Albeo’s technology shedding new light

BOULDER — There’s a new way to see the world, one that’s brightening the day of workers from the shop floor to the corner office.

The standard for lighting is shifting, from the unloved fluorescent bulb to new, more energy-efficient light-emitting diode, or LED, systems.

One Boulder company is cashing in on the change.

Albeo Technologies Inc., which designs and manufactures highly efficient LED lighting systems for the commercial and industrial sectors, is the second-fastest growing company on the Boulder County Business Report’s Mercury 100 list of private companies in Boulder and Broomfield counties making more than $2 million a year.

The company, which was founded in 2004, reported sales of $7 million in 2010, an increase of 312 percent compared with the $1.7 million the company made in 2008.

Chief executive Jeff Bisberg said LED technology finally is making good on its promise to take over the industry.

“It fits the disruptive technology model,” Bisberg said of the way LEDs are catching on.

LED lights are based on a completely different technology than familiar incandescent or fluorescent bulbs. They are much smaller, more energy efficient and have longer lifetimes.

Those advantages made them popular in electronics, in car break lights and in Christmas lights, but continuing innovation means the lights are now feasible options for area lighting.

“It started off as a niche, and it’s been improving at an exponential rate. Now it’s better than any other lighting system out there,” Bisberg said.

Albeo has a growing nationwide client base that includes Fortune 50 companies. Some are looking to save on their lighting bills or switch to more environmentally friendly technology. Others are replacing old systems and are looking for quality.

Albeo engineers, scientists and technicians design and build the systems in Boulder. Many employees come from the University of Colorado and specialize in electro-optics, Bisberg said.

“Getting the right folks that know how to execute really is the secret sauce,” Bisberg said. “We’re doing fixtures that are brighter, longer lasting and more efficient than the others.”

The future also looks bright for the company. The technology continues to improve, and Bisberg estimates LED fixtures will double their efficiency in the next two years. More businesses and institutions will switch to LEDs to save costs or meet green building standards.

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