#surelight

BBC sees Olmec’s gregarious and sport savvy boss in a different light!

Knowing his love of sport, clients and colleagues of Sheffield’s leading lighting company, Olmec Advanced Materials/Surelight, will probably not have been surprised to see its managing director, Paul Lancaster, interviewed on BBC Look North (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-24025169%0A) on Sunday 8th September – talking about one of his favourite sports – cricket!.  What very few will know is how much the game on that particular day, described by Paul as ‘a wonderful game of cricket’ actually meant to him. 

The occasion – The Davistowe National Village Cup Final. 

The place – the grandest cricket stage of them all – Lords – every cricketer’s dream!

The National Village Cup is the most important competition for village cricket clubs in Great Britain.  This year the final was between Rockhampton of Gloucestershire and Cleator of Cumbria.  Both teams had won by simply getting to Lords. The winner on the day were – Cleator. 

Now, Paul was rooting for Cleator for a very special reason, as 20 years ago his father, now sadly deceased, played for Cleator in the semi-final of the National Village Cup; losing by only one run to local South Yorkshire team – Treeton.  Of course Mr Lancaster senior was gutted and Paul remembers it well, but he also has very happy memories of the time when his dad was vice-captain of the team and Paul would watch him every weekend – as well as play around on the heavy roller on the pitch in between matches.  So it is hardly surprising that the 2013 final almost brought tears to the eyes of Paul and his brother, Mark, who joined him at Lords – and if that wasn’t enough; they were both invited to the back of the pavilion to celebrate the win with the players – some of whom had played with and remembered their dad – along with team president Alan Wishart and the big hitting legend, Joe Rooney (one of a long line of Rooney’s to play for the team). 

Paul says “anyone who knows me will know that I am absolutely sports mad – but I am almost lost for words as to how proud I am of Cleator and what a brilliant and emotional end to the game – beating Rockhampton by just one wicket.  Fantastic!.” 

Most people in Sheffield have no idea of what Olmec Advanced Materials do.

Yet their products have graced the television and been seen by millions of people. Supplying lighting for artists including Kylie, Coldplay, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Chris Rea, Franz Ferdinand. Their specialist lighting is used in set creation for Wallace & Gromit films and Doctor Who. Surelight lighting is used in the concept cars from Jaguar and Renault. The Surelight LED range of lighting is used everywhere from bars such as Studio 557 on Ecclesall Rd, the Retailer Eton and Age UK in Sheffield, Hospices in Rotherham to luxury apartments in Chelsea and external street lighting in Oxford St in London. Every year paper thin lighting panels are used on racing cars to highlight the cars during night racing events including the Le Mans 24 Hour race, with clients including Peugeot, Lotus and Aston Martin. Surelight’s products are used in TV production and adverts for the Big Brother, Toyota, and self promo Channel 4 adverts. LED’s are installed in golf clubs, hotels, restaurants, factories, warehouses, holiday resorts, offices and residential properties up throughout the UK.

Olmec are based in Millhouses in Sheffield, and Olmec Advanced Materials Ltd has been offering specialist lighting products for just under 15 years “it’s up to us to promote the company and its products to Sheffield and the surrounding areas so we all can benefit from the advantageous technology we have to offer” says Paul Lancaster

Olmec was set up in 1990 by Paul who remained in Sheffield  after finishing his University education in the city, like so many ex students he loved the city so much he settled down here. After a few roles which included teaching (Science) and as technical representative for Dyson’s for a number of years. Paul used this expertise to found Olmec Advanced Materials Ltd, for the supply of graphite to industry for Aerospace Semiconductor applications with its head office here in Sheffield and now a machining workshop in Garstang, Lancashire.

In 1999 Paul realised an opportunity to enter the world of lighting via a new technology called electroluminescent (EL), putting it simply wire and paper which glow, as the business expanded the brand Surelight was founded. Now that new LED lighting technologies have developed and as Olmec strive to stay in the forefront of the industry they offer, under the Surelight brand, a full range of LED lighting in addition to their EL products. “LED technology will reduce both energy bills and maintenance costs and reduce carbon emissions whilst atthe same time saving money; everyone is winning (energy companies excepted)”

Paul believes that in the next few years LED lighting will have replaced the majority of other light sources, and he hopes he can start to make a difference sooner in Sheffield by showing the way forward with lighting.

“ My goal is to help Sheffield use dramatically lower quantities of energy for lighting. Most businesses and properties are wasting vast amounts of energy in the choice of the lights they use and more importantly in the current climate wasting money. It is Olmec’s aim to try and educate people on the benefits that LED’s offer simply by changing your lighting. Let’s try and make Sheffield the greenest city in the nation and start making the changes today.”