Abright example

A Blenheim lighting company has started exporting its eco-friendly LED lights overseas, and with a team of only four people, it is a shining example of how a small business can take off.

Go Green LED Lighting Specialists ships light products all over New Zealand, and to the United Arab Emirates.

Electrician Radek Baran and his partner, company co-director Ariel Pereira, run the business from their home-based workshop in Blenheim, with only two other employees.

After a busy year, they are excited to be entering the Cawthron Marlborough Environment Awards in the business innovation category.

LED lighting, such as panel lights and bay lights, is in hot demand, Radek says. Streetlights and floodlights are the company’s next focus.

‘‘This year we have been extremely busy, it’s going very well.’’

Radek says while there are some businesses out there who want to conserve power, many choose Go Green LED products for aesthetic reasons.

‘‘Most of them don’t look for payback, they want it just because it looks amazing.’’

LED lights contain light-emitting diodes, and have a lifespan and electrical efficiency several times greater than normal light bulbs, and are significantly more efficient than most fluorescent lamps.

Radek acknowledges Go Green LED products are not cheap, but says the lights are top quality, and components are sourced from around the world.

‘‘We prefer to build them with the [best] components we can.’’

Radek has an extensive background in lighting, and used to do the lighting at national theatres in the Czech Republic.

When he first came to New Zealand he worked in the wine industry, but it was not long before he decided to return to his field of expertise, setting up Go Green LED in 2010.

While this is Go Green LED’s first time entering the Cawthron Marlborough Environment Awards, it has won an award from the Marlborough Chamber of Commerce for best emerging business.

- Elena McPhee