Florida Tile has completed the retrofitting of outdated lighting at its Lawrenceburg, KY, manufacturing facility under an award of $162,500 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) economic stimulus funding.

The award, to replace old, inefficient lighting with advanced, brighter, energy-efficient fixtures at the company’s manufacturing facility here, was announced in mid-May.

Florida Tile was one of four Kentucky companies to share grants at the time, totaling $787,000.

Two years ago, Florida Tile made a commitment to its customers and the state of Kentucky by investing $15 million to “recycle” an under-utilized manufacturing plant in Lawrenceburg, KY, which now employs over 150 workers.

The company used the government funds to replace lighting that was nearly 40 years old and which was pulling between 400 and 1,000 watts for each fixture. New energy-efficient fixtures purchased with the grant funding use only 200 watts per fixture, yet simultaneously produces more lumens. Overall, the Florida Tile retrofit is expected to save 74% on lighting costs.