The Chicago-based bike light engineering company is the highest ranking cycling companies on the prestigious list of growing companies.
Chicago, Sept. 14, 2022 – Outbound Lighting, the leading producer of professionally engineered lighting solutions for the cycling industry, is named to the 2022 Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing Companies in America. The Inc. 5000 is the most prestigious lineup of the fastest-growing private companies in America.
Outbound Lighting is a Chicago-based team of engineering professionals with experience in the automotive and LED lighting industries that designs premium headlights for bicycles featuring car-like beam patterns. Led by Founder and Lead Engineer Matt Conte, the Outbound team brings innovations from the automotive industry, where beam control is tightly regulated, to revolutionize lighting in cycling.
“There's a lot to learn from automotive lighting, from the software and development techniques that engineers use to the years of research the industry has provided on how to maximize the potential of lumens and the way the eyes perceive light,” said Conte. “We are using the same design processes and automotive lighting technology to make cycling safer and more enjoyable.”
The 2022 Inc. 5000 list represents the companies growing in a time of change. Ranking 672 on the prestigious lineup in the wake of a global pandemic, Outbound Lighting attributes its 934% growth over just the past 3 years to a dedicated US-based team, exceptional customer service, and continuous innovation. In 2022, Outbound has made significant investment in automation equipment to improve the efficiency and quality of the assembly process in-house and has scaled its production capability almost 10x.
“This year we’ve implemented high-end automated equipment that helps us maintain quality and improve efficiency. We currently automate the assembly process with tasks like box folding and soldering, and we plan to have at least five pieces of robotic equipment doing tasks by the end of this year,” said Conte. “Automating production allows our team to focus more on how we’re making and designing our products and innovating the industry.”
Outbound’s lineup of professionally engineered bike lights are designed for all riders, from cyclists on short commutes to extreme trail rides, with a focus on ease-of-use, reliability, and an exceptional riding experience. Its latest handlebar-mounted road bike light, the Detour, launched this year.
About Outbound Lighting
Identifying as engineers first, and bike riders second, Chicago-based Outbound Lighting’s engineering professionals have years of hands-on experience in the automotive and LED lighting industries and now chase optical illumination perfection for every ride. With a lineup of bike light products thoughtfully designed and assembled in-house in the United States in a new 7,200 sq ft facility, Outbound designs each product for each specific use case by shaping beam patterns through custom optics with Lucidshape™, the same simulation software used by major automotive manufacturers.
About the 2022 Inc. 5000
Companies on the 2022 Inc. 5000 are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2018 to 2021. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by March 31, 2018. They must be U.S.-based, privately held, for-profit, and independent--not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies--as of December 31, 2021. (Since then, some on the list may have gone public or been acquired.) The minimum revenue required for 2018 is $100,000; the minimum for 2021 is $2 million. As always, Inc. reserves the right to decline applicants for subjective reasons. Growth rates used to determine company rankings were calculated to four decimal places.
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