For the Week of March 3rd

Management Changes:

W.A.C. Lighting (Garden City, N.Y., lighting designer and manufacturer) has appointed Richard Kurtz as president and coo. Kurtz, who joined the firm last spring as vp, operations, will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the business.

FRCH Design Worldwide (Cincinnati architectural and design firm) has promoted Shane Kavanagh to vp/specialty retail documentation and rollout. Kavanagh, who joined the firm 10 years ago, is responsible for directing the work for specialty retail clients and managing the firm's rollout programs.

Emick Howard & Seibert Inc. (Seattle retail planning, architecture and interior design firm) has hired Mancong Lin as project architect. Lin will handle financial institution and corporate projects for the firm.

Horton Lees Brogden Lighting Design (New York lighting design firm) has appointed the following as associates: Lee Hanel, New York office; and Guy Smith and Ann Little, Los Angeles office. In addition, the firm has hired the following designers: Eleni Savvidou, New York office; Justin Horvath, Los Angeles office; and Jame Mandle and Jay Wratten, San Francisco office.

Howard Industries Inc. Ballast Products Division (Laurel, Miss., ballast manufacturer) has added Russ Bahlenhorst as western regional manager.

LEDtronics Inc. (Torrance, Calif., LED designer and manufacturer) has hired Jeffrey Mizel as district sales manager for upstate New York, New York City, Northern New Jersey, Florida and Puerto Rico.

M.E. Productions (Marina Del Rey, Calif., retail design firm) has named Tami Hellewell Zachary as manager, marketing and business development. Zachary is responsible for marketing the firm's design services to retail clients in the U.S. and abroad.

Mergers/Acquisitions:

Hat World Inc. (Indianapolis specialty headwear retailer) has acquired Cap Factory Inc. (Boston custom embroidery business for baseball caps and sporting apparel). The acquisition includes the Cap Factory web site, Internet production capability and two kiosks located in the Prudential Center and Burlington Mall in Boston.

Scott Brownrigg + Turner ( London planning, architecture and interior design firm) has merged with the Ransley Group (Guildford, U.K., interior design firm). As a result, SBT Ransley, a new division of SBT Intl., has been created to increase the firm's presence in design for the hospitality and leisure sectors, including in the European market. Ransley's managing director, Sue Davis, has been appointed as a divisional director of SBT.

Business Briefs:

Amerlux Lighting Systems (Fairfield, N.J., retail and commercial construction lighting systems designer and manufacturer) and W.A.C. Lighting (Garden City, N.Y., track, recessed, undercabinet and monorail lighting systems manufacturer) have formed a strategic alliance to share marketing strategies, product development, manufacturing and sourcing for the commercial and retail markets. The two companies plan on launching several co-developed product lines to their respective markets by the end to the year.

Rootstein (New York mannequin designer and manufacturer) will debut two new collections, called “Coast 2003” and “Contrast,” during International Display Week, held March 6 and 7 in London.

Luraline Products Co. (Opa Locka, Fla., lighting manufacturer) has joined the Trade Only Design Library (TODL), a design product research and specification database open to qualified members. Luraline added full specification details for 25 of its products to the site (www.todl.com), which features more than 650 manufacturers and specifications for more than 150,000 products in a variety of categories.

4walls.com (Cleveland digital printing company) and HauteInteriors.com (Baltimore interior design firm) installed six different murals on the U.S. Navy Comfort hospital ship before it left for assignment in the Indian Ocean. The murals include fishing scenes and golf scenes, a horse race and three country scenes.

Hornall Anderson Design Works (Seattle branding and online design firm) has completed a collection of marketing business papers for architectural design firm InSite Works. The project included the design of business cards, miniature CDs, drafting sleeves and metal-engraved cards for multiple uses.

Vinick Associates Inc. (Rocky Hill, Conn., interior planning and design firm) has completed the prototype design for the Golfers'Clubhouse in Braintree, Mass. Vinick designed custom graphics and signage for the 27,000 square-foot store.

ERCO Lighting Inc.'s (Edison, N.J., architectural lighting designer and manufacturer) has unveiled its new Light Scout Internet program (www.erco.com), which provides access to more than 100,000 pages of information on lighting and products.

Awards & Competitions:

Permlight (Tustin, Calif., LED lighting solutions designer and manufacturer) was awarded a 2002 ADEX (Awards for Design Excellence) Gold Award in the specialty lighting category by Design Journal magazine for its “FoamLight” technology.

TIR Systems Ltd. (Vancouver, B.C., specialty lighting systems manufacturer) won a 2002 ADEX (Awards for Design Excellence) Platinum Award by Design Journal magazine for its “Destiny ColorWash” luminaire.

Airstar Space Lighting's (Los Angeles air balloon producer and marketer) president/ceo Pierre Chabert was awarded an Academy Award in Technical Achievement by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The award recognizes Chabert's balloons with internal light sources that are used in the motion picture industry, as well as special events, exhibitions and construction.