What Hess America does

HessAmerica is a US-based manufacturer of architectural outdoor luminaires and site furnishings, headquartered in Gaffney, South Carolina and operating as a private subsidiary of the Experience Brands USA multi-brand group (which also includes HESS, GRIVEN, and NORDEON). Founded in 1997, the company designs, manufactures, and distributes LED-based outdoor lighting products across multiple mounting configurations including pole mount, wall mount, bollards, columns, in-ground, catenary suspended, recessed wall, and LED tile/strip luminaires, supplemented by illuminated benches, handrail luminaires, and non-illuminated site amenities such as tree grates, bicycle racks, and litter receptacles.

The core technology platform is built on LED luminaire architecture with three differentiated proprietary elements: PRIMAR, a registered wet-applied protective coating using lamellar mineral particles with approximately 20-year service life; zero-uplight optics engineered to meet LEED lighting zone requirements LZ1 through LZ4; and modular field-replaceable aluminum-core LED light engines configurable across Type II, III, IV, and V distribution patterns. Products carry CSA/US wet-location, IP65/IP67, UL listed, and NRTL certifications. Notable specification wins include the MSG Sphere Las Vegas, St. Louis Arch grounds, MIT Schwartzman Center, New Orleans Convention Center, and multiple luxury residential and commercial developments, demonstrating traction across hospitality, government, education, and commercial real estate verticals.

HessAmerica operates a 100% indirect go-to-market model with no direct sales or e-commerce, routing all orders through a network of more than 50 independent regional manufacturer representative firms covering the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with products configured to specification through a model-number ordering system. The company employs between 101 and 250 people and operates without public funding or institutional investor disclosures, with no venture capital rounds, M&A activity, or regulatory actions reported in the available data.

Name

Hess America

Legal name

HessAmerica

Website

https://hessamerica.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HessAmerica is a US-based manufacturer of architectural outdoor LED luminaires and site furnishings, serving municipalities, real estate developers, and landscape architects through a network of 50+ regional sales representatives across North America and the Caribbean.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Outdoor Lighting

NAICS

Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional Electric Lighting Fixture Manufacturing (335132), Electric Lighting Equipment Manufacturing (3351)

SIC

Electric Lighting & Wiring Equipment (3640), Miscellaneous Furniture & Fixtures (2590)

akta.pro primary industry

Outdoor & Area Lighting (Street, Roadway, Parking, Flood, Sports/Architectural exterior) (IMAGAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Louvers, Vents & Architectural Grilles (IMADAIAM)

Keywords

• Architectural outdoor lighting
• LED luminaires
• Site furnishings
• Outdoor lighting fixtures
• Architectural lighting products

Headquarters

HQ city

Gaffney

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Architectural Outdoor Luminaires: Revenue generated from the sale of architectural outdoor lighting products including pole-mounted luminaires, wall-mounted fixtures, illuminating bollards, columns, in-ground lights, catenary suspended systems, recessed wall lights, LED tile/strip luminaires, and illuminated site amenities such as benches and handrail lighting.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

HessAmerica manufactures architectural outdoor LED luminaires (pole mount, wall mount, bollards, columns, in-ground, recessed, catenary, handrail, and LED tile/strip fixtures) and site furnishings (benches, tree grates, bike racks, litter receptacles, barrier bollards). Products are sold through a network of regional sales representatives covering the United States, Canada, and Mexico, serving specification projects for municipalities, real estate developers, landscape architects, and electrical contractors.

Product overview

HessAmerica is a manufacturer of architectural outdoor luminaires and site furnishings, operating as part of Experience Brands USA. The company's product portfolio is organized as a unified platform of outdoor lighting solutions complemented by site amenities. The core lighting platform includes multiple mounting configurations: pole mount luminaires (LINEA and LINEA G2 series in 450/600/800 heights), wall mount luminaires, illuminating bollards (LINEA S, LINEA 950, SIERRA 42), illuminating columns (SIERRA 4000, SIERRA 3200), in-ground luminaires (ACCADIA, PALERMO, RAVENNA), recessed wall luminaires, catenary suspended luminaires, LED tile/strip products (LEDIA), illuminated benches (POSITANO, PORTAL), and handrail luminaires (WILA Puck XT). Supporting the lighting portfolio are site amenities including tree grates (REGULUS, OCTA, SERPO, CONCORD), benches, litter receptacles, bicycle racks, and barrier/utility bollards. A proprietary PRIMAR coating technology provides protective finish across the product range. All luminaires feature LED technology with options for 0-10v dimming, DMX/RDM control, occupancy sensors, and various color temperatures including RGBW color-changing variants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pole Mount Luminaires LED-powered outdoor luminaires designed for mounting on poles, available in various heights (15', 20', 26') and configurations including single and twin mounting options.
• Wall Mount Luminaires Architectural outdoor luminaires designed for wall mounting, offering zero uplight and suitable for building facades and entrances.
• Multifunctional Systems Combined lighting systems that integrate multiple mounting configurations for versatile architectural illumination.
• Catenary Suspended Luminaires Luminaires designed for suspended installation across catenary wire systems for pathway and area illumination.
• Illuminating Bollards LED-illuminated bollards for low-level pathway illumination including LINEA S, LINEA 950, and SIERRA 42 models with various heights and finishes.
• Illuminating Columns LED light columns including SIERRA 4000 for pathway and area illumination with translucent matte acrylic lens diffusing light uniformly.
• Recessed Wall Luminaires Recessed architectural luminaires for wall installations including Cubis Q product line for subtle architectural accents.
• In-Ground Luminaires Recessed inground luminaires including ACCADIA (L and R), PALERMO, and RAVENNA for uplighting, wall-washing, and architectural facade illumination.
• Illuminated Benches LED-illuminated seating including POSITANO glass bench and PORTAL bench that add color and illumination to outdoor spaces.
• LED Tile/Strip Luminaires Recessed LED tile and strip luminaires including LEDIA LF and LEDIA LL for interior and exterior architectural accents.
• Site Amenities Non-illuminating site furnishings including benches, litter receptacles, bicycle racks, barrier bollards, utility bollards, tree guards, and tree grates.
• Handrail Luminaires Recessed luminaires for installation into handrail profiles including WILA Puck XT for round or square metal handrail installations.
• LINEA Series Linear LED luminaire series featuring distinctly linear design with minimalist profile, available in 450 (15'), 600 (20'), and 800 (26') heights with pole mount, wall mount, and bollard variants.
• LINEA G2 Series Second-generation LINEA series leveraging latest LED technology with enhanced performance, available in same height configurations with improved lumen output.
• LINEA S Bollard Slender LED bollard with 6061 aluminum extrusion profile, available in 24', 30', and 36' heights with single or twin mount configurations and zero uplight.
• LINEA 950 Bollard Rectangular aluminum alloy bollard with high-power LEDs providing wide asymmetric distribution with zero uplight above 90 degrees horizontal, LEED compliant.
• SIERRA 4000 Column LED light column with translucent matte acrylic lens diffusing light uniformly, available in 13' and 16' heights with RGBW color options and diagonal or horizontal cut styles.
• SIERRA 3200 Wall Mount Wall-mounted LED column complementing building facades and entrances with white light or colored LED effects, 10' column height.
• SIERRA 42 Bollard Compact LED bollard with cylindrical matte acrylic lens and diagonal transition, maximum power consumption 15 watts.
• ACCADIA In-Ground Luminaires Round and rectangular in-ground luminaires for architectural facade lighting with precision optics, available in asymmetric and symmetric versions with spot and medium beam angles.
• PALERMO In-Ground Luminaires Square in-ground luminaire with brushed stainless steel detailing for architectural elegance, featuring symmetric and asymmetric optical options.
• RAVENNA In-Ground Luminaires Round in-ground luminaire with copper-free aluminum housing and anti-corrosive powder coat finish, available in white light and single colors for waymarking.
• LEDIA LL/LF Tile Strip Recessed glass tile and strip luminaires available in 9', 18', 27', and 36' lengths for interior and exterior architectural accents with RGB color-changing options.
• POSITANO Illuminated Bench LED-illuminated tempered glass bench with sandblasted translucent inner surface, anti-slip squares, and diffused illumination in white or colored LEDs.
• WILA Puck XT Handrail Luminaire Self-contained recessed LED luminaire for installation into round or square metal handrail profiles with IP66 rating and multiple light distributions.
• REGULUS Tree Grate Cast iron basket weave tree grate designed by Jean-Michel Wilmotte, available in 150 (58.3") and 200 (78") sizes with hot-dip galvanized steel frame.
• OCTA Tree Grate Geometric cast iron tree grate with simple styling, four-piece square design available in 150 and 200 sizes with graphite black finish.

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Experience Brands USAcoreOthersHessAmerica is a member of Experience Brands USA, a corporate umbrella organization that includes multiple lighting brands: HESS, GRIVEN, and NORDEON. The company website displays sister brand links and the company copyright states '2026 HessAmerica | Member of Experience Brands USA'. Jeremy Friedman's email domain is Exp-Brands.com indicating shared corporate infrastructure.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Landscape Forms: Landscape Forms is a direct peer producing architectural outdoor lighting and complementary site furnishings (benches, bollards, bike racks, tree grates). The two companies overlap directly on HessAmerica's combined lighting + site amenities offering for plazas, campuses, and streetscapes.
• Forms+Surfaces: Forms+Surfaces offers architectural lighting and site furnishings (bollards, benches, tree grates, receptacles) for transit, campus, and urban environments. Direct overlap with HessAmerica's portfolio on integrated lighting + site amenity packages for plazas and public spaces.
• Selux: Selux is a direct peer specializing in architectural interior and exterior lighting fixtures with strong design-led positioning and a comparable specification-sales model. HessAmerica competes head-to-head with Selux on bollards, columns, and pole-mount luminaires for urban and campus projects.
• Lumca (now part of WE-EF Leuchten group): Lumca and WE-EF Leuchten produce architectural outdoor lighting including bollards, columns, and pole-mount luminaires with strong specification-market presence. They overlap directly with HessAmerica on streetscape, park, and campus lighting projects in North America.
• Bega (US operations): Bega manufactures premium architectural outdoor luminaires, in-ground lights, and bollards with strong specification-grade positioning. It directly overlaps HessAmerica on landscape accent lighting, in-ground uplighting, and pedestrian-scale fixtures for municipalities and commercial developments.
• Ligman Lighting: Ligman manufactures architectural exterior luminaires including bollards, columns, in-ground, and pole-mount products sold through specification channels. It competes with HessAmerica on urban streetscape and commercial development projects across North America.

Emerging players

• Louis Poulsen: Louis Poulsen is a premium Danish architectural lighting designer whose pole-mount and bollard fixtures are increasingly specified in North American urban design projects. It represents premium-priced competition to HessAmerica on design-led, signature-project specifications rather than volume bids.

Broad incumbents

• Hubbell Lighting: Hubbell Lighting is a broad incumbent with architectural outdoor brands (Architectural Area Lighting, Spaulding, Kim) covering site and area lighting, poles, and bollards. It directly overlaps HessAmerica on commercial real estate and municipal projects with broader catalog and distribution scale.
• Signify (Philips, Color Kinetics): Signify is the global lighting incumbent whose Philips and Color Kinetics brands cover architectural outdoor lighting, including architectural façade, street, and area luminaires. It competes on large municipal and infrastructure bids where its global scale, controls platform, and full-project capability exceed HessAmerica's niche focus.
• Acuity Brands (Lithonia, Hydrel, Winona): Acuity Brands is a broad incumbent in lighting with architectural outdoor brands (Hydrel, Winona, Healthcare Lighting) covering pole-mount, in-ground, and bollard fixtures. It competes with HessAmerica on large commercial and municipal bids where bundled portfolios and volume pricing matter.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC22B7uMpOxsQ99wv1Pdugnw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hess-america
• Instagraminstagram.com/hessamerica_
• Pinterestpinterest.com/ExperienceBrands/_saved
• TikToktiktok.com/@exp.brands
• Xx.com/hess_america_

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hess America