The Rt Hon Beverley Hughes MP, Minister for the North West and Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families has visited Marl, a successful North West England business, to be briefed on the company's energy-saving LED lighting technology and their young apprentice scheme.

During the Minister's visit, Marl Managing Director Adrian Rawlinson demonstrated a new rail carriage interior light developed by the company that can reduce energy consumption in this area by as much as 50%. Based on long lasting LED technology, the lights last for ten years or more of continuous use, eliminating the need for the maintenance team to check and replace blown bulbs. He also discussed other applications LED lighting technology, which range from interior and security lighting for buildings to panel lights for industrial control panels. Ms Hughes also met the Production Manager, Sales Specialist and apprentice working at Marl.

Marl manufactures LED assemblies for the electronic, rail, architectural, power generation, defence and telecommunications industries at its 6 acre site in Ulverston. Marl has been in the town for 35 years and has over 100 employees at the site. The company has prestigious contracts with businesses worldwide ranging from British Energy to Amtrak, and its products are used by the FIA as part of a crash severity warning system for Formula 1 cars.

Commenting, the Rt Hon Beverley Hughes said, "It’s very good indeed to visit a successful and entrepreneurial North Western manufacturing business whose plans for growth are based on technology that both addresses the issue of climate change and helps reduce maintenance costs. Marl is a particularly inspiring example as the company provides an environment for young people to grow and develop as through its apprentice scheme. I wish Adrian and his team every success with their new product."

Adrian Rawlinson added, "We were greatly honoured to welcome the Minister to our premises in Ulverston. Marl is at the leading edge of ultra efficient LED lighting, a technology that is poised to become the lighting technology of choice in buildings and vehicles, as well as for control panels, as it can reduce energy consumption, improve reliability and save other costs. We appreciated the opportunity to bring this to the Minister's attention."

Marl's LED Gauge Rings provide a superior backlight solution for Rolling Stock, Speedometers, Pressure Gauges and Brake Gauges. More traditional light sources, such as filament bulbs, are prone to vibration and shock from the train's movement. This often causes irreparable damage and results in costly and unscheduled maintenance. Contrastingly, Marl's LED Gauge Ring units are fully potted ensuring extremely high resistance to shock and vibration, ideally suiting them to rolling stock applications.

The extended lifetime of an LED as compared to a filament bulb also helps train operators cut down on waste products and maintenance. In addition, LEDs also use less power and generate less heat than filament bulbs, making them a safe and economical option.

Marl's LED Gauge Rings are designed to be placed behind a panel and are secured using a bracket mounted on the Gauge. The Gauge Ring; product family comes with inbuilt protection against electrical transients, plus diode protection to guard against reverse polarity connection making this unit ultra reliable. The use of high intensity white LEDs gives excellent information definition and driver feedback has welcomed the use of LED illumination in locomotive cabs.

Download the Gauge Ring Datasheet (PDF) | View other Rail lighting solutions
Contact the Marl Rail sales team

Marl International Limited, LED lighting specialists, and EAO, experts for rail industry controls, have formed a new partnership to take new, efficient and robust Marl LED lighting fixtures to the rail industry.

Following the recent development of powerful and highly energy efficient LED light engines, Marl has launched a range of LED products that offers a direct replacement for existing halogen bulbs in railway carriages. These replacements use a third of the energy of halogen bulbs and last over ten times as long. The company is also about to announce a fluorescent tube replacement solution that includes the option of battery-backed emergency lighting integral to the LED luminaire. Marl and EAO have co-operated successfully providing switch and illumination solutions to the rail industry, and their new partnership marks the launch of new more powerful LED lighting fixtures that address industry requirements for reduced lifetime operating costs for railway carriage lighting systems.

Commenting on the agreement Sue Jacques, Managing Director of EAO, UK said, "The addition of Marl LED fixtures for interior illumination gives EAO a complete solution for the rail passenger environment extending from switches and sound modules through safety lighting to carriage illumination. We have enjoyed a ten-year relationship with Marl on our highly successful range of rail door and cab solutions and have a high regard for the quality of their engineering and manufacturing. Their new Marl LEDs meet the strict requirements for rail industry carriage illumination and we can build on our past successes."

David Moorhouse, Operations Director of Marl International, added, "EAO has exceptionally close relationships with the rail industry, and we are excited at the prospect of opening a new market in partnership with them. Marl LEDs use less energy than halogen lights and even fluorescent tubes, they are robust and they are maintenance free. As a result we are already seeing growing adoption of the technology in refurbishment projects and in new carriage designs. We are confident that through our partnership Marl and EAO will quickly convince the rail industry of the benefits of adopting our technology."

About EAO
EAO is a global manufacturer of high-quality Human Machine Interface products and solutions, from switches, keypads and keyboards to complete custom-built control panels. Founded in 1947, EAO has established a global reputation for being an expert partner for Human Machine Interfaces across a range of target industries including: http://www.eao.com/global/en/products/marketsegments/liftingandmoving/liftingandmoving.asp transportation; http://www.eao.com/global/en/products/marketsegments/machinery/machinery.asp machinery, telecommunications; http://www.eao.com/global/en/products/marketsegments/processcontrol/processcontrol.asp process control, lifting and moving and automotive.

EAO’s products have been developed by world-class industrial specialists and tested to international standards. They are synonymous with EAO’s reputation for creativity, innovation and excellence.

EAO’s 12 specialised Sales and Customer Service Centres around the world, and a network of trained specialist agents and representatives in more than 50 countries bring experience, skill and dedication to customer projects. For more information, please visit: www.eao.com

Find out more about Marl International Limited
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Marl have established a sales agreement with the US railroad operator Amtrak, under which our LED downlighters are being installed in Superliner 1 diner carriages as part of their conversion to diner lounges.

The contract was awarded on the basis of the energy efficiency of our illumination solutions, as well as the ease of installation.  Graham Round, Vice President of Sales of Marl Opto Inc, said, "Marl's high intensity LEDs are easy to install, require no maintenance, create very little heat and are excellent in high vibration applications such as train coaches.  We have been able to meet all the applicable US railroad safety regulations, especially those covering emergency lighting.  In the event of total power loss, Marl LEDs can continue to provide illumination for four hours from the back-up battery."

Marl LEDs also offer a very long service life, and the products supplied to Amtrak have a rated continuous service life of 70,000 hours.  Amtrak is to install 24 of these lights into each refurbished Superliner dining car.

About Amtrak

Amtrak provides intercity passenger rail services to more than 500 destinations in 46 states on a 22,000-mile route system in the USA.  For more information, please visit www.amtrak.com.

Following three months of discussion and negotiation, Adrian Rawlinson has acquired the controlling interest in Marl International Ltd.  Graham Round has increased his minority shareholding, whilst Brian Ainley retains a shareholding interest in the Company.

The existing structure of the senior management team will remain in place, with the exception that Brian Ainley’s position as Chairman will now be as Non-Executive.

David Moorhouse and David Ford will remain on the Board of Directors.  It is worth noting that between the five senior officers of Marl, they have 125 years of experience with the company.

The shareholders have decided to make an additional significant investment into the Company in order to take advantage of the exciting opportunities which are emerging in the solid state lighting market for general lighting.  This is an exciting time for the industry and an exciting time for Marl.


Adrian Rawlinson quoted:

"We are not intending a fundamental change in strategy but, to the contrary, want to increase our presence in the existing market sectors in rail, defence and photo science and continue to make progress with the opportunities emerging for high brightness LED products and systems for both indication and illumination in the rapidly expanding Solid State Lighting market.
Should you require any further information please feel free to contact us."

Adrian Rawlinson
Managing Director