When a website lists projects like, ?Weta Productions (secret), 880 Productions (secret), Te Papa - Giant Squid display panels?, the mind tends to boggle. Plimmerton design firm KTL Technologies like to deal in the exciting, and are currently housing a project awaiting release by the Wellington City Council; a new $23 thousand dollar clock for Lambton Quay. Co-owner and former Plimmerton resident Dave Launder says much of the firms fare is pretty mundane; emergency lighting for ?Exit? signs and fire escapes, but they often get more challenging projects. ?We have always had a hand in developing lighting technology, and we?re innovative with how we link the digital components with LED technology. ?They are the most efficient type of lighting you can find, and for displays we use a mix of 3D effects and electronic design,? he says. Bob Jones has agreed to pay $2 thousand towards the analogue-style clock, which will have a diameter of one meter and will illuminate at night. Mr Launder says his company specializes in LED lighting, and a $150 bulb they make will last well beyond a lifetime, but he says the technology is currently out of reach for most. ?The LED lights work great for emergency lighting because they last for such a long time. ?We design LED lights that are much brighter then fluorescents, which contain mercury, and they are a very clean technology,? says Mr Launder. He says Plimmerton is a great place to set up shop because of the locality for workers to arrive from many different areas. ?I?m sitting right now looking out over Taupo Swamp, it doesn?t get much better,? he says. Other projects the company has undertaken include the Te Papa Whales exhibition, and display lighting for the Meridian building.
