Loveland-based Lightning Hybrids opens London office

LOVELAND – Lightning Hybrids, which makes hybrid systems for medium and heavy-duty fleet vehicles, on Tuesday opened a London subsidiary under the same name and saw its first systems installed there, marking its first foray into the European market.

The growth is being fueled in part by a recently announced investment in the Loveland-based company by Castrol innoVentures, the investment arm of lubricant manufacturer Castrol.

“It’s sort of a double-whammy,” Lightning Hybrids vice president of marketing Bonnie Trowbridge said of the European milestones. “Today is a big day for us.”

The London office is being staffed initially only by managing director of international business Tim Sherwood, but the expansion has already meant more hiring locally as manufacturing ramps up. The first systems in Europe are being installed for a worldwide package delivery company, with a food delivery company’s fleet to come online later in the week. Trowbridge said she couldn’t yet disclose the names of the clients.

Lightning Hybrids grew from 14 employees to 31 in 2014. The company has already added seven more this year, and Trowbridge said that number is expected to grow by three or four in the next couple of months. Three of the company’s Loveland employees are in London temporarily to install Lightning Hybrid systems, which cost between $16,000 and $30,000 each depending on the type of vehicle and system installed. But eventually the company will be adding more full-time staff there.

“As we get more vehicles and fleets, we’re going to have to have more people there,” Trowbridge said.

The amount of Castrol’s investment, which came at the end of 2014, was undisclosed. But along with another investment from Shell, it helped lead $3.6 million in venture capital investment in Lightning Hybrids last year. That’s in addition to a $500,000 Advanced Industries Accelerator Program grant from the state of Colorado. Trowbridge said the company is aiming to raise another $10 million this year for working capital and continued international expansion.

Lightning Hybrids already has a small office in India, and is aiming international sales efforts at Turkey and Brazil as well.

The company has seen $2.5 million in sales so far in 2015 but is projecting $23.5 million for 2016 due to the plans of current clients to purchase large quantities next year.

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