HOLLY HILL, FL (01.03.2019) – The Municipality Lighting Series from Heise by Metra Electronics will introduce a wide range of new automotive lighting solutions for government and commercial heavy equipment vehicles at CES. These 12 and 24 volt solutions are designed for larger fleets such as garbage trucks, snowplows, tow trucks, emergency vehicles, construction trucks and more. “Many 12volt installers are expanding services to include upfitting commercial fleets and Heise’s new Municipality Series provides them with a reliable source for long-lasting and durable safety LED lighting products,” says Jason Anderson, VP of Product Development at Metra Electronics. These new lights and accessories will be available soon and on display at CES booth 5211 with Metra Electronics.

Interior Flashing Lightbars
Heise’s two new interior lightbars mount inside of a commercial vehicle and have a combination of white and amber LEDs with 16 different alternative flash patterns. Each lightbar comes complete with brackets, hardware and a 10-foot cable. The HE-MULB-WA is a 38.2” rear window lightbar with 32 LEDs designed for higher voltage applications that work with both 12 and 24 volt systems. The HE-MUWL-WA is a 9.84” windshield lightbar that has 8 LEDs and works with a 12volt system.

LED Work Light Camera
Lighting up a work area is essential for efficiency and safety on or off the road and being able to record the lit area helps protect drivers and companies against liability issues. Heise’s new HE-WLCAM is a 60-degree flood beam work light with a built-in camera that can record at 700 TVL resolution. Rated IP69, this durable work light camera also features infrared LED lights for night time recording, 1,154 lumens of illumination and a 140-degree field of view. This product is in stock now and shipping.

LED Marker Lights in New Colors
New marker lights in red and blue emergency colors add to Heise’s existing line of vehicle safety lighting along with new hidden strobe marker lights in a 1-inch size. These universal lights are designed for higher voltage applications, working with both 12 and 24 volt systems. With aluminum housing and a polycarbonate lens, Heise’s municipality marker lights are durable and built to withstand all weather conditions, year after year. Available in multiple styles and colors:
1” Hidden Strobe LED Marker Lights
Featuring (9) 3-watt LEDs with 10 alternative flash patterns
HE-MUHSR-W: White Strobe
HE-MUHSR-A: Amber Strobe
HE-MUHSR-B: Blue Strobe
HE-MUHSR-R: Red Strobe

3.8” Single Color Marker Lights
Featuring (4) 3-watt LEDs with 16 self-controlled patterns with memory
HE-MUMRK-4B: Blue Marker
HE-MUMRK-4R: Red Marker

4.9” Single Color Marker Lights
Featuring (6) 3-watt LEDs with 16 self-controlled patterns with memory
HE-MUMRK-6B: Blue Marker
HE-MUMRK-6R: Red Marker

4.4” Single Color Marker Lights
Featuring (6) 1.5-watt LEDs with 16 self-controlled patterns with memory
HE-MULTE-6B: Blue Marker
HE-MULTE-6R: Red Marker

4.6” Single Color Light Head
Featuring (4) 3-watt LEDs with 16 self-controlled patterns with memory
HE-MULH-4B: Blue Marker
HE-MULH-4R: Red Marker

4.1” Single Color Grille Marker Lights
Featuring (6) 1-watt LEDs with 16 self-controlled patterns with memory
HE-MUGRL-6B: Blue Grille Marker
HE-MUGRL-6R: Red Grille Marker

4.9” Bi-Color Marker Lights
Featuring (6) 1-watt LEDs with 19 self-controlled patterns with memory
HE-MUMRK-6BA: ½ Blue ½ Amber Markers
HE-MUMRK-6BR: ½ Blue ½ Red Markers

4.4” Bi-Color Marker Lights
Featuring (6) 1-watt LEDs with19 self-controlled patterns with memory
HE-MULTE-6BA: ½ Blue ½ Amber Markers
HE-MULTE-6BR: ½ Blue ½ Red Markers

4.1” Bi-Color Marker Lights
Featuring (6) 1-watt LEDs with 16 self-controlled patterns with memory
HE-MUGRL-6BA: ½ Blue ½ Amber Markers
HE-MUGRL-6B: ½ Blue ½ Red Markers

Installation Light Accessories
Heise’s Municipality Series also includes essential installation accessories, ranging from switch panels to tubing, heat shrink accessories and more, for convenient ordering to complete any project. Heise’s latest additions include new wire loom install tools; the SLT-08 for 0.25” to 0.4375” tubes and the SLT-15 for 0.5” to 0.125” tubes. Heise has also added new heat shrink with solder accessories in blue, red, white and yellow.

Metra Electronics will have the new Heise Municipality products on display at the CES Show in Las Vegas from January 7-10, 2020 at booth 5211 in the North Hall.

A new catalog for Heise Municipality products will also be available on opening day of the show at HeiseLED.com

SHREVEPORT, LA (01.01.2020) – January 1st 2020 marks the beginning of a New Year, and decade, filled with opportunities. Happy New Year!

The New Year presents an opportunity to start with a clean slate and implement a fresh set of goals for the year ahead. The upcoming CES 2020, and activities across Las Vegas, will provide a springboard for 2020.

There is an old saying “Nothing is more constant than change.” The fact that online commerce continues to capture sales from brick and mortar retailers has become a constant that won’t change – unless brick and mortar retailers change their approach to the marketplace. E-commerce sales during the 2019 holiday season were up nearly 20% over 2018. Between Black Friday and Christmas eve FedEx, UPS along with the US Postal Service combined to deliver nearly 2 billion packages. To be sure, not all of those packages were Christmas gifts. However, as online ordering surged, the majority were Christmas gifts.

US retailers are reported to have closed 9302 stores in 2019. That is an increase of 59% over 2018 according to Coresight Research.

In the evermore digital marketplace, all brick and mortar retailers must change their mindset and marketing approach to engage the consumer marketplace. To be successful retailers must create an overall experience consumers can not get from an online retailer. Hearing crisp highs, and feeling bass in the chest, just can not be experienced online. Seeing in-vehicle lighting plus power sports and marine installations first-hand will drive sales. Safety and convenience products, along with in-vehicle connectivity, are also categories where an exciting in-store experience can capture business for brick and mortar retailers.

Social media outreach is an extremely powerful vehicle through which 12volt retailers can develop a legion of loyal followers and engage consumers. Mobile devices are in the hands of virtually all consumers today. The smartphone is such a valuable tool for 12volt retailers to showcase their respective message to their followers and consumers.
Visit instagram.com/12voltnews

New product arrivals, hot installations, new in-store displays and proactive staff members represent ideal content to highlight through planned social media posts. By the time the morning coffee is brewed a far sighted 12volt retailer could have made an engaging Instagram post for his followers to checkout. That post could feature a new product with an invitation to come into the store for an exciting demonstration. As the Instagram post was made that content could have been shared to Facebook and Twitter accounts also.

The Instagram Business Profile, which is free, features a contact tab. A follower can tap the contact tab and call the store from their smartphone as they view the post. Also, a follower can send an email to the store as well as get a map to the store. Making a post, with the opportunity to get an immediate response from a follower, is an amazing outreach 12volt retailers can’t pass up in today’s marketplace.

For the good of our 12volt industry, the community of suppliers must endeavor to inform the world of the benefits mobile electronics products offer consumers. It’s is well known the price driven “Race to Zero” has stripped marketing budgets. Recent emphasis on high end in-vehicle audio, along with power sports for UTV and marine plus lighting, is a terrific way to kick off the New Year.

“Again, Happy New Year and best wishes for a very prosperous 2020 and new decade ahead.”

SHREVEPORT, LA (01.02.20) – It’s a New Year and a New Decade. The 12volt Central Studios is using new technology and vehicles to deliver fresh industry news to the 12volt industry.

Utilizing Green Screen technology, the 12volt Central Studios is already posting booth setup videos from the LVCC North Hall. Coverage of prep activities for CES 2020, from venues across Las Vegas, will continue through this week. The curtain will rise for CES 2020 on Tuesday January 7th and the 12volt Central Studios has exciting plans for continuing coverage from Vegas throughout the run.

Word on the street is that overall CES 2020 attendance across the 12volt industry will, unfortunately, not meet past years. Let’s work to highlight positives from CES 2020 to extend the ROI on the huge 12volt industry investment in Vegas.

“In reality ‘Marketing’ is a team sport. Manufacturers, representatives, distributors and retailers must work as a team to excite consumers about the wide range of products the 12volt industry offers consumers. In today’s marketplace the 12volt industry, working as a team, needs to adjust the game plan” I strongly feel.

The 12volt News delivers fresh industry news each business day with posts to 12voltnews.com and via social media posts of a feature article as well as 2 additional news articles. Additional posts are through the day on social media, Instagram and Facebook, highlighting positive industry activities.

Surely everyone in the 12volt industry has a smartphone. That smartphone works with STP worldwide. STP is another tool in the 12volt Central Studios tool chest. Snap and Text an image this way. Presto! A staff member can post that positive activity to the 12voltnews followers on Instagram and Facebook. The 10,000+ social media followers on each platform are overwhelming industry members.

There are 4 studios in the 12volt Central Studios facility which is located in Shreveport LA under the intersection of I-20 and I-49 interstates. Most industry news activity originates in Studio A. Studio B is setup for industry members traveling in the area. Their visits are invited.

Studio C is the main studio for green screen and other video production. The weekly 12volt Spin-To-Win Wheel rolls in Studio C each Friday morning at 10AM.

The 12volt Chevy Studio had been prepped for 2020 and ready to hit the road for industry members.

As a New Year and New Decade begin we wish all a very fun-filled and prosperous 2020, and beyond, from the 12volt Central Studios.