Westchester resident Lee Witham has discovered a way to combine two of his passions, environmental protection and the game of squash.
Having been involved with the sport for more than 30 years, Witham is using his business acumen as president of NortonLED, a provider of light-emitting diode or LED products, to launch his recent venture, LED Squash Lighting.
The lights, designed by Witham specifically for use in squash courts, replicate daylight and help eliminate the glare that pose a problem with traditional fixtures.
“There wasn”™t a light that was good enough to be lighting a court from 20 feet in the air without it having so much glare,” Witham said.
LED lights could bring squash clubs significant savings on electricity and reduce their overall energy usage. A typical fluorescent fixture in a squash court is 200 watts, while an LED light is 50 watts. “So straight away every club will get a 75 percent savings,” Witham said.
A British native, Witham became increasingly interested in taking steps to protect the environment after studying and living for seven years in Germany, a country he says is “way ahead of anybody else in the world” in terms of environmental protection. Witham also coached squash in Malta and England before accepting a job in the U.S. in 1998, where he has since trained a number of the country”™s top players, along with keeping employment outside of the sport while managing a family-owned wholesale florist business and pursuing his environmental interests.
Eight years ago, Witham built an Eco Net-Zero Energy house in Parksville in the Catskills, an environmentally friendly home that features geothermal heating systems and radiant floors. In the building process, he realized that LED lighting was “the easiest thing” that made a large impact on energy conservation.
Around that time, Witham and his wife sold the group of wholesale flower shops they owned as Witham was “looking to getting into something else.”
During a trip to South Korea with his wife, Witham connected with LED lighting manufacturers in that country, leading him to start his own American-based business, NortonLED in 2013. The Elmsford-based company provides LED lights direct from the Korean-based manufacturer for office buildings, factories, parking garages and warehouses.
“It”™s really been growing hugely in the last year,” he said. “This is really the time with LED.”
By importing his products direct from the manufacturer, Witham is able to keep his costs lower than many other U.S. companies, he said.
“It”™s cost me a huge amount of money to get this going, but I see the potential in the squash market especially,” he said. Start-up costs for the business have been “more in the hundreds of thousands than the tens of thousands.”
Witham is also the squash director at the Westchester Country Club in Rye, one of the courts that installed the LED lights this year. The fixtures have also been installed at Westchester Squash in Mamaroneck, and Witham aims to have installations in more than 100 clubs nationally by the end of the year, with projects already planned at clubs in Ohio, Massachusetts and New Jersey. The entrepreneur also plans to expand his business into neighboring Fairfield County.
“It”™s a long list,” he said of the upcoming expansions, adding that if clubs are able to afford the initial costs, “it”™s such a no-brainer to do.”
The LED fixtures cost roughly $2,241 per court, while installation costs vary by location. Additionally, Witham”™s business carries Design Lighting Consortium certification, which allows facilities to earn rebates from the state or their electrical supply company, depending on their location. Witham noted that The Westchester Country Club received a 45 percent rebate for the entire cost from Con Edison.
LED lights have significantly longer life than lighting used at most squash courts. Witham said that traditional lights need to be changed every three to five months, while his LED lights will last about 22 years. “So it”™s obviously a big difference.” He said he expects that clubs will save between $12,000 to $15,000 per year with the LED lights.
Witham”™s lights also feature a polycarbonate exterior, “so even the hardest [hit] ball can”™t break it,” he said.
Witham said he plans to reinvest 20 percent of profits from his squash lighting business into the game he loves. “I”™m hoping to sponsor some of the up-and-coming squash players in the world,” he said.
Having competed in the Professional Squash Association World Tour in the early 1990s, Witham knows first-hand the economic struggles of a professional squash player. “I was a top player myself, and I know how tough it is outside the top 50 to make a living,” he said.
Witham also plans to invest profits in tournaments and give discounts to urban squash programs looking to install the fixtures.
