By providing advanced lighting solutions to fishermen working in conditions that range from the cold of Alaska to the storm surges of Florida to the erratic waters of Maine, DuraBrite lights have been able to literally light the way for fishermen on every coast. Their products balance brightness, color rendition accuracy, temperature control and more to help keep you safe on waters and in conditions that can be anything but. Much of that stems from a vision to focus on engineering and pursuit of innovation that has been driven by DuraBrite President and Co-founder, Mike Morris.
“Our lights have a unique bulb layout designed to minimize shadows and light gaps,” Morris said. “These lights run cool and display a consistent uniform temperature, never reaching above 50 degrees Fahrenheit.”
This combination has proven to be a fortuitous stroke of inspiration and imagination, as DuraBrite opened its doors at a time when gas and oil companies were in decline. Eagerness to target these industries at that time was scary for the new company. However, timing was on their side when one Maine lobsterman decided to let DuraBrite light his way on the water. Word soon spread like wildfire, and DuraBrite soon found themselves fulfilling orders from other fishermen, most of whom were in Maine.
Morris shared that he was introduced to LED technology over 10 years ago. “I was instantly fascinated with all the benefits in comparison to incandescent and fluorescent lighting that was widely being used at the time. I had a vision to create high output LED fixtures for commercial and industrial use to drastically reduce fuel costs for all kinds of equipment.”
As LED chips have matured over recent years, DuraBrite has identified the industry trends by just using a few large LED chips, which essentially attain the same overall optical outputs at a substantially lower cost. DuraBrite has commitment to the science and technology behind their products and believes that is the key component to quality lights. By referencing other standard lights on the market, DuraBrite has been able to manufacture a world-renowned product that creates a new kind of visibility on the water compared to competitors.
“Using a military-grade Gore venting system, all DuraBrite lights prevent condensation build-up, which is known to fog up the inside of the light,” Morris said. “Essentially, the light can breathe as water vapor is drawn out, therefore new water droplets cannot get in. This is a crucial benefit for our high optical output LED marine lights and a true differentiator with our products.”
Morris also mentioned that no matter how many days it is used, and no matter the condition on the water, the lens will remain perfectly flat. The venting technology is crucial for this feature of the light, and the seal with an IP67 waterproofness rating is maintained for the entire life of DuraBrite products. IP67-rated products are guaranteed 100% waterproof due to the high levels of solid and water ingress.
Competitors oftentimes use plastics when manufacturing lights to cut back on weight and because it’s the inexpensive route. DuraBrite shares that they use an Ultem 2300 composite. This material is 30% glass fiber reinforced, like what is used to make airplanes. Featuring high-performance polymer with resistance to extreme temperatures.
“The material can endure temperatures up to 340 degrees Fahrenheit and down to -67 degrees,” said Morris. “We’ve also created our own line of Super Hydrophobic Ceramic Defense Coating Series that keeps the product new longer. UV resistant, and self-cleaning, nano-ceramic technology protects surfaces against corrosion, oxidation, and outside chemicals.”
DuraBrite products are designed to balance brightness, color rendition accuracy, beam uniformity, beam spread angle, temperature control, and the weight and feel of each luminaire to help fishermen do their job with the best overall illumination possible. That’s something you can literally see in fan favorite TV shows like Nat Geo Channel’s “Wicked Tuna” and Animal Planet’s “Whale Wars,” where you can see products like the DuraBrite Pro, Standard, and Mini Series marine lights in action.
“Years into the venture our lights found their way onto a Wicked Tuna boat and the brand exploded within the tuna fishing scene. Our lights proved to be a huge success regarding efficiency, performance, durability, and in the words of a tuna fisherman, ‘raised bait like no other light out there.’”
As DuraBrite has grown within the marine community they have begun to investigate ways of solving different issues such as visibility in different conditions. The product development for later this year and over the next few years will be to advance their lights to turn from white to amber to adjust to fog or snow to eliminate any glare that is caused on the water.
“These new features will be more than just an antiglare and bounce back feature but will allow different modes of color while integrating dazzler, pulsing, flashing and SOS features to benefit law enforcement and first responder vessels. All these features will eliminate the need for multiple light fixtures and save significant costs on both product and wiring expenses while drastically improving efficiency.” Morris shares.
DuraBrite will also be implementing a NMEA 2000 compliant line of lights. NMEA 2000 technology is a plug-and-play communications standard used for connecting marine instrumentation within vessels. The interface allows devices made by different manufacturers to communicate with each other within the same network without causing interference between devices. This will make it so any DuraBrite light within that line is compatible with any multi-function display such as Garmin, Simrad, and Furuno to name a few.
Morris and business partner look forward to implementing new features to the company’s lights to continue to be some of the most efficient lights on the water for commercial fishermen. He shares that they have been actively seeking new opportunities to create new campaigns like the Save Maine Lobstermen Campaign.
“We look to benefit commercial fishermen in all parts of the country, not only by creating custom lighting products to raise money and awareness, but by sponsoring events that align with our vision to support sustainable fishing” Morris shares.
Learn more about how DuraBrite helped launch a star-quality bluefin tuna hunter.
