LUMINOR Environmental

Headquartered in Guelph, Ontario, LUMINOR Environmental Inc. (LUMINOR) is a designer and manufacturer of advanced water treatment technology. The firm specializes in ultraviolet (UV) disinfection solutions and offers products for residential, commercial, industrial and municipal markets. As a global supplier of water treatment products, LUMINOR demonstrates its product quality to many of its foreign customers by acquiring the appropriate quality certifications in the countries of its customers. Staying on the leading edge of technological developments is an integral part of LUMINOR’s strategy as it continues to grow.

LUMINOR was established in 2010 by the firm’s current President and CEO, Myron Lupal. Lupal has been involved in the water treatment industry for his entire career of more than 30 years. Prior to founding LUMINOR, Lupal worked for a UV water treatment company that grew from a small start-up to more than 100 employees. After the company was sold to a larger firm and Lupal became discontent with some of the changes that were made, he decided to start his own company.

LUMINOR has benefited greatly from Lupal’s expertise in the water treatment industry, experiencing steady growth for eight years before a period of rapid growth in 2019. The company recently relocated from a 6,000 square foot facility to a 26,000 square foot plant to increase its capacity. LUMINOR has also increased its workforce over the span of a year from 20 to 40 employees to meet increased demand for its products.

The successful growth of LUMINOR can be attributed to its accommodating and understanding approach toward customer service, as well as its high-quality products. One of Lupal’s reasons for starting his own company was to ensure that customer feedback was addressed in the production process. Regardless of the size or location of its customer, LUMINOR’s dedication to them has led to multiple long-term relationships.

LUMINOR’s substantive growth over the past year can be attributed to a significant increase in exports to the United States, Europe, and Asia. To  prolong the life of its products, LUMINOR places a great deal of importance on educating its customers about the systems they purchase so they understand how they should be properly utilized and maintained. The products are easy to set up and maintain and LUMINOR shares a wealth of information regarding its products and the water treatment industry on its website.

LUMINOR is proud that all of its design, engineering, manufacturing and assembly takes place in Canada. Lupal is aware that there is no substitute for Canadian quality and believes that marketing a Canadian product is a distinct advantage when facing global competition in the water treatment industry. Foreign buyers are aware of the standards and regulations that Canadian products must adhere to, so Lupal is able to capitalize on the reputation of the Canadian brand in the global market.

Although LUMINOR has developed products for various market segments, the company has found its niche to be the residential market. LUMINOR’s products are not the least expensive available to homeowners but they are easy to maintain and are relatively low cost. Homeowners also appreciate that the water treatment occurs through UV disinfection, which differs from other types of water treatment that involve adding chemicals to the water supply. LUMINOR’s products typically consist of a UV lamp that only needs to be changed once a year, an outer casing and a monitoring system. The amount of customization that LUMINOR is able to incorporate into its products has resulted in the firm securing the business of many large Original Equipment Manufacturers.

In response to this technological trend, LUMINOR developed an Internet of Things (IoT) application that enables customers to monitor their water treatment system from their smartphones. Lupal is not aware of any other firm in the UV water treatment industry that offers this type of technology and believes it highlights LUMINOR’s commitment to innovation.

The company has also developed dealer management software, which allows dealers to better service the end-consumer through easy diagnosis and preventative maintenance of the water treatment system. Dealers appreciate this innovation because it gives consumers an option to purchase a system that is monitored by dealers, who are able to determine when maintenance is necessary. Lupal notes that LUMINOR’s real-time data monitoring technologies have been a strong growth segment for the firm.

Lupal understands the benefits of continuing to integrate vertically and bring more aspects of the production process in-house. Although the shortage of labour within the industry makes it difficult for LUMINOR to hire new workers, the firm is currently looking at co-op opportunities and collaboration projects with educational institutions to address this challenge. As one way of retaining employees, the company provides production workers with a bonus if they remain with LUMINOR for one year.  All employees receive full benefits after only 3 months of work.

Since it was established in 2010, LUMINOR has been building relationships with the local community and capitalizing on various government programs. The company benefits from having access to the talent pool in Guelph, as well as its proximity to the additional talent and resources available in Toronto. LUMINOR has also experienced success with both the Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax incentive and the Industrial Research Assistance Program. Lupal’s son, Brock (Vice President, Business Development), recently participated in the Trade Accelerator Program (TAP) and found it to be a useful networking opportunity where he was able to develop new relationships with local companies who also have plans to grow their exports. These new relationships were beneficial because it allowed company leaders who had a similar goal in mind to share challenges, solutions and ideas with one another.

In the near future, LUMINOR plans to optimize its processes in response to the greater demand for its products and its expansion to a larger facility. Over the long-term, the company will continue to address the emergence of Industry 4.0 and offer more customers the option to purchase an entire monitoring system and service, rather than simply a water-treatment product. LUMINOR’s recent rapid growth has motivated the company to continue building its network within the industry and increase its employee outreach. By increasing its capacity, LUMINOR will be able to service larger distributors and address larger product orders.