More often than not, outdoor lighting around commercial properties, parking lots and public buildings has been an afterthought: stick in the poles and light fixtures, and set the timer.

But in recent years, that’s all changed. Property owners and lighting designers want light fixtures that complement building designs, direct lighting to where it’s needed, and save on energy and maintenance costs.

That’s where Kim Lighting comes in.

A City of Industry-based architectural outdoor lighting company with more than $100 million in annual revenues, Kim Lighting is one of the oldest names in the business.

But it’s also been at the forefront of technological change, with so-called “architecturally relevant lighting” that makes light fixtures fit in with building designs, such as at the upscale Grove shopping center. It also has been out ahead in developing complex optics that focus light on intended targets, reducing light pollution into the sky and on adjacent properties.

Now, the company is facing one of its biggest challenges: how to incorporate into its fixtures light-emitting-diode technology, the latest craze to sweep the lighting world. LED lighting uses semiconductor chips as an illumination source, and saves energy and lasts far longer than conventional bulbs.

Kim is trying to walk a fine line between rushing ahead with a technology that still has significant technical challenges and risking doing too little and getting passed by competitors.

“We’re taking a prudent approach to LED technology. We want to make sure our performance levels are maintained,” said Bill Foley, vice president and general manager for Kim Lighting. “Right now, there are lots of LED products out there that are just products, not solutions that meet people’s needs.”

Kim Lighting has come out with some LED products, but the majority of its product lines don’t employ the technology. Meanwhile, hundreds of smaller players are working on LED products and could displace established companies in this new arena. There are some 1,700 domestic lighting companies.

“LED is spawning new entrants to the market that is already ripe for consolidation,” said Kevin Willmorth, a former Kim Lighting executive and owner of Lumenique LLC, a lighting consulting firm based in Germantown, Wis.

Remaining independent

Founded in 1934 by entrepreneur F.B. Nightingale, the company remained independent until 1970, when it was sold to a succession of parent companies. Hubbell Inc., an Orange, Conn.-based conglomerate, has owned Kim since 2002.

Through all this, Kim Lighting was largely able to operate independently, retain its name and much of its key staff. Along the way, it solidified its reputation as a high-end outdoor architectural lighting company.

In the mid-1980s, Kim Lighting developed a line of outdoor lighting fixtures that blended in with their architectural surroundings, making them less of an eyesore. Casings holding the lights were designed to mimic adjacent buildings, light poles used colors that resembled nearby buildings or landscaping.

Then in the 1990s, Kim Lighting turned its attention to another problem coming to public attention: excessive lighting that spills over onto adjacent property and escapes into the sky. “That light is all wasted,” Foley said.

The conventional response to this problem which has prompted municipalities to pass regulations was to put shields on the outside of light fixtures. But the shields were cumbersome, unsightly and did nothing to cut down on the light being generated. Kim Lighting came up with another solution: developing adjustable mirrors that allow the light to be focused.

“It allows the operator to make adjustments if excess light does get out or the intended target doesn’t receive enough light, which certainly beats the alternative of replacing the light fixture itself,” said Andy Powell, principal with Long Beach-based Lighting Design Alliance, a lighting design firm that has been a customer of Kim Lighting for more than 20 years.

Powell said Kim Lighting was “ahead of the curve” in developing these directional reflectors and is employing the technology in floodlights it’s installing on top of a downtown L.A. building. But Powell’s firm has not used any of Kim Lighting’s LED fixtures yet, and is instead keeping its options open as it watches the technology rapidly develop.

While LED technology has long been used for colored lighting in traffic signals, the development of white outdoor LED lighting is still in its infancy. Up until now, white light LEDs have been relatively low power and inadequate for use in many outdoor settings, such as parking lots. And pushing for higher LED output has run into some problems with the semiconductor circuits overheating, according to consultant Willmorth.

That means for now, Kim Lighting is only using LED technology in lighting fixtures that are relatively close to the ground and don’t have to light a large surface area, Foley said. Kim Lighting is not alone in its cautious approach.

“The big challenge for the general outdoor architectural lighting community is taking a leap of faith in LEDs as a white light source,” said Jim Crockett, editor of Architectural Solid State Lighting magazine.

But progress in this area is quite rapid and within the next couple years, the technology will be ready for prime time, Crockett said. And then, the question will be whether Kim Lighting can jump on board quickly enough to maintain its position as an industry leader.

Kim Lighting

Founded: 1934

Core business: Architectural outdoor

lighting fixtures

Employees in 2008: 468

Employees in 2007: 468

Goal: To maintain its position as a market leader amid rapid changes in the lighting

industry caused by the adoption of light-

emitting-diode technology

Driving Force: Desire of lighting design firms and property owners for efficient,

high-performance and architecturally appealing lighting