soft-spoken, charming businessman and a true gentleman in every sense of the word, has demonstrated both a pragmatic and strategic approach to his business. He was nominated for Entrepreneur of The Year, and received many awards in his community.
Originally based in College Point, Queens, just outside of Manhattan, near Shea Stadium and LaGuardia Airport, the company was growing at a steady pace during the late eighties. By the 1990s, Mr. Wang recruited industry veteran Leonard Schwartz as his Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Paulin Tham as Director of Marketing Services, Sean Tham as Product Manager, and a highly skilled team of sales representatives throughout North America. The reps work closely with lighting showrooms to market the line, and help increase retail sales by providing detailed information on application and installation, retail displays, promotions and advertising.
During the mid-nineties, the company doubled its size and staff to meet the growing needs of its increased lighting showroom customer base. As the product line expanded, the company developed an outstanding reputation for high quality products backed by innovative design and technology. The firm also was known for superior customer service, including its rapid response to the needs of the lighting buyer and specifier. The motto and working philosophy continues to remain the same: "Lighting Excellence For Today and Tomorrow…
Among its many achievements, W.A.C. Lighting carved a niche in the industry by creating affordable, miniature lighting fixtures that are diminutive and unobtrusive, while providing a strong and powerful light source. Functional and unobtrusive, miniature lighting offers a clean look and complements the architecture and design of a home, office or commercial facility. The firm's line specializes in using the halogen bulb, which offers superlative quality, a brighter and whiter energy efficient light source, and better clarity of color and texture of home and commercial furnishings.
Today, the firm manufactures an extensive state-of-the-art line featuring track heads and recessed housings/trims. One of the firm's latest innovations is a linear system that can be custom designed for task, accent, cove, and general lighting, under- and in-cabinet, toe spaces, and hard-to-light areas. W.A.C. Lighting also manufactures miniature fixtures, surface mounts, pendants, rope lighting, Button Lights, display lights, track extensions/suspensions, accessories.
Broadest Range of Track Styles/Applications
Over the years, W.A.C. Lighting has demonstrated manufacturing and design leadership by creating the widest variety of track lighting in the US. The company has, by far, manufactured and designed the broadest range of styles, with more applications than any other. It offers five different track systems, including three systems for retrofit: a two-wire, three-wire and a wide 2-wire track lighting system. Also available is an innovative linear system, and an all-new 2-circuit track system.
Retrofit Track Applications for Remodeling
Retrofit track systems enable users and specifiers to remodel homes with existing track systems, and add newer, more contemporary lighting styles. For example, a home with an older track and large fixtures ("old fashioned cans"), can be upgraded with smaller, unobtrusive, sleek-styled fixtures using the MR-11 or MR-16 halogen bulb, without changing the existing track. The firm pumped new life into existing track systems with fixtures that accommodate halogen PAR lamps, ranging from 30 to 90 watts. Smaller units are fixtures of choice because of the halogen bulb. Halogen has revolutionized track lighting by offering a brighter, whiter light source than any other source. It offers greater energy efficiency, better color clarity and quality.
Miniature Fixtures Meet User Needs Following the direction of today's designers and specifiers, W.A.C. Lighting has developed fixtures that were diminutive and unobtrusive while providing a strong and powerful light source. Miniature track heads were equivalent, if not better, in quality and efficiency, as larger fixtures, and designed for hard-to-reach locations. The firm's linear system demonstrates the many benefits of miniature fixtures…
* Under cabinets/countertops where shadow-free, even illumination is desired.
* Inside cabinets, breakfronts and etageres to spotlight keepsakes, ornaments and dinnerware with a warm, even light that enhances any room or display.
* Efficient toe space lighting, where smooth, soft light makes a dramatic design statement-- installed under kitchen/bath cabinets, at the bottom shelf of bookcases and etageres, or behind a fascia on steps.
* For cove lighting, along a linear strip installed near the top of a wall.
* Suspended with aircraft cable from the ceiling, for a "unique, floating effect."
* Wall washing by attaching fixtures on track brackets mounted to the wall.
Widest Array of Decorative Lighting For Tracks
Utilizing its five types of tracks, W.A.C. Lighting offers a wide range of glass and metal pendants, both in line-voltage and low-voltage. These tracks also accommodate flexible snake-like swivel fixtures-- which can be adjusted by moving the stem to light a variety of areas. No other firm offers as many types of decorative fixtures for installation, on as many different tracks.
Popular Brushed Nickel Finish
When Brushed Nickel became popular for finishes used on the latest ceiling fans, portable lamps, kitchen/bath hardware and accessories, the firm introduced a new brushed nickel finish. Today the firm offers the brushed nickel finish throughout its line of track heads and recessed trims.
Accessories For Hard-to-Light Locations
W.A.C. Lighting is one of the only firms to create track lighting for every application. The firm's suspension tracks are used to lower lighting systems from the tall, cathedral ceilings of today's buildings. In addition to suspensions kits, the firm offers ceiling and wall mounts, and a broad range of accessories to illuminate objects in hard-to-light areas. Whether suspended from overhead track kits, or used in conjunction with wall brackets, track units are highly effective for highlighting wall art, furniture and plants. Swivel adapters were developed to mount track units to sloped ceilings popular in today's homes. Not just limited to track heads, W.A.C. Lighting provides the industry's widest range of pendants for track installation. Pendants, which can be installed to an existing track to add color and a feeling of warmth, enable specifiers to integrate decorative fixtures with task lighting.
Broadest Range of Low Voltage Recessed Trims/Housings
W.A.C. Lighting has developed the industry's most complete line of low voltage recessed trims and housings-- all of which can be used with housings equipped with both electronic and magnetic transformers. Like track fixtures, low voltage recessed lighting has become very popular with the evolution of the halogen bulb. It's widely used in better residential installations, custom projects and remodeling. Functional and unobtrusive, miniature trims offer a clean look and complements the architecture and design of today's home, office or commercial facility. They are perfect for hard-to-light areas.
Relocation of Headquarters to Garden City, NY
In October 1998-- responding to continued tremendous growth-- W.A.C. Lighting relocated its corporate headquarters, design center and warehouse to a larger facility in Garden City, New York-- out on Long Island.
More than quadrupling the size of its previous office space, the firm's 82,000 square feet facility houses custom designed offices for all executive, administrative and sales departments. The facility includes a design center and product showroom (showcasing a wide range of lighting products and in-showroom displays). Company headquarters is located opposite Nordstrom's in the famous Roosevelt Field Shopping Mall (one of the nation's first major malls and the site for the take-off of Charles Lindbergh's famous first transatlantic flight to Paris in 1927).
Expansion Out West; Opening of West Coast Facility In October 1999, W.A.C. Lighting opened a west coast facility in City of Industry, California. The facility features an expansive warehouse with its complete line of In-stock merchandise, modern offices, and a high-tech "Special Effects Room". "The opening of our west coast facility," explained Mr. Wang, "Enabled us to better serve customers west of the Mississippi. As with our N.Y. office and China factory, we strive everyday to maintain a high level of excellence in customer service, warehousing, and shipping."
Company-Owned Manufacturing Facility Ensures Affordable Quality
While nearly all track/recessed suppliers import their products,W.A.C. Lighting is the sole, exclusive manufacturer of its track and recessed lines in a company-owned factory in China. The factory, supervised by President Tony Wang, manufactures and assembles all track heads and tracks, as well as all recessed trims and housings. A proprietary owned factory offers many advantages, including... Affordable Prices and Superior Quality.
The firm was the first to introduce affordably priced track/recessed fixtures to the industry. Quality control, which is also crucial, was ensured with W.A.C. Lighting's ISO 9001 certification W.A.C. Lighting also owns several design patents and mechanical patents on its track styles.
Innovative Designs for 2001
This past Winter International Lighting and Accessories Market in Dallas, W.A.C. Lighting introduced a "2-Circuit Track Lighting System", "Multiple Recessed Spots" and a broad range of track heads and recessed housings and trims. The new, cost-effective, "2-Circuit Track System" enables users to double the track's lighting power, wattage and number of fixtures, while utilizing a lesser number of tracks and reducing costs.
A highly flexible system, it enables the user to light different or both sections at different times and/or for different functions. For example, the user can light one part of the system at night, while illuminating the entire system during the day. Some fixtures can be used for one function (such as wall washing), while the others are utilized for another (ie. downlighting). The system accommodates all of the firm's state-of-the-art track heads, featuring innovative styles and classic designs, as well a new variety of components. Designed to accommodate halogen lamps ranging from the MR-11 to the PAR-38, the track heads offer lean styling and fit well into today's homes. They are easily dimmable and install quickly. Lenses, color filters and louvers are available for special effects, as well as suspensions kits, wall and ceiling mount extensions, and other accessories are available.
The firm also unveiled a new line of "Multiple Recessed Spots" in both square- and rectangular-shaped housings. The housings, offered with one, two or three sources, accommodate MR-16, AR-111, PAR-36 and PAR-38 bulbs. Offered with a white trim and a black interior, "Multiple Recessed Spots" Housings feature gimbal ring trims that can be adjusted 360 degrees for a broad range of applications, including down lighting and wall washing. The bulbs can be replaced from the front without removing other parts.
ISO 9001 Certification
In the Summer of 2000, W.A.C. Lighting reached a major milestone in its history, achieving ISO 9001 Certification-- meeting standards of quality assurance in product design, development, production, assembly and service by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). W.A.C. Lighting owns and operates a 120,000 square-foot, overseas manufacturing facility that employs more than 330 engineers, designers, production and support personnel. Achieving ISO standards propelled W.A.C. Lighting to a level unattainable by most lighting companies. This achievement ensures lighting distributors and specifiers that its line meets the world's highest quality standards, on an ongoing basis. ISO standards are generally required in industries such as consumer electronics, automobile manufacturing, medical products, computer design, etc. Leading manufacturers, that have achieved ISO standards, include: Sony, Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, Fuji, Subaru, Citizen Watch, Dow Corning, Subaru, Fuji, Marantz, Canon, Toshiba, and many other major names.
According to Mr. Wang, "ISO 9001 Certification was a major milestone for our company. Achieving these quality standards was our firm's primary goal for production, since our inception. Instead of just talking about quality, we wanted all of our customers and specifiers to rest assured that W.A.C. Lighting products meet the world's highest level of quality standards."
The ISO has developed requirements for a supplier's quality management system to ensure consistent quality production to meet customer and regulatory requirements, and address customer satisfaction through the quality system's application, including continual improvement and maintenance. To meet these standards, the ISO has audited, tested and approved all phases of W.A.C. Lighting's production, quality control, design, product development, assembly, shipping, warehousing, packaging, staff training, and servicing. In addition to ISO 9001 certification, W.A.C. Lighting products continue to meet other industry standards: U.L. (Underwriters Laboratories), E.T.L. (Electrical Testing Laboratories), C.S.A. (Canadian Standards Association), and C.E.T.L. (Canadian Electrical Testing Laboratories).
Sales Support Materials
W.A.C. Lighting offers a broad range of sales support materials, including a library of catalogs and other literature-- a new 80-page, full-color catalog and a miniaturized version of the catalog, for showrooms to handout to consumers, which was introduced at the January Market in Dallas. The firm also offers a "CD KIT", which includes a CD, catalog and Linear Fixture Sample. The CD features W.A.C. Lighting's complete catalog, with thumbnails for easy scrolling and location of pages. The catalog includes a Hot Key to locate items. It can be printed in either color or black/white. The CD also features product specification sheets, which can be opened in either Word or PDF formats and printed in both color and black/white. Product line art is included. Also included are advertising materials: electronic ad slicks that can be used with all graphic and word processing programs, plus copy and illustrations in various formats. The firm's website-- www.waclighting.com-- can be viewed without going on-line, and can be printed in color or black and white. W.A.C. Lighting also offers a Linear Lighting System "Showcase-On-Wheels"-- a complete demonstration kit for sales reps to use for training lighting distributors' sales personnel (or to demonstrate linear system to designers and specifiers in the field). This 22-inch, black suitcase, with wheels, is wired to demonstrate the many components in the firm's linear system.
An Innovative Internet Program
W.A.C. Lighting also has designed a new internet program, an innovative business-to-business website that offers product catalogs on its line, as well as specifications and FAQ (frequently asked questions about the line). Product information may be accessed by item numbers, categories and keyword searches. The dealer access section is secured (password protected) and offers lighting distributors an easy-to-use ordering feature. Buyers will be able to access inventory levels and status of orders. The website provides valuable information to consumers-- as well as specifiers, designers, architects, electrical contractors, builders.
Co-Op Merchandising Program and New "Effects Room"
W.A.C. Lighting recently expanded its co-op merchandising program with new capabilities to custom design an in-store "Effects Room" for participating dealers, as an innovative alternative to showcasing products in a typical light lab. The firm's sales representatives and in-house design team will work closely with each dealer to create a customized "Effects Room" that meets its exact specifications, including assistance with floor planning/design, remodeling and construction, as well as the selection of point-of-purchase displays and product installation for dramatic lighting demonstrations and applications. The firm offers a generous co-op merchandising program to help defray the building costs. As part of the "Effects Room" merchandising program, W.A.C. Lighting recommends that the lighting distributor uses a cabinet to feature installations of its linear system to demonstrate how to illuminate to keepsakes and dinnerware. Dealers can install the linear system behind a fascia, on steps, or at the bottom of a cabinet to make a dramatic statement in toe spaces. Linear tracks can be used in many different settings: attached to a sloped ceiling for a ceiling close-up, wall washing by combining the system with a wall bracket, suspended from the ceiling using a suspension kit, installed in a cove near the top of a wall, or suspended by aircraft cable for a unique, attractive effect. The firm's five track systems and broad range of recessed housings and trims can be installed in a variety of settings-- to showcase everything from accent lighting and wall washing to direct and indirect lighting. To demonstrate dramatic decorative lighting, rope lighting can be installed in coves or around archways, while low- and line-voltage pendants can be mounted to ceilings over a table or bar for a striking effect.
Versatile Point-of-Purchase Displays
W.A.C. Lighting also offers three types of point-of-purchase displays: a Wall Section Unit, a Free-Standing Floor Merchandiser, and a Ceiling Grid to display recessed fixtures from above. These in-store merchandisers can be customized by utilizing any combination of the 25 panels featuring the firm's extensive offerings: low and line-voltage pendants; the linear system's fixtures, xenon lamps, tracks and accessories; low/line voltage undercabinet light bars; low- and line-voltage recessed housings and trims; low- and line-voltage track heads/tracks; rope lighting; surface mounts; and light bulbs. Display Lights can also be attached to the floor units. The Free Standing Display stands 86 inches tall, is 25 inches square, and accommodates 12 of the 25 display panels (an add-on kit offers six more panels). The wall section display stands 86 inches tall, is 50 inches wide and six inches deep, and accommodates six of the 25 display panels (an add-on kit offers six more panels for this unit as well). A ceiling grid, that accommodates four display panels, is also available. The 2'x2' panels are also adaptable to T-bar ceiling applications. All display panels are prewired, ship with fixtures installed, and fit into the easy-to-assemble frame. The only remaining tasks are to select the displays' locations and plug-in the units.
In short, today's lighting buyer is more discriminating than ever. He wants affordable pricing and terrific quality--both which are guaranteed by W.A.C's exclusive manufacturing facility that was recently ISO 9001-certified. Today's building plans require lighting to illuminate hard-to-reach areas, and W.A.C.'s miniature fixtures accomplish this goal. If a buyer has a broad range of track/lighting needs, W.A.C.'s diverse line will meet them. From retrofit to new construction, from state-of-the-art technology to miniaturization, W.A.C. has passed the test of innovation.
Company Facilities
The W.A.C. Lighting international manufacturing facility is based in China. Corporate offices and eastern distribution center are located at 615 South Street Garden City, New York 11530. The firm also operates a western distribution facility at 168 Brea Canyon Road, City of Industry, California 91748.
For more information, please write to W.A.C. Lighting Company,
615 South Street, Garden City, New York 11530
Other purveyors of fine lighting products on the Internet include the following:
ChandelierForum - A respected leader in commercial and residential designer lighting products.
Outdoor Lighting Forum - A collection of quality lighting products for outside the home.