Meet the Production Team Bringing Our LED Light Sources to Life
When people talk about an LED light sources for microscopy, they often imagine the shiny finished unit that arrives in a neat box, plugs in nicely, and quietly powers months or even years of research. What most people never see is the world behind it.
A world fuelled by soldering irons, spreadsheets, sturdy benches, and a team of specialists who keep CoolLED’s production line moving even when demand decides to leap ahead faster than our storage space can keep up.
Through the Production Doors…
At the heart of CoolLED’s production team are the people who build every fluorescence microscopy light source from the ground up. They are also some of the longest-serving members of the whole company, which means the experience level in that room is measured in decades rather than years.
And the best part is that each person is a genuine specialist. Not in the vague marketing sense of the word, but in the literal “this person knows every screw, connector, LED channel and firmware quirk of this particular product inside out” sort of way. This means every operative not only knows the order of operations, but has effectively memorised hundreds of tiny details that ensure every unit performs the same way in every lab across the world. It’s the kind of precision that only comes from years of experience.
It is probably for the best that no one has ever tried to challenge them to an LED-related pub quiz…
A Team Built on Expertise
CoolLED’s production team is made up of people who know their work inside out. They are the ones who take every LED light source from a tray of components to a fully functioning system ready for fluorescence microscopy. The team includes Craig Evans, Adrian Wallace, Anna Coward, Debbie Jenkins, Gemma Scammell, Matt Hawthorne, Maxine Guest, Michael Riley, Monika Filova, Rich Coverdale, Rob Harris, Sandra Olufsen & Stephen Cooper
Between them, they cover the entire CoolLED product range and have built tens of thousands of units over the years. Some have been with CoolLED long enough to remember when the production area had more empty floor space than benches, and others have joined as demand has surged and the number of LED systems leaving the workshop has grown year on year.
Growing Demand and the Great Production Space Shuffle
If you wandered into the production room five or six years ago, you might have described it as well organised, spacious, and full of promise. Walk in now and you will notice that people have gently, politely, and completely filled every available corner.
The simple truth is that demand for our LED Illumination Systems has skyrocketed, both across our ‘Off The Shelf’ range as well as our through our OEM Custom Illumination. More researchers than ever are moving away from old mercury and metal halide lamps and switching to cleaner, safer, more efficient LED light sources for microscopy. And as a result, the production team have needed to increase output again and again.
Every year the number of units going out the door climbs. Every year another bench gets added. Every year we find ourselves having the same conversation and it’s become a running joke that if you stand still in production for long enough, someone might try to install a workbench around you…
Building a Light Source from the Ground Up
One of the things people rarely appreciate about building a fluorescence microscopy light source is how many steps the team go through. It is a lot more than simply putting a few LEDs into a box.
Every member of the team has become a specialist in their own corner of the product range. They know the quirks, the build sequences, and the testing routines of their assigned systems, and the combined experience of the group is one of CoolLED’s biggest strengths. This is why every unit is assembled with the same level of care and technical confidence, no matter who is at the bench.
Each unit goes through:
• careful component selection and preparation
• hand-built internal assembly
• alignment and verification of optical paths
• firmware loading
• thorough electrical testing
• rigorous optical output checks
• a burn-in process to ensure stability
• full documentation and inspection
Only then does it reach the packing bench.
The People Behind the Products
It’s very easy to talk about LED technology, wavelengths, control systems, uniformity and long lifetime. But none of those topics capture the reality that every one of our products starts with a real human being at a bench.
Someone picks up the first screw.
Someone signs the test sheet.
Someone checks the optical output.
Someone packs it safely for its journey around the world.Those people deserve the spotlight.
Because researchers rely on our products to support cancer studies, brain mapping, drug discovery, live-cell imaging and every other form of fluorescence microscopy, and that reliability begins long before the unit reaches a laboratory.
It begins with a group of technicians who show up every day, know their craft inside out, and build with skill, care and consistency.
CoolLED would not function without them. That is the reality behind the scenes.
