Japan-based manufacturer and lighting supplier Oshino Lamps has become the exclusive distributor for all of PWI's aviation lighting sales in Europe and the Middle East. The two companies have been in discussions for a partnership for several years, but a distribution agreement has just recently been finalised.

“Our business relationship has been evolving for a while now. This will be a great opportunity for both companies,” says Robi Lorik, PWI president and CEO. “Oshino Lamps has a good share of the market in commercial aviation. It also has a very good reputation.”

Oshino Lamps is a manufacturer and supplier of filament, gas-filled and LED illuminated lighting. The company was founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1931 by Masashi Oshino. Oshino was a talented lighting pioneer who started out designing bicycle lamps and Christmas tree lighting.

“It's a family owned business, like PWI,” says Lorik. Also, like PWI, Oshino Lamps has expanded its product line during its many decades of business. It now offers products that include aviation and automotive lighting. It supplies multiple industries with sub-miniature and miniature lighting systems. Oshino Lamps continues to innovate new lighting for multiple uses and industries.

“We've been an aircraft lighting company for many decades. We knew we wanted to partner with an LED company, so we started looking in different areas of aviation. We've got a lot of creditability working with the airlines. We knew a partnership with PWI would help us work in a different area of aviation,” says David Tyler, MD of Oshino in the UK. “We feel like it's a good fit. We're both family owned and family run. We're not very different.”

Both Tyler and Lorik have high confidence in the success of the partnership. “I'd like to get some good traction in Europe and the Middle East to help grow our business abroad. Our hope is Oshino will be the pathway to that,” says Lorik.

PWI is a lighting OEM for Beechcraft King Air aircraft. The company has also been the OEM for other aircraft including Dassault Falcon, Gulfstream, Cessna Citation and Bombardier Learjet. PWI Inc. has engineered and manufactured fluorescent and LED aviation lighting products since 1972.