President Obama visits Cree, praises LED revolution

Durham, NC--While on a tour of light-emitting diode (LED) manufacturing company Cree (Nasdaq: CREE) on Monday, June 13, 2011, President Barack Obama spoke with Cree employees and other guests and met with his Jobs and Competitiveness Council to discuss initiatives and policies to spur economic growth, promote job creation, and accelerate hiring across the United States. In a statement to the crowd, which included Senator Kay Hagan, Representatives David Price, Brad Miller, G. K. Butterfield, and other local and state leaders as well as hundreds of Cree employees, President Obama said, "So today the small business that a group of N.C. State engineering students founded almost 25 years ago is a global company…Next month, your new production line will begin running 24/7. So you're helping to lead a clean energy revolution. You're helping lead the comeback of American manufacturing. This is a company where the future will be won."

Cree currently employs more than 5,000 employees and says it is keeping pace with a growing international market for energy efficient solid-state lighting. Most recently, Cree added LED fixture manufacturing lines in Durham, NC. President Obama toured these new production lines, which include the world’s most efficient troffers, the CR series. Cree says these new lights are designed to replace fluorescent troffer lighting commonly seen in office and other commercial buildings, delivering higher quality light and increased efficiency at prices comparable to their fluorescent counterparts.

"President Obama's visit yesterday highlighted topics critical to the success of the LED lighting revolution, including workforce training and education," said Charles Swoboda, CEO and president of Cree. "Cree remains committed to innovating, growing and successfully addressing the global appetite for energy-efficient technologies."

SOURCE: Cree; www.cree.com/press/press_detail.asp?i=1308233408052