ERIN EDGEMON, Business Editor
Posted: Sunday, August 9, 2009 7:42 am

Jimmy Davis, president, of The Davis Groupe holds a prototype of an LED light to be assembled in Murfreesboro.

The Davis Groupe hopes to begin assembling three types of LED lights within the next three to six months, said the founder and president.

This initial step could create 125 local jobs and 125 jobs in other Middle Tennessee counties within the next six to 18 months, said Jimmy Davis in a recent interview with The Murfreesboro Post.

Applications for assembly personnel will also begin in three to six months, he said. Anyone interested in an assembly job should check The Davis Groupe Web site at www.davisgroupe.com.

Long-term more than 2,000 jobs could be created across Middle Tennessee when The Davis Groupe and other manufacturing facilities take over the manufacturing of the LED light components.

Murfreesboro-based Davis Groupe announced in a recent press conference that it has contracted with Washington-based NCS Power to prototype, manufacture and distribute LED lights.

“I think it is big in more than one way,” said Holly Weber, vice president of economic development for the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce, said in a previous interview. “It is job creation. It is bringing a new industry into Middle Tennessee.

The lights are currently manufactured in China, and initially the components will continue to be manufactured there and assembled by The Davis Groupe.

Within an estimated six to 18 months, the components for the LED lighting will be manufactured at Middle Tennessee facilities, Davis said.

Some 20-30 Middle Tennessee companies could be involved in the process, he said.

NCS Power will continue to do research and development of the LED lights while The Davis Groupe will handle assembly and some manufacturing. The lights will be marketed and distributed by the Aladdin Mantle Lamp Co., located in Clarksville.

The Davis Groupe, founded 12 years ago by Davis and his wife, Lisa, is a diverse supplier to manufacturing companies, primarily automotive companies.

The company was approached at the right time to partner with NCS Power because earlier this year The Davis Groupe was forced to close a Tullahoma machine shop due to the state of the economy.

“(NCS Power) looked at it as a light is similar to a car,” Davis said.

In the next three to six months, The Davis Group will assemble three products: a standard four-foot tube that will replace a fluorescent, a cobra head streetlight and shoebox security light.

Eventually, The Davis Group will assemble 37 products from floodlights to vanity lighting.

Davis said manufacturing of the products will not create more waste or adverse affects on the environment than other manufacturing in the area.

But, the products are safer and more energy efficient than fluorescent lights. The LED lights are highly durable and don’t require a ballast. The lights also last up to 50,000 hours.

Erin Edgemon can be reached at 869-0812 and at eedgemon@murfreesboropost.com.