NORIBACHI

Hawthorne

BUSINESS: Custom LED manufacturer

FOUNDED: 2008

TWO-YEAR REVENUE GROWTH: 827 percent

2013 REVENUE: $10.2 million

Responses from Chief Operating Officer Esther M. Santos:

What did you do to achieve the
company’s growth?

Two major factors for our company’s growth stand out. One is that we apply a Bespoke Engineered & Specifically Tailored (BEST) methodology to all of our lighting solutions. This custom approach allows us to engineer products to customer specifications. The other reason is that we have chosen the right ISR/distributor partners to work with. These partners effectively educate potential customers about the value of our BEST approach and the benefit of manufacturing in the U.S., including smaller lead times.

How did you manage the growing workload? For example, did you have to add space or move into
new facilities?

To manage the growing workload, we added staff. In three years, we have grown from five to 53 employees. In 2015, we will be moving into a new space three times the size of our current space to accommodate our growing staff and manufacturing requirements.

What was the biggest challenge for your staff?

Drinking out of a fire hose.

Do you plan on continuing a fast-growth path or has the time come to slow down a bit?

We are definitely continuing on this accelerated growth path.

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned over the last three years?

We are disrupting the 100-year-old lighting industry with a new approach to custom lighting and distribution. We have learned to be as positive as we can be about our products and to be respectful of the competition.