DURHAM, N.C., July 18, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq:CREE), a market leader in LED lighting, announced that its flagship LED recessed down light, the LR6, won a prestigious Silver International Design Excellence Award (IDEA) in the EcoDesign category. IDEA is one of the most prominent design competitions in the world, celebrating cutting-edge products and product concepts. Selected from 1,517 entries, the juried awards are co-sponsored by the Industrial Designers Society of America and BusinessWeek. This award continues the parade of accolades garnered by the LR6 for its performance and quality.
The LR6 is an all-in-one LED luminaire that converts six-inch recessed cans into energy-efficient lighting. The LR6 consumes just 12 watts of energy, which is 85-percent less than a traditional incandescent and 50-percent less than a compact fluorescent, while providing industry-leading light quality and aesthetics. A unique feature of the LR6 is the available Edison base that allows the retrofit of existing cans in minutes with no rewiring or special tools.
"The innovative design of the LR6 is truly unique in the industry, and we are pleased that it has been recognized through this prestigious award," said Neal Hunter, president, Cree LED Lighting Solutions. "It was created for the critical need of energy efficiency combined with a user-friendly design that allows for easy installation."
"LED lighting is ready today to help address the world's energy needs," said Chuck Swoboda, Cree CEO and chairman. "Cree continues to drive improvements in LED technology and to help accelerate adoption of energy-efficient, environmentally friendly LED lights, such as the LR6."
The LR6 is available through lighting showrooms and lighting and electrical wholesalers in all 50 U.S. states and across Canada (visit www.CreeLLS.com/buy). It has been honored with the 2007 Lighting For Tomorrow Grand Prize for Solid State Lighting, BuildingGreen's Top 10 Green Building Products for 2007 and was also named a 2008 PCBC Cool Product.
About Industrial Designers and IDSA
Industrial designers determine the form, use features and interaction qualities of manufactured products, packaging and digital media systems. They study people at work, at home and in motion to create satisfying experiences with products from the kitchen and the office to the hospital and the warehouse, shaping these to fit their customers and to make effective use of industrial processes. In this way, industrial designers have a quiet but profound presence in almost everything people encounter during the day. IDSA is the voice of industrial design, committed to advancing the profession through education, information, community and advocacy.
About Cree
Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and setting the stage to obsolete the incandescent light bulb through the use of energy-efficient, environmentally friendly LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting retrofit solutions, and semiconductor solutions for backlighting, wireless and power applications.
Cree's product families include recessed LED down lights, lighting-class power LEDs, high-brightness LEDs, blue and green LED chips, power-switching devices and radio-frequency/wireless devices. Cree solutions are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, backlighting, electronic signs and signals, variable-speed motors and wireless communications.
For additional product and company information, please refer to www.CreeLLS.com
The Cree, Inc. logo is available at http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3529
This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, including the possibility that actual energy saving may vary from expectations; the potential lack of customer acceptance of LED products; the rapid development of new technology and competing products that may impair demand or render Cree's products obsolete; and other factors discussed in Cree's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 24, 2007, and subsequent filings.