Growth
Lighting the way
Ellis Yan uses bright ideas to promote growth at TCP Inc.
By Patrick Mayock
Smart Business Akron/Canton | October 2007
Executives are always searching for the next bright idea in business. For Ellis Yan, bright ideas are his business.
As CEO of Technical Consumer Products Inc., Yan oversees one
of the country’s leading energy-efficient lighting manufacturers.
Founded in 1993, his company has become the premier producer
of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) in the United States, increasing sales more than fivefold since 2000.
The spike in production after 2000 was no coincidence. In the 12
months after June of the same year, rolling blackouts left much of
California in sporadic darkness. The energy crisis had myriad
effects — said blackouts, higher energy prices — but none proved
to be a bigger factor for TCP than the increased awareness of energy-efficient lighting.
Before the crisis, CFLs packed little luminous punch for a hefty
price. A cost of $7.99 per bulb was hardly economically savvy, and
consumers opted for traditional incandescent lamps instead.
When the need for efficient bulbs rose, however, lighting manufacturers were left scrambling to produce high-quality lighting at
an affordable price.
TCP quickly found itself ahead of the pack in efficient bulb design.
With the introduction of the “SpringLamp Inside” rather than a
straight tube — resulting in the twisted tube shape that characterizes energy-efficient bulbs — the company matched the performance of old-fashioned incandescent lamps while offering an energy-saving product that could actually save consumers money in the
long run.
Since that time, Yan and his team at TCP have created a number of
different products for a variety of name-brand and private-label lighting manufacturers, including a new line of energy-efficient bulbs for
its largest retail partner, The Home Depot, over the past year.
With increased production, so came the need for more space and
manpower. Yan addressed the former by moving corporate headquarters to Aurora. The new 154,000-square-foot facility opened in
spring 2007.
To address the latter issue of manpower, the CEO hired 94
employees — a growth of 123 percent — over the past five years.
TCP now employs a staff of 170.
As our country becomes increasingly eco-conscious, the need for
energy-efficient lighting isn’t going to wane any time soon. To meet
that demand, Yan and TCP are going to need a whole bunch of new
bright ideas.
HOW TO REACH: Technical Consumer Products Inc., (880) 324-1496 or www.tcpi.com
