Spotlight On: LightSources

Meet John Andros, vice president of sales and marketing for the fluorescent lamp division of Orange, Conn.-based LightSources, Inc. (LSI), with responsibilities for worldwide fluorescent specialty lamps and the North and South American tanning markets.

Andros joined the lamp manufacturer’s team in January—well, actually he re-joined the team. From 1996 to 2002, Andros worked first for the tanning lamp division of LSI and then for the LCD-lighting division, making the lighting used in aircraft cockpits. Now, six years later, Andros is back and ready to propel LSI’s tanning lamp division to new heights.

Because I had worked for LSI in the past, I knew the company and the quality of the products—and when the opportunity to return presented itself, I welcomed it," Andros says. "These are people I know, and an industry I know."

In addition to his tenure with LSI, Andros brings a large amount of experience in various fields of lighting from his time at GE, Voltarc, LCD Lighting and American Ultraviolet—and he plans to use that experience to LSI’s advantage.

"I’ve spent 33 years in the industry, 20 of which have been in the tanning and UVC products field," he says. "Now that I’m back at LSI, I want to see the company continue to innovate. One of my immediate goals is to bring SolGlass technology to the marketplace in a much bigger way."

SolGlass technology is LSI’s most recent technological advance in the tanning industry based on a combination of a newly developed glass tube and a proprietary phosphor blend. This new glass allows for more effective and efficient UV transmission—particularly at the wavelengths that create the greatest tanning effect.

"This technology is truly unique," Andros says. "Not only does this technology tan better, there may be skincare benefits as well. Medical science has noted that wavelengths between 320nm and 340nm are the most damaging to the skin; with SolGlass, we virtually eliminate those wavelengths. So, if medical science is correct in that assessment, our SolGlass technology can effectively produce a tan without causing a loss of elasticity in the skin."

So, how does Andros plan to get the word out about this technology in a much bigger way? By getting noticed and then educating customers about the benefits of SolGlass. One way LSI already has been getting noticed is through the company’s new, sexy ads that state, "LightSources brand tanning lamps deliver what your customers want … better and longer-lasting tans." But Andros says that is only the first part of the process.

"Sex sells—in our industry, even more so," he adds. "However, we want to find a way to not only get noticed, but to educate people on our lamps. We need to find a way to cease to be on the defensive in this industry and find a way to promote the benefits of indoor tanning—such as vitamin D and mental health. The public needs to be educated about this. The ITA is doing a great job with Berman to bring the information to the public. As a whole, we need to all do a better job of that."

Cheers to that.