Luminus Devices Receives Emerging Technology Fund Loan from MassDevelopment
Manufacturers of Award-Winning PhlatLight™ LED Technology to Create 300 Bay State Jobs Over Next Five Years
Luminus Devices, Inc. announced that it has received a $2.5 million development loan from the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency’s Emerging Technology Fund (ETF). The company will use the financing to expand its manufacturing operations and help meet increased demand from customers as its PhlatLight LED technology becomes more widely adopted.
Luminus Devices has gained a strong foothold in the consumer electronics market, due to the expanding adoption of its PhlatLight products by some of the world’s leading TV manufacturers. This adoption, as well as its more recent expansion into new applications, has driven a stream of new hires. In the last four years, Luminus has created 175 local jobs and will continue to expand its workforce throughout the term of the agreement. The funds from MassDevelopment are allotted for capital and leasehold improvements and will help Luminus’ creation of many more new jobs in Massachusetts over the next five years. New growth is expected to come from Luminus’ expansion into a variety of new applications, including LCD TV, one of the fastest growing segments in HDTV.
"This project is another great example of how the Emerging Technology Fund helps convince cutting-edge businesses like Luminus to site or expand manufacturing operations in the Commonwealth by providing a modest, targeted investment in equipment and facilities," said Robert L. Culver, MassDevelopment president/CEO. "Like Bristol-Myers Squibb in Devens, Luminus' decision to create high-tech jobs in the Bay State is a testament to the fact that Massachusetts has the workforce, real estate and commitment to business development that makes manufacturing -- in addition to research and development -- both a realistic and attractive option for firms that are here now, as well as those looking to expand in this part of the country."
“We are encouraged by the State’s support of our business and we are pleased to be giving back to the local economy by maintaining our Massachusetts roots and continuing to create new jobs,” said Luminus Devices’ CEO Udi Meirav. “The loan from MassDevelopment will help continue the expansion of our manufacturing operations and contribute to the mass commercialization of our PhlatLight products as we enter into new applications and ramp up production of our existing products for our consumer electronics customer base.”
Founded in 2002, Luminus Devices originated from research at MIT by company CTO and founder Alexei Erchak. The company’s patented PhlatLight LED technology is the light source currently featured in Samsung Electronics’ new line of Slim LED DLP® TVs, which are on shelves at national retailers, including Best Buy, Circuit City, Sears, and Tweeter. The new sets all use Luminus' environmentally-friendly PhlatLight illumination products in place of the hazardous mercury lamps found in traditional projection TVs. PhlatLight technology is also in commercial use in projection TVs from NuVision, as well as in a co