For Aluminium Lighting Company (ALC), a family-owned business in Port Talbot, Wales, this challenge has driven the development of its Echalon ‘raise-and-lower’ lighting column system.
At the heart of that system is a precision-engineered compression spring supplied by Lesjöfors – part of a trusted partnership that has now spanned over five years.
Engineering for access, safety and longevity
Think of highway and street lighting and you think tall, solid streetlamps. Along with it comes maintenance that requires cherry pickers, road closures or working at height – all introducing cost, disruption and risk.
The Echalon system was developed to challenge that model. By enabling controlled, ground-level access to lighting equipment and other attachments, such as CCTV units, ALC’s Echalon product literally folds in half, significantly reducing the need for working at height, while improving efficiency and safety for maintenance teams.
As Trystan Williams from ALC says: “At the heart of our ‘raise-and-lower’ Echalon lighting column system is the Lesjöfors compression spring. It plays a critical role in how the system performs and enables a smooth controlled lowering operation. The spring design means we get consistent performance over many years, even with repeated use and exposure to harsh environments.
That level of reliability and our shared focus on quality and long-term performance, allows the Echalon product to deliver a design life of up to 50 years – subject to adherence to recommended maintenance schedules, and depending on install location and product application.
This design life is significantly longer than traditional lighting infrastructure. Combined with the large proportion of recycled aluminium used in its construction, the recyclability of the material at end of life, and the extensive environmental credentials both of ALC and our supply chain, makes it a far more cost-effective and sustainable solution for our customers. And, as we’re seeing a lot more tenders requiring sustainability as a key feature of their supply – to be able to deliver this expectation is something we’re very proud of at ALC.”
Built for harsh environments – on land and at sea
While Echalon has already proven its value across road and rail networks in the UK and Europe, ALC is now expanding into more demanding environments.
Current projects include harbour lighting access systems in Australia, alongside exploration of applications for offshore oil rigs and platforms. These environments introduce extreme challenges – saltwater exposure, high winds, constant motion and corrosive conditions.
By combining marine-grade aluminium extrusions with robust spring engineering, the Echalon system is designed to manage environmental stress while maintaining reliable performance.
Crucially, it also removes the need for cherry pickers or complex lifting equipment in some of the most dangerous and hard-to-access working conditions both on land and at sea, significantly reducing risk for maintenance engineers.
A partnership built on trust and collaboration
Luke Smith, Managing Director, Lesjöfors Heavy Springs UK, Cornwall adds: “Most people never think about lighting infrastructure – we simply drive or walk beneath it, assuming it will always be there.
Working with ALC has been a genuinely rewarding partnership for us. From the very first design discussions through to scalable manufacturing, it’s always felt collaborative rather than transactional. Playing even a small part in their expansion into new sectors and global markets is something the whole team at Lesjöfors takes real pride in and while our compression spring is just one component within the Echalon system, it’s hugely satisfying to know that our engineering has helped support ALC’s success.
The Echalon system completely changes how lighting assets are accessed and maintained, and it’s reinforced just how critical precision, dependable components are to safety, longevity and performance. It’s a great example of how strong supply chain partnerships enable safer infrastructures every day.”
Lighting infrastructure for a global future
As ALC continues to expand across Europe, Australia and beyond, the Echalon system demonstrates how collaborative engineering and strong supply chain partnerships can help infrastructure evolve.
From lighting roads and railways to illuminating harbours and offshore platforms, Lesjöfors’ precision springs are quietly helping to light up the world – supporting safer access, longer product lifetimes and infrastructure designed to perform wherever it’s needed.