SolarMax LED

What SolarMax LED does

SolarMax LED, headquartered in Riverside, California, is a privately held manufacturer and contractor specializing in engineered LED lighting and LED traffic signage for outdoor, roadway, and industrial applications across North America. The company operates as a subsidiary of SolarMax Technology. Its core portfolio spans six LED luminaire categories — roadway (SMX-LL5/WiE), area (SMX-OT), high mast (INM), sports/flood (ISF, OFS, INS), post top (IP), and canopy (ID) — alongside three LED signage lines: amber and RGB color Changeable Message Signs (CMS) and Extinguishable Message Signs (EMS). Products are characterized by high efficacy (up to 170 lm/W) and 100,000-hour lifetimes, and carry procurement-grade certifications including UL, DLC Premium, DarkSky, CalTrans QPL/AFAL, and NEMA TS4 compliance.

The business operates through direct enterprise field sales — no resellers, distributors, or marketplace channels — targeting government entities (municipalities and state departments of transportation), commercial customers (dealerships, retail, warehouses), and select education/aviation/rail/maritime buyers. Revenue streams include hardware sales (primary), professional services (site audit, photometric evaluation, Title 24 compliance, installation), and recurring maintenance contracts (e.g., Town of Huntington, City of Vineland, Utah DOT 2022-2027). Pricing is quote-based rather than listed. Major executed contracts include 29,000+ units for CALTRANS (Oct 2017), 27,000+ units across two City of Riverside phases (2020, 2022), 1,000+ luminaires for Ontario International Airport, and multi-year Utah DOT high-mast supply through 2027. The company advertises free onsite surveys, photometric customization, and smart city network readiness as differentiators.

Revenue and funding data are not publicly disclosed; headcount is reported at 251-500 employees. Geographic reach spans at least 11 US states and Canada, with project references in California, New York, Iowa, Wyoming, New Jersey, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and British Columbia. Operating status is active, with website content indexed as recently as June 2026.

Name

SolarMax LED

Legal name

SolarMax Renewable Energy Provider, Inc.

Website

https://solarmaxled.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Outdoor LED Lighting and Traffic Signage

NAICS

Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional Electric Lighting Fixture Manufacturing (335132), Electric Lighting Equipment Manufacturing (33513), Indoor and Outdoor Display Advertising (54185)

SIC

Electric Lighting & Wiring Equipment (3640), Electrical Work (1731)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Lighting Controls & Smart Lighting Systems (BPABAGAC), Specialty & Task/Workstation Lighting (Inspection/task lights, cleanroom/food-grade, portable work lights) (IMAGAIAK)

Keywords

• LED roadway lighting
• LED traffic signage
• Municipal lighting solutions
• Outdoor LED fixtures
• Commercial LED lighting

Headquarters

HQ city

Riverside

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. LED Lighting Products: Sale of LED luminaires including roadway lights, area lights, high mast lights, sports lights, post top lights, canopy lights for outdoor and industrial applications. One-time hardware sales with optional extended warranties.
2. LED Traffic Signage Products: Sale of changeable message signs (CMS/VMS/DMS/EMS) for traffic management, highway signage, and toll booth displays. Products include amber monochrome and full color RGB options.
3. Professional Services: Services including site audit, photometric evaluation, lighting analysis, custom design, installation, and Title 24 compliance assistance. Turnkey services for government and commercial LED lighting projects.
4. Maintenance Contracts: Ongoing maintenance contracts with municipalities for street lighting, such as Town of Huntington (annual contract), City of Vineland (annual contract), and Utah DOT (multi-year 2022-2027 contract).

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SolarMax LED designs, manufactures, and supplies outdoor LED lighting fixtures and LED traffic signage products for government, commercial, and industrial customers. Its core offering comprises engineered LED luminaires (roadway, area, high mast, sports, post top, canopy) and changeable message signs (amber, RGB color, and extinguishable variants) sold alongside turnkey services including site audits, photometric evaluations, custom design, Title 24 compliance assistance, installation, and recurring municipal maintenance contracts.

Product overview

SolarMax LED is a manufacturer and contractor specializing in LED lighting and traffic signage solutions. The product portfolio includes two main categories: LED Lighting products (roadway lights, area lights, high mast lights, sports lights, post top lights, and canopy lights) and LED Signage products (amber, RGB color, and extinguishable message signs). All products are designed, engineered, and fabricated as components for government, industrial, and commercial entities across North America. The lighting products feature wireless control options, occupancy sensors, and smart city network compatibility, while signage products comply with Caltrans and NEMA standards for transportation applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SMX-LL5 Series / SMX-WiE Series Roadway Light Engineered LED cobra head luminaire for freeways, highways, local/collector/arterial roadways, and intersections. Available in four sizes with wattage from 17W to 260W, efficacy up to 146 lm/W, and lifetime exceeding 100,000 hours. Pole-mounted with various arm bracket options. UL listed, DLC Premium listed, and DarkSky certified.
• SMX-OT Series Area Light High-efficacy LED area luminaire for parking lots, residential areas, retail pathways, school campus walkways, and community parks. Available in three sizes with wattage from 33W to 420W, efficacy up to 170 lm/W, IP66 rated housing with six mounting options, photoelectric and motion dimming, and wireless control.
• INM Series High Mast Light High-performance LED luminaire for large outdoor areas including roadways, freeways, ports, parking structures, and correctional facilities. Wattage range 230W to 720W, lumen output 33,000 to 115,000 lm, replacing up to 2,000W HPS lights with up to 80% energy savings and 100,000-hour lifetime with asymmetrical/symmetrical distribution options.
• ISF Series Sports Light Energy-efficient LED sports and flood light fixture for stadiums, sports fields, docks, and transit terminals. Wattage from 400W to 1,200W LED, replacing up to 2,500W MH fixtures with adjustable bolt and yoke mounting options and up to 100,000 hours lifetime.
• OFS Series Flood Light Sustainable LED sports and flood light fixture for sport fields. Wattage from 300W to 600W LED, delivering 43,000 to 137,000 lumens to replace 750W to 2,000W metal halide floodlights, saving up to 70% energy costs with 5-year warranty.
• INS Series Sports Light Exterior LED sports light fixture for tennis/pickleball courts, baseball, and football fields. Wattage from 315W to 460W LED, delivering 47,000 to 76,000 lumens with three distributions (Narrow, Medium, Wide) and 100,000 hours lifetime.
• IP Series Post Top Light Energy-efficient LED post top luminaire for outdoor walkways, pathways, streets, campuses, and parking lots. Wattage range 25W to 300W LED, lumen output 3,000 to 40,000 lm, equivalent to 75W-600W HPS with Type IV and V distribution.
• ID Series Canopy Light Slim, modern LED canopy luminaire for parking structures, drive-throughs, and surface-mount applications. Wattage 40W to 60W LED, lumen output 5,000 to 8,000 lm, equivalent to 150W-320W MH with 80 CRI color rendering and optional motion sensor.
• CMS700 Series Amber Changeable Message Sign Monochrome amber LED changeable message sign for freeways and highways displaying real-time traffic information. CalTrans QPL and AFAL listed, NEMA TS4 compliant, available in 3 dimensions (700, 710, 720) for maintenance operations, weather conditions, and toll booths.
• Color Changeable Message Sign (CMS) Series RGB full color LED changeable message sign displaying real-time roadside traffic information with text and graphics. CalTrans QPL and AFAL listed for CMS700C and CMS800 series, NEMA TS4 compliant, available in 6 dimensions (700C, 710C, 720C, 800/Type 1, 810/Type 2, 820/Type 3) with right and left-hand door access for quick maintenance.
• Extinguishable Message Sign (EMS) LED extinguishable message sign designed based on NEMA TS4-2005 & 2016 standards. Available with amber or full color RGB pixel matrix for freeways, highways, truck scales, and toll roads. Capable of storing up to 20 changeable messages with 10 sets of alternating message displays and designed to Caltrans CMS standards.
• Professional LED Lighting and Signage Services Turnkey project services including site audits, photometric evaluations, lighting analysis, custom product design, Title 24 compliance assistance, installation, and ongoing maintenance for government, commercial, and industrial LED lighting and signage projects.
• Municipal Maintenance Contracts Recurring LED street lighting and high-mast lighting maintenance agreements with municipalities and DOTs (e.g., Town of Huntington annual contract, City of Vineland annual contract, Utah DOT multi-year 2022-2027 contract) covering ongoing service, repair, and product performance.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 79% energy savings compared to traditional HPS cobra head lighting
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cree Lighting: Cree Lighting (formerly Cree's LED business, now part of IDEAL Industries) manufactures commercial and outdoor LED luminaires including roadway cobra heads and area lights with similar DLC Premium listings. It competes head-to-head with SolarMax LED for DOT and municipal retrofit contracts across North America.
• GE Current, a Daintree company: GE Current is a major manufacturer of LED roadway, area, and industrial lighting with strong utility and municipal relationships. Its product portfolio, government-channel focus, and certifications (UL/DLC) make it a direct competitor for the same DOT and municipal RFPs SolarMax bids on.
• Leotek (Legrand): Leotek, a Legrand brand, is a specialist manufacturer of LED traffic and street lighting products with strong DOT agency approvals across the US. It is one of the closest direct competitors to SolarMax's roadway and traffic-signal-grade luminaire business.
• Dialight: Dialight manufactures industrial and infrastructure LED lighting, including high-mast and roadway luminaires with DLC Premium listings. Its focus on heavy industrial and hazardous-location applications overlaps with SolarMax's industrial and high-mast product lines.
• Daktronics: Daktronics is a leading manufacturer of dynamic message signs (DMS/VMS/CMS) used on highways and freeways under NEMA TS4 standards. It is the primary direct competitor to SolarMax's color changeable message sign (CMS) and extinguishable message sign (EMS) product lines.
• Holophane: Holophane (an Acuity Brands company) specializes in high-mast, roadway, and industrial prismatic LED lighting, with deep DOT and industrial customer relationships. Its high-mast product line in particular competes directly with SolarMax's INM Series for port, highway, and large-area projects.

Broad incumbents

• Acuity Brands Lighting: Acuity Brands is a broad-line lighting incumbent with roadway, area, high mast, sports, and canopy fixtures across its Lithonia, Holophane, and Hydrel brands. Its scale, distribution network, and control platform (DTL/ROAM) compete with SolarMax in commercial, industrial, and government channels.
• Signify (Philips Lighting): Signify is the global lighting incumbent (Philips, Gardco, Lumec, Hadco brands) with deep DOT and municipal relationships and a fully integrated connected-lighting platform (Interact). It overlaps directly with SolarMax's outdoor and roadway product lines and sets industry pricing benchmarks.
• Hubbell Lighting (American Electric Lighting): Hubbell Lighting, including the American Electric Lighting brand, is a long-standing supplier of roadway and area LED luminaires to municipalities and utilities. Its established DOT approvals and utility rebate program presence compete directly with SolarMax in the government and infrastructure channels.
• Eaton (Cooper Lighting Solutions): Eaton's Cooper Lighting Solutions portfolio includes Ephesus sports lighting, Invue/Streetworks roadway luminaires, and connected lighting controls. It competes with SolarMax across commercial, industrial, sports, and roadway lighting bids.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCmEVQDgAMaVHtNTDzx3rWSQ/featured?disable_polymer=1
• Facebookfacebook.com/Solarmaxledlighting
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/solarmax-led

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 SolarMax LED