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By Joe Boomgaard | MiBiz
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Pat Sigler, Jack Nyenhuis, Jim Gingrich and Tom Newhouse partnered in the design and development of Herman Miller’s Flute light, an energy-efficient LED task light. The evolution in lighting technology from incandescent and fluorescent bulbs to LEDs — which themselves are becoming increasingly more efficient — helped drive the Flute design process. PHOTOS: JOE BOOMGAARD

WEST MICHIGAN—When four West Michigan companies put their collective creative minds together to develop a new product, the results can prove to be illuminating.

Herman Miller Inc.’s Flute Personal Light began with designer Tom Newhouse’s idea to use emerging LED technologies for an energy-efficient light for the office environment. Less than a year later, the simple, sleek task light made its debut at the NeoCon World Trade Fair. The back story of its development serves as a microcosm of West Michigan’s expertise in office furniture design, engineering and manufacturing — and offers a glimpse into how West Michgian companies might collaborate in the future.

“The story is so powerful for West Michigan,” Newhouse said during an interview at Herman Miller’s Design Yard in Holland. “It’s like the Silicon Valley for computers. The expertise (in office furniture) is here.”

As the price point decreased for LED lighting technology, designers like Newhouse moved away from traditional bulky, bulb-based task light designs. They didn’t have to accommodate the bulbous incandescent lamp or the flat or curly fluorescents. Newhouse, an independent designer and principal of Grand Rapids-based Thomas J. Newhouse Design, said LEDs opened a new “sculptural opportunity” to reduce mass and energy consumption, yet still improve the quality of the light.

Flute draws only 4.7 watts of energy compared to 13 watts or more from traditional task lights. But LEDs pose their own sets of challenges, including how to dissipate heat to protect the diodes.

“For me as an industrial designer, who is really the artist for industry or the sculptor, whole new form factors can happen when (an LED) is the source instead of (an incandescent bulb). There are whole new sculptural opportunities and eco-dematerialization opportunities — huge leaps,” Newhouse said. Eco-dematerialization is the process of preserving the function of a product while reducing materials, environmental impact and cost. “Flute is a great example of myself, as a designer, creating a design that was different or innovative.”

With the beginning sketches and a design patent in hand, Newhouse turned to his long-time collaborator Jack Nyenhuis, owner of Broadview Product Development Corporation in Zeeland, to develop some early prototypes and engineering.

“Tom loves LEDs because they’re so small, and he wanted to keep the package small,” Nyenhuis said. “It’s not like there’s a big glob in front of you. You hardly notice it.”

Broadview helped identify a local touch switch manufacturer and engineered a solution allowing Flute’s thin neck to support the light and house the wiring.

“We got it to a point, but we knew we can’t get it too far developed without a manufacturer and a marketer involved,” Newhouse said. “If you’ve got a manufacturer and an OEM working on it together, you have this great power.”

Early in the development, Newhouse connected with Jim Gingrich, general manager of commercial accounts for Cascade Engineering. The plastic injection molding company worked with Herman Miller for over 30 years, but never on a portable office light.

“Everything we’re working on today has innovation and sustainability as key elements, and we could immediately check off those boxes. We knew where the innovation was in terms of the design with the use of LEDs, and we knew where the sustainability was in terms of reducing power consumption,” Gingrich said. “It was a very nice blend. Fortunately, I think we came to Herman Miller at the right time, with the right set of ideas and concepts. The power of the idea got better because they integrated their marketing input, their design concepts and ideas, and design for environment and really improved upon what was there. Those elements made for a very strong product.

“You’ve got a $300 million company, a ($1.6) billion company, a small business owner and an independent designer, and all the principals hold innovation and sustainability as key items.”

After about six months, the trio brought Herman Miller a working conceptual prototype with cost estimates for production. After a few meetings, the company decided to put it in its product pipeline.

“If we got too far without the OEM, we’d start stumbling over what color and what material to use,” Newhouse said. “Each company has a design image. With this coming together of an alliance of expertise in design, engineering development, manufacturing and marketing, the timing was critical.”

Pat Sigler, product manager and operations lead for Herman Miller’s Thrive Portfolio, said the company had experience in developing an LED task light, but it needed a new product at a specific price point. Flute’s cost estimates fit perfectly, Sigler said. The task light sells for $249.

The West Michigan partners worked with the prototypes to identify any potential issues before the final tooling preparation. That allowed Herman Miller to quickly bring the product to market, said Gingrich, who credited Nyenhuis’ preliminary engineering for helping expedite the process.

“We’ve had little to no issues with the product in the field. It’s been bulletproof, and that’s a testimony to the companies,” Gingrich said. “If you don’t have to reengineer it, you can save time and money.”

Cascade Engineering leveraged its supplier base to find as many domestic suppliers as possible. The LEDs and the power blocks are made overseas, but nearly everything else is made in the U.S., most of it in Michigan, he said.

The complete production, painting and assembly of the lights takes place in West Michigan, where the partners were also able to source the touch switch, powder paint, packaging and technology. The lenses covering the LEDs come from a Northern Michigan company.

“There’s a lot of engineering, a lot of work that goes into it,” Sigler said. “It’s not as easy as screwing in a light bulb. It has to be an engineered product or it will not work or last.”

The result is one of the “most successful task lamp launches that we’ve had,” Sigler said. Herman Miller refused to discuss sales figures for Flute, but Sigler said it has “exceeded expectations.”

“We’ve had some very large wins that have really helped take it skyward,” Sigler said. “It’s an everyday ordered item.”

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TAGS:

• broadview product development corporation
• herman miller
• jack nyenhuis
• tom newhouse
• west michigan