Valtavalo Oy, a Finnish manufacturer of LED tubes, has introduced a new E3 LED tube manufactured in Finland. The product was internationally launched at Elmässan 2016 exhibition in Stockholm, Sweden, on 19 October.
E3 LED tubes are manufactured in Kajaani in a new automatic line made in Finland. The assembly line includes integrated and fully automatic production testing which measures all significant electrical and illuminance values from each manufactured tube. Individual measurement results are saved in a database according to the serial number and the QR code printed on the product. The line also packs the products into separate product packages and even places them into wholesale boxes suitable for 25 packages. These boxes are then ready for delivery from Kajaani to customers in different parts of the world.
“It cannot get any more automatic than this,” says Markku Laatikainen, CEO of Valtavalo, showing pride in the recently opened second production line.
E3 LED tubes are positioned in the highly competitive category of professional quality lighting and straight to the top of its class. Compared with its closest competitors, the new product of Valtavalo offers a 25–60% longer service life, an exceptionally wide light distribution and an unprecedented quality of assembly in its price category. The product has a five-year warranty, and it is also available as a high-quality colour rendering version, designed especially for shops.
The new product has a simpler structure than G4, the flagship of Valtavalo which, in part, has tripled the capacity of the production line from the previous level. “A new LED tube is manufactured from the line, tested and packaged, every twenty seconds,” Laatikainen says. This new product expands the range of Valtavalo products to cover all needs in professional lighting when it comes to the replacement of conventional fluorescent tubes. For new and renovated buildings, Valtavalo can deliver LED tubes accompanied by a suitable lighting body. Valtavalo has lighting bodies for every professional use – ranging from offices to agriculture or industry.
With its new product, Valtavalo makes an entry in the international LED tube competition and opens up new channels for exports and sales. “We have selected wholesale, in Finland and abroad, in particular, as a new central sales channel in which we aim to emerge,” says Laatikainen.
The turnover of Valtavalo has increased by 20–50% annually and, even though Finland has accounted for the majority of its sales, the company is seeking growth in international markets, in particular. Last year, exports stood at EUR 1 million.
