LSI Industries Inc. (Nasdaq:LYTS) today reported that it is the recipient of the 2013 Manny Award in the "biggest breakthrough" category. This prestigious annual award is given to outstanding manufacturing companies for their innovation and best practices. LSI's recently introduced solid-state product, the Sterling™ LED area light fixture, was the basis for this award. The Manny Award is given by Cincy Magazine, a leading business publication of Greater Cincinnati.

Robert J. Ready, CEO, said, "We are pleased to receive the Manny Award. As a leading lighting and graphics company dedicated to providing advanced solid-state LED products, new product development and introduction is especially important. Following our introduction of the Sterling product, we introduced the Legacy™ product to the petroleum canopy market. Like the Sterling, the Legacy has generated a great deal of excitement in the industry. Additional energy-efficient LED based products will be introduced later this calendar year."

Scott D. Ready, President, commented, "After more than a year and a half of development, we are excited to introduce to the market a revolutionary new patented LED lighting product which incorporates technology that will become one of our platforms for future product development and innovation. Historically, light fixtures have been designed with a central light source including a lamp, reflector and lens in the middle of the fixture. This arrangement basically distributed a splash of light below the fixture. With advances in LED technology, LSI saw an opportunity to design an optical system dramatically different from that used in traditional lighting. This is a revolutionary optical system that delivers light with superior precision that allows customers to more effectively and efficiently illuminate outdoor parking lots and other areas. This breakthrough is accomplished by directing four precisely angled, side mounted, optical LED modules at the targeted area to be illuminated. 

"This platform and technology takes LED area lighting to a new and higher level of performance. The Sterling's light distribution performance increases the effective area of illumination by over 70%, as compared to other current generation LED area lights. This allows for the design of lighting layouts that use fewer fixtures and wider pole spacing, and directly translates into savings for the customer by reducing the aggregate cost of the light fixtures, installation, maintenance and energy usage. The Sterling luminaire, complete with optional integrated wireless controls and information systems, is manufactured in LSI's U.S. facilities."