.jpg)
Keystone Technologies dates to 1945 when brothers-in-law Marvin Spielman and Harold Fox returned from World War II looking to fulfill their American Dream of starting a manufacturing company. After a friend noted that fluorescent lighting was becoming popular and ballasts were difficult to procure, Spielman and Fox began manufacturing ballasts in Fox’s attic in Philadelphia.
Demand for their ballasts grew quickly, so Spielman and Fox moved Keystone Technologies into a factory in Philadelphia. Later, they expanded their enterprise into Pennsburg and Trumbauersville, Pennsylvania. Today, Keystone Technologies is a third-generation, family-owned business with a robust network of distribution and OEM partners across North America.
“Since our founding, power supplies have been at the core of our product offering,” said Ira Greenberg, CEO, Keystone Technologies. “While we have a long legacy in manufacturing fluorescent and HID ballasts, we were able to pivot quite seamlessly to LED because of our expertise in power management, a critical function in LED products. Drivers were our first LED products nearly 15 years ago. Now, we embed Keystone drivers in every LED product we produce, including LED retrofit solutions, lamps, tubes, fixtures and more.”
To distinguish Keystone Technologies in a very competitive and fast-changing lighting market, the company focuses on trust-building with its customers. “People do business with whom they trust, so we place a high priority on earning our customers’ trust over earning an order. We listen carefully to their challenges and develop solutions that solve them, whether it be a product design, logistics matter or even support to win a project.”
The company’s willingness to change also contributes to its success. “Our culture rewards independent thinking, problem solving and adaptability to change,” Greenberg said. “Whether it’s a modification of an organizational process or a shift to a new technology, our organization embraces change as an opportunity rather than a threat.”
Greenberg said acting with urgency to market opportunities is required to succeed in the lighting industry. “Highly-focused, rapid product development enables us to provide innovative products that address quickly-changing customer needs,” he said. “The ability to deliver very fast quotations and returned merchandise authorizations earns our customers’ appreciation for handling customer service expediently.”
Keystone Technologies also abides by its motto. “‘Light Made Easy’ is not just a tagline, it’s our way of differentiating ourselves from the competition,” Greenberg said. “Doing business with Keystone is refreshingly easy. From free samples of just about anything and a hassle-free returns process, to super-fast quotes and simple instruction guides, we bend over backward to make sure we’re very easy to work with.”
The company serves as an example for distributors who want to continue to grow and distinguish themselves in the marketplace. “Just like at Keystone, distributors should focus on building trust with their customers through expert guidance on products and services,” Greenberg said. “With the prevalence of online shopping for common parts, distributors need to provide value-add beyond price and availability. They will need to embed into their customer’s project development process to identify opportunities and help specify appropriate products.”
Keystone Technologies is heavily involved in the retrofit space and continues to introduce award-winning products that make retrofitting easy. From lamps and FutureFit (light engine kits) to retrofit and new fixtures, the company has extensive experience and innovative solutions to help customers upgrade.
For utility rebate market opportunities where energy efficiency reigns, Keystone continues to push the boundaries with the most energy-efficient products. For example, Keystone offers the highest lumens per watt and the lowest wattage ratings in the LED tube and HID LED segments.
Keystone’s SmartLoop suite of connected lighting solutions represents another key focal point. This platform leverages Bluetooth Mesh and is integrated into a variety of retrofit and new fixture solutions for commercial and industrial applications. Keystone’s approach provides end users with seamless interoperability and an intuitive user experience, which makes commissioning simple and daily interactions natural.
“Keystone’s first core principle is, ‘We are customer-service obsessed,’ which is a value everyone throughout our organization ascribes to,” Greenberg said. “In order to provide a ‘best-in-class’ experience for our customers, our entire team shares this common vision. From trustworthy sales consultants and expert product specialists, to dependable fulfilment and eager-to-assist returns team members, every touchpoint with our customers provides the opportunity to demonstrate our exceptional attention to customer service.”
As a long-term-oriented private company, Keystone highly values building relationships for a lifetime. “Joining IMARK enables Keystone to deepen our relationships with many of our existing IMARK partners, as well as offers us an opportunity to meet new partners that historically have been exclusive to the IMARK vendor base,” Greenberg said. “IMARK has done a phenomenal job building a community of loyal, long-term partners, which Keystone is excited to join as a trusted, responsible supplier.”
For more information, visit keystonetech.com.