Increased Lightning Protection Exports Opens Doors

by Avram Saunders

Back in May, Lightning Eliminators & Consultants was given the highest honor any company can receive; we won the prestigious President’s “E” award for U.S. Exports. I had the privilege of accepting this award at a ceremony hosted by the Acting Secretary of Commerce at the United States Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C for companies who have made significant strides in increasing U.S. exports for four consecutive years. It is nearly three months down the road and we continue to reap the benefits.

A few weeks ago in our headquarters city of Boulder, Colorado, the newly confirmed U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker kicked off her first nationwide tour of meetings and roundtable discussions with key business leaders in an effort to understand what the Federal Government could do to further support business in general and exports in particular. Since our company was honored by the Department of Commerce, I was invited to be a part of this closed roundtable discussion at the Ball Aerospace & Technologies, Inc. headquarters in Boulder.

Key leaders from companies including as Ball Aerospace, DigitalGlobal and the Boulder Chamber of Commerce openly discussed the inherent need to create jobs across all industries, have training available for manufacturing jobs and, most importantly, increase the stature of manufacturing jobs here in Colorado and across the country.  Among Pritzker’s other priorities are expanding the nation’s free trade agreements and increasing the Department’s advocacy for U.S. businesses abroad.

Given this unprecedented access to a member of the President’s cabinet, those of us in attendance were afforded the opportunity to provide Secretary Pritzker with feedback on the types of things the Department of Commerce could provide to help us grow. I feel confident that she truly listened to what we had to offer from the front lines of commerce, and I look forward to seeing some of the discussion put into action. Developing a first-hand relationship with the Department of Commerce has been a privilege and a benefit. You can read more about the secretary’s visit in this Denver Post article.

At the same time, Heather McWilliams reported in the Boulder County Business Report on our company’s significant export growth, adding in commentary on the uniqueness of our technology and manufacturing.

Lightning Protection

In the featured article, Joe Lanzoni, our Vice President of Operations, provides detail regarding LEC’s strategy and reasoning for manufacturing solely in the U.S.  Not only does it give us better quality control and the ability to nimbly adapt products for unusual applications, it helps us create local jobs – and that relates back to the Department of Commerce’s priorities as well.

Electrical Engineering Manager Lee Howard and Executive Vice President Peter Carpenter also discuss regions where the majority of our domestic sales come from and how our lightning protection technology works.

In addition to providing grounding systems engineering, testing and surge protection design, LEC also delivers lightning protection solutions that actually discourage lightning strikes within a protected area and protect against lightning’s secondary effects. This customized approach utilizes the patented Charge Transfer System, which is the foundation for all of LEC’s lightning protection products. Our technology has been exported to 80 countries including Colombia, Brazil, Netherlands and Belgium.

The acceptance of the “E” award has generated great acknowledgement from various media outlets both locally and nationally, ranging from local Denver publications to the Washington Post.  Our 30-person company has become a national face for exporting and many doors have been opened along the way, including personal relationships with various government officials such as Colorado State Senator Rollie Heath and Secretary Penny Pritzker. I am excited to see what other opportunities come about through the end of the year.