Latest / Ben Taylor Podcast / Boat Lighting | System Advantages from Lumitec | Boot Dusseldorf 2026
Transcript
- Hi, everybody.Welcome back to another episode of the Ben Taylor podcast.Today, we're gonna sit down with Lumitec, here with Shevaun, and talk everything lighting.So nice to see you, Shevaun, and welcome to the podcast.Pleasure.Thank you, Ben.So give us some context first.What's Lumitec?What's the mission here?What are you guys about?Yeah.So Lumitec is an extreme marine environment lighting, LED lighting manufacturer.So we are what you call a bow-to-stern manufacturer in the marine space, meaning that we create a light for every aspect of the boat, both below and above the waterline.And in my description, I don't like to sayI like to say that Lumitec creates light.We don't create lights the commodity, we create light the solution.With our products, you're getting an extremely high value product that the goal is to make your life as a boat builder more efficient, and as an end user, easier to manage.And there's- there's more than you might think to lighting, 'cause immediately you go, okay, something lights up, it might be bright, it might be dim, it might be a different color.That's kind of no longer the situation today.The expectations are quite high from- That's correct.you know, what people experience in automotive, in the house, and the- the functions that they want lights to do onboard boats- Right.are actually quite difficult to achieve.That's correct.So- so how- how do you do that?Yeah.What's- So that's why- What more is there?Yeah.Yeah, that's why I like to say, that's why I made the reference before about light, especially Lumitec lights not being a commodity.It's no longer about coming in and illuminating a room.It's about giving you a feeling.Yeah.It's about creating an atmosphere.It's about adding value.You mentioned your home, your cars, you go in, we have what we call ambient lighting now.Yeah.Every single Lumitec light I like to refer to as- as a smart light.There's a microprocessor built into each light- Yeah.that allows you to do everything that you need to do with that light.So dimming- Yeah.color change, the ability to set a particular mood.Whether you're a boat operator and you're fishing at night and you just want redni- running lights that are red at the helm- Yeah.and bright white spreader lights, you can do that.But if you're also a party boat, you can have the full color spectrum lights going.Yeah.You're at dock in the night, you want a warm white cool night light running, that's what lighting is about, and that's what marine lighting is about today.It's about helping you maintain that lifestyle no matter where you are.Yeah.On the boat, in the car, at home.Yeah.And I suppose it's- I suppose it's more the system level thinking, so rather than individual light, okay, the light's on, right, great-it's also thinking about the whole system, how does that happen?If that light's really bright, what are the others doing?Correct.To create more of a mood- That's correct.rather than the light's on.That's correct.That's- And so thinking about this whole, uh, ecosystem, the system of lighting is more where you guys try and hang out- That's correct.rather than, you know, here's a nice green light.That's correct.That's correct.That's correct.So it goes beyond the light itself- Yeah.and that's why you see, uh, digital lighting control being such an important part of your lighting solution.So with Lumitec, we have our POCO4 digital lighting control system that allows you to do those different things that we were talking about.Right.So- It's more the behind the scenes system- That's correct.how they all communicate with each other.That's correct.That's correct.And having the ability to c- control multiple lights, multiple zones of lights as you were- Yeah.at the same time, and have them do very unique and individualized things that suit the purpose that you're wanting it to do at that particular time.Right.And that could be through an MFD, a tablet, things like this, all these smart devices so that- That's correct.you know, you don't have to get up- Nope.off the seat.Nope.You could probably be on the dock side and just be like, "Yeah, let's make it a different mood."That's correct.That's correct.So the POCO connects to the MFD either via ethernet or NMEA 2000 connection- Yeah.or you can download the app on your smart device.It doesn't matter if it's Apple or Android or any of your smart devices, you're able to control it, either connection through your Wi-Fi, uh, or your Bluetooth connection.And so literally, you're on the dock, you can get the lights started on the boat by the time you get there.Yeah, it's done, yeah.Yeah.Which is actually really useful- Yes.'cause you turn up and you're fumbling around, it's dark- Exactly.and you're like, "Where is everything?Lights on."But yeah.Exactly.Exactly.And- and almost immediately at the start of the interview, you talk about the longevity, the reliability, being really specialist in maritime.Yes.Can you go into what's so complicated about marine light compared to, you know, lights that we see every day?Yeah.So it's funny because not everybody understands that the marine environment is probably one of the harshest environments- It's brutal.in the world.Yeah.Especially for technology.That's correct.And electricity, yeah.And electronics, right?Yeah.Water, electricity, it doesn't know, right?Exactly.So it is one of the hardest and most harshest, uh, environments in the world for electronics.And so for us, that means putting an extra level of testing.So I always encourage anyone who's interested in Lumitec to come visit our factory.Because when you do a walkthrough, you get to hear terms like goniophotometer.What's that?Or you see a temperature chamber that takes our lights from 155 degrees Celsius to minus 55 degrees Celsius, or you see a saltwater chamber that continually splashes saltwater, uh, on there, or you'll see us dunking a light that's been running for 30 minutes into ice cold water just so that we can understand what that means.Just how durable is it.And just- Is it ready for the marine environment?That's correct.That's- that's what you're testing.Yeah.That's correct.Yeah.So we're testing-temperature, we're testing the durability of the materials, we're testing the durability of the coating.Sometimes it's just a matter of making sure that the white powder coat that's gone over stainless steel housing is not dried too much so that it can stand up to an occasional splash.All of our lights are IP67, meaning that they're tested for water intrusion.So they're completely sealed leaving the factory.All the underwater lights are IP68, IP69 rating, meaning that they're tested for 6 feet- Full submersion, 24/7.Yeah, yeah.And we have more and more of that.So the incredible amount of effort that goes behind creating a light for a- a space like the marine environment, it goes so far beyond- Yeah.you know- I want to- I want to see that.00 I want to go to the Lumitec place now- You absolutely have to.and see it.Yeah, yeah.You know, oftentimes, uh, people w- uh, I'll, as a salesperson, a customer will come and say, "Well, I want a light to" whatever, and then I'll go to the engineering team and I'll go- Yeah."Come and see this."Yeah, yeah."Hey, hey, listen, you need to create this."And they go, "Do you understand what's involved in getting that?"Yeah.And so it goes incredibly in-depth.Um, and it's- it- it really- it's something that truly, um, you know, makes Lumitec different.Yeah.I- the effort that we put into creating a product that will stand up and last in this environment.Boat builders must love this, 'cause they're, well, uh, 1, okay, the product, the testing, reliability, marine first, yeah, okay, wonderful.I believe you also have an approach with boat builders to be, I believe the phrase is, thinking about lighting kind of now and during the build or before the build, rather than after thought of, "Wouldn't a light be really nice right there?"That's correct.Just start it early and develop it with them.Well, let me tell you, one of the unique things about Lumitec is our 2wire lighting system.So all- most of our lights are 2 or 3 wire, um, lights.And, um, that means whether we're full color spectrum, a single color, or 2 color, 3 color light, it's over 2 wires.That's because we utilize a technology called PLI, power line instruction, where that microprocessor that's inside the light that I talked about before- Yeah.that's how we talk to the light over the power line.As a boat builder, what that means is that when you're now, before you even get to the end result, and you're considering a wiring harness, think about running 2 wires across your entire hull rather than 4 or 5 wires if you wanted to do a multi-color light.Yeah.You're not just adding to efficiency, but you're reducing complexity, you're reducing weight, you're adding value, you're increasing safety because you're running less wires.So the forethought, as you said, that goes into selecting a vendor like Lumitec for your lighting on your boat as an OEM goes way beyond just the light.Yeah.It's efficiency, it's safety, it's reduced complexity, it's reduced weight- Yeah.on a vessel which, you know- And all- all these things, I'm thinking of a boat builder, you know, one of the production boat builders, maybe 100 models a year, maybe more, you're thinking, "Okay, if we get this right, then it's- it's a dream."That's correct.Compared to not getting it rightThat's correct.And correcting it 100 times every- That's correct.every year on every model getting out, yeah, yeah.That's correct.And it works well into the aftermarket as well, even if you're somebody, you've bought an- a boat on the aftermarket, you've bought a used boat- Yeah.that has some halogen lights in there.They only came with 2 wires because all they did was come on and off.Yeah.Uh, now I wanna upgrade and I wanna get an LED light.I want a full color spectrum.Yeah.You want a smart light, you want the system.How do I, do I take every ex- Yeah, yeah.Do I take everything out and rewire my boat to accommodate 4 or 5 wires?Open that, do it.Exactly.Now you have an up-to-date, latest technology, LED light which is 2 wires that you can install even in an aftermarket- Yeah.installation.Okay.And we've got 2 products we wanna focus on.Yep.So we got the Sea Blaze X3.Yeah.What is this about?So Sea Blaze X3 is our newest iteration of underwater lighting.Um, it is our latest offering and it's truly, we believe, a light that's going to transform the underwater light market in the marine space.Why?Come on, tell me.Well, because for one, the production of this light is unlike anything that we've done before.We're using a proprietary technology we call Dry Lock, and Dry Lock really focuses on how the light is sealed from factory in the most efficient way to prevent any kind of water intrusion.Of course, you think an underwater light, it is meant to be under the water, it's me- it's gonna get really hot because people want it to be the brightest they can be- Yeah.to for best- They don't wanna glow underwater- Right.when they're chilling out onBest water penetration.Yeah.Um, that kind of stuff.But the, all of the things that we talked about, metal, when it gets, when it heats up, it expands and contracts.Glass will move.You're using a sealant when those things happen and expands and contracts, the sealant's gonna get a little bit of shift.Any shift, and it's under the water, you're going to have the possibility of water intrusion.In electronics, it's gonna fail.Right.With Sea Blaze X3, completely redesigned that process.The glass is now instead of just sealed, it's locked, factory vacuum locked, between 2 pieces of bronze that allows for a greater level of efficiency.So in Lumitec's opinion, this light will be the longest lasting underwater surface mounted light in the m- in the marine space.Wow.And is this a, is this a single product or product line or you're just using that as a blanket process?So this is just, this is just an expansion of our Sea Blaze, uh, world-renowned Sea Blaze underwater line.So it's the next generation to come to market, it'll have that technology.It's the next generation, right, uh, that's gonna come to market, um, that we think is going to completely transform this space.Uh, underwater lights are by far the most popular lights, um- Yeah.in, in, in our repertoire.And, you know, and there's a lot riding on it.And we, as one of the only manufacturers in the world to offer a 5year warranty on all of our products, we wanna build products that's gonna last.And so I believe that this light, we, we today have customers that have underwater lights ten years, 12 years.We think that Sea Blaze X3 is going to surpass that and give customers true satisfaction throughout the next decade.Yeah.And you kind of prove it with your warranty.Yep, that's correct.That's correct.You say it's gonna last 5 years, otherwise send it back and we'll- That's correct.we'll replace it.That's correct.That's correct.That's correct.And so the POCO3.Yep.PO- POCO3?POCO4.POCO?POCO4.POCO4.Come on, right.I know.POCO s- POCO4, what's this about?So POCO4 is our digital lighting control system that allows you to control all of the lights digitally through that smart device like we were talking before, the flexibility to have lighting be a part of a solution on a boat rather than just a function, a product.So POCO4, our newest iteration, POCO4, what that does, it goes beyond the digitization but it gives you things like sound-to-light technology, so the ability for your lights to react to music on the boat.That's something that's unique to POCO4.Pretty cool.Um, and it, you know, it's not just you know, the- the- Yeah, it's not justlike having a big system on, yeah.You can do a jazz, a nice smooth jazz theme- Yeah, yeah.where the music will sync with what you're looking for.And then what's it, what's it doing?Is it, is it changing the mood?Yeah.No, exactly.Let's say it's like soft jazz, it's setting the mood?Yeah.So POCO4- Or is it just the pulse of the music alone?actually connects into the head audio unit on your boat- Okay.and it listens to the music that you have there- Yeah.and it allows to adjust your lighting using AI technology to help set the mood that you're looking for.Oh right.So if you're looking for jazz- Yeah.and you want that smooth listening- They kind of just do it for you.then- You don't need to be a lighting expert.Exactly.They'll just do it.The lights will- That's cool.follow through on that.Yeah.POCO4 also increases our functionality for integration.So, uh, we now have the NMEA 2000- As we were saying, NMEA 2000 is connected so it's just universal.Connection.We also have an ethernet connection on there- Yeah.CAN based inter- um, integration for those boat builders that are using CAN.Uh, so it's just the newest iteration and Lumitec's version of digital lighting control.Okay.Super.And I, I suppose we've, we've covered a lot of aspects of Lumitec and- Sure.and the brand.Yeah.What's, what's in the workings?What's the vision looking forward?What, where's the kind of big focus for the next few years?Yeah.I think, you know, Lumitec spends a lot of time trying to differentiate ourselves, right?I like- And you have to, otherwise people just go- We do"Oh, yeah, you make lights."That's correct.That'sRight.Yeah.And they think of it, it's a light, it's a light.Yeah, yeah.We're not creating lights, we're creating light.That's what we focus on.We focus on putting in the work to make the best product available for customers, both on the OEM and the aftermarket side.How do I, as a builder, as a manufacturer, but also as a boater- Mm-hmm.what am I doing to make your life easier to add value?Uh, you know, there, you go out and you see boats, and there are boats at every price point.Yeah.And what makes somebody choose this boat over this boat?What makes somebody choose an Axopar over something else that's available?I- interestingly, I would say, it's usually a feeling.That's correct.And so when you talk about mood lighting, and all this advanced stuff, it's not because the color's blue and it's nice and bright, it's because it matches- That's correct.the music in the background.That's correct.It's the ambiance.Yeah.Or, or I feel like I'm getting true value for the money that I'm paying.Especially from the boat builder perspective, it's- That's correct.That's correct.And so I get in there, and I get into this boat, and it makes me feel like I'm at h- I'm at home.I can set the same expectations.Yeah.I can have the same efficiency or feeling that I want.And that's where I think Lumitec differentiates itself.We, everything is done under one house, manufacturing, our engineers, sales, uh, you know, everything is there.I tell customers all the time, "If you guys call me and tell me something's gone wrong with that light, I gotta get up from my desk and walk about 50, uh, feet, and go to the engineer that designed that light and say, 'Hey, what's happening here?'" Yeah, yeah.And so those are the things that I think that Lumitec continues to focus on.We continue to be a value manufacturer that pays attention to quality and providing you with the best product that's available.Super.In the LED space- Siobhan, thank you for coming on the podcast.Oh.Thank you for your insights.We really appreciate it.I appreciate it.Thank you so much.Everybody, if you enjoy content like this, make sure you're following here to see plenty more of it.All being well, we'll see you again next time.Bye for now.Thank you.