Adelaide-based Vailo, a manufacturer of advanced LED lighting solutions, will relocate its production and R&D team next year to a new facility with five times the manufacturing floorspace to incorporate more automation and robotics. Vailo is currently engaged with Australian and international stadium and sports field lighting projects and is rapidly expanding into the US market.
Vailo's current manufacturing centre in Kent Town, SA
To expand Vailo’s production output of LED sports lighting and digital displays, the new facility will feature a larger manufacturing floor space that incorporates automation and robotics on the assembly line. It will also be equipped with advanced 3D printing capabilities, a photometric dark room and a product development testing laboratory.
Aaron Hickmann, CEO and founder VailoCEO and founder Aaron Hickmann said Vailo will sell its current Kent Town home in Adelaide and, in early 2024, will relocate ten minutes across town to its new Wayville headquarters in a former IBM building on Greenhill Road.
“VAILO’s new Wayville facility allows us to further develop our product ranges and test our technology, including some of the most advanced sport lighting systems and horticultural lighting systems globally,” said Hickman.
“We’ve loved operating from Kent Town, but for advanced manufacturing, we’ve outgrown the site within a short period of time and as we look at our export market opportunity, the timing for this new state-of-the-art facility at Wayville is just right.”
Vailo's new location was formerly an IBM Australia building
The new Wayville facility will have “a highly-appointed fit-out, with collaboration break out spaces, significant boardroom and meeting rooms, a meditation room and mother’s feeding room. The VAILO Arcade, which is loved by visitors, will expand behind a hidden bookshelf door.”
The company has invested over $8M in carbon-neutral advanced manufacturing facilities including surface mount technology and an assembly line.
VAILO's high-performance sports light the Zenith Gen-V is manufactured in Kent Town SA and installed in stadiums across the country
VAILO is currently engaged with Australian and international stadium and sports field lighting projects and is rapidly expanding into the US market. It has transitioned from importer to manufacturer, exporting Australian-designed and made LED lighting products with its award-winning stadium light, the Zenith Gen-V.
Hickmann created his first LED luminaire in 2012 and has since developed relationships with entrepreneurs and strategic partners around the world, from Silicon Valley to Japan to Europe.
In May 2023, the company formerly known as VALO announced that it was changing its name and rebranding to VAILO as part of its expansion internationally.
“The name VALO, meaning ‘light’, was associated with several diverse products and services globally,” Hickmann said. “It has been a success for us in Australia, however owning a single word in a unique spelling while retaining the pronunciation is important for our rapid expansion as we export product to stadia projects globally.
“We believe that our new name better reflects our vision and values as a company and will help us differentiate ourselves in this and other new markets as we expand our reach.”
