OPPORTUNITY

In 2004, Mary O’Donnell and Susan Pelham opened their first office in the unfinished ground floor of an Orlando-area office building. Ten years, eleven offices and almost 200 employees later, that same space serves as Westcor Land Title Insurance Company’s headquarters, home to 80 employees working in its administrative, accounting and legal teams.

When Westcor outgrew its current office space, they wanted its new headquarters to focus on what was most important: the employee experience. Larger offices, flexible workspaces and high-quality, LED light from Cree helped create a more comfortable, productive environment for employees.

Flexible workspaces lit up with high quality Cree LED lights. (All photographs courtesy of Cree)

“Just the difference between what colors and textures look like with the fluorescents and what they look like with LED – you can clearly see how superior the Cree® LED fixtures were.” - Susan Pelham, VP of Operations, Westcor

SOLUTION: Cree TrueWhite® Technology makes offices shine with unmatched color rendering (CRI)

Prior to renovation, Westcor’s offices were lit by fluorescent fixtures that had dulled and begun to make noise over time. Employees often complained about inconsistent lighting and a constant buzzing sound coming from the lights, opting to work in the dark, or use their own desk lamps rather than turn on the fluorescent fixtures. Westcor turned to Blakeslee Design to design a lighting system that provided optimal light quality and consistency to help create a better balance for their employees.

“When we began the renovation process, I knew that the quality of lighting would be essential to the success of the project,’ said Robert Blakeslee, lighting designer. “It was really less about the material and more about color rendition. We used a lot of textures and bright color accents in the space and without superior color rendition, you’re basically just wasting your money.”

Optimum lighting helps to create productive environment for working.

Westcor installed more than 100 Cree KR4™ specification grade LED downlights and more than 200 Cree CR22™ LED troffers in the 20,000-plus square foot space, instantly creating a more efficiently lit office with exceptional light quality and color rendering through the power of Cree TrueWhite® Technology, delivering an exclusive combination of 90+ CRI and lifetime color accuracy and consistency.

BENEFITS: Exceptional light quality and consistency helps create a more comfortable work environment and happier, more productive employees

The clear, consistent light that Cree® LED lighting adds to the space has not gone unnoticed by employees, who attribute the new lighting to feeling more content while working.

“We’re hearing so many positive things about the new lighting,” says Pelham. “Most of the employees in this office do a lot of intense paperwork, and the purer light leaves their eyes feeling less tired at the end of the day, and has alleviated the need for additional desk lamps.”

“The fluorescent lights were inconsistently lamped and buzzed. The Cree® LED lighting is a remarkable improvement in light quality and CRI over the fluorescent,” adds Robert Blakeslee.

The office is lit up with 200 Cree CR22™ LED troffers, reaching an optimum of 90+ CRI with Cree TrueWhite® Technology.

Westcor shares monthly utility expenses evenly with other tenants who continue to use outdated lighting technology but reap the benefits of Westcor’s more energy efficient lighting solution that has reduced the amount of energy use. And in addition, Cree LED lighting requires less maintenance than other lighting options, causing fewer interruptions to the daily workflow in the office.

“A major factor for us when considering the Cree® LED lighting was how efficient it would be in terms of maintenance needs,” says Pelham. “The fact that they are relatively maintenance-free means we don’t need the facilities team in our office all the time to replace bulbs. The ability to avoid disrupting the work being done in the office was a major consideration.”

A combination of daylight and LED light can provide quality workspace for employees.

Improved light quality and exceptional color rendering, reduced energy consumption and virtually no required maintenance add up to a lighting solution that provides Westcor’s employees with the consistent and comfortable work space they need to be productive. Ten years ago, Westcor Land Title Company set out to create a successful business that prided itself on quality work with quality, valued employees. With this new, employee-friendly space and the addition of Cree LED lighting, they continue to do just that.