GE Current, a Daintree company, completed the acquisition of Hubbell Inc.’s commercial and industrial (C&I) lighting business Feb. 1; the combined new business will be branded as Current. Offices are located in Greenville, S.C., and Cleveland.
- Brings together two iconic businesses with deep innovation heritage, strong brands and application expertise
- Strategically positioned to now focus all investments into lighting and controls solutions
- Enhanced distribution footprint and digital tools to serve customer needs more easily, quickly, and efficiently
- Strong new product pipelines and shared patented technologies will deliver added value to customers
Hubbell’s C&I lighting business is a provider of professional lighting, lighting controls, and connected lighting that offers a comprehensive range of indoor and outdoor lighting products for industrial, commercial, and institutional applications. Brands that are part of the acquisition include Architectural Area Lighting, Beacon, Litecontrol, Kim Lighting, Columbia Lighting, Prescolite, Dual-Lite, Compass, Kurt Versen, Hubbell Outdoor Lighting, Hubbell Controls Solutions, and Whiteway.
GE Current brands include Albeo, Arize, Daintree, Evolve, Forum, Immersion, LightGrid, LightSweep, Lumination, ProLine, Tetra, TriGain, and 365DisInFx.
The combined business now offers an extensive product portfolio of lamps, fixtures, and controls uniquely tailored to C&I, signage, roadway, horticulture, and transportation markets. The acquisition also expands Current’s base of distribution partnerships and specific agent networks for the defined businesses and brands.
Post-merger executive leadership
The new executive team for the combined company was announced Feb. 3.
“As a larger enterprise, we are focused on customer centricity — ensuring our customer innovation and execution needs are rapidly fulfilled by our business units, while leveraging the combined scale of our facilities and supply chain in a continually volatile environment,” said Manish Bhandari, president and CEO, Current. “I am therefore delighted to have a complete management team in place, and in charge, on day one itself.”
Chip Taylor, with an established track record in the lighting industry, has been appointed as chief commercial officer.
The business units at the core of the company will be led by:
- Tom Benton as vice president and general manager of fixtures, including the recently acquired Forum business;
- Jason Sherrill as vice president and general manager of controls and software, including the NX and Daintree platforms; and
- Dan Phalen as vice president and general manager of growth markets, including lamps, roadways, signage, and horticulture.
The three vice presidents have extensive lighting industry experience, which will help drive customer-focused innovation and high-performance levels.
Joe Cenin will expand his role as chief supply chain officer to now include the acquired facilities in Juarez, Mexico; Tijuana, Mexico; Christiansburg, Va.; and Plympton, Mass.
James ”Jim” Farrell, previously president of Hubbell Lighting, recently rejoined the company as the group chief financial officer of the combined enterprise. Courtney Abraham will lead the development of people resources as the chief human resources officer.
Tom Boyle will take on the newly created role of chief development officer, leading the company development and integration efforts. Mark Ward has been appointed as vice president – business transformation, entrusted with performance excellence across the enterprise. Mark LeClair will lead the digital-connect efforts as the chief information officer, and Inger Eckert will be the general counsel of the business.
Find more information about the new Current and our executive team here.
