FARMINGDALE, New Jersey, February 29 /PRNewswire/ --

Dialight Corporation recently reached an agreement with Rio Tinto Energy America to install its LED-based SafeSite(TM) and LEDBright fixtures throughout many of its coal mining and crushing facilities, thus improving safety dramatically and decreasing maintenance and energy costs in these locations.

The rugged solid-state design of these newly released fixtures creates a new era where failed lamps and expensive re-lamping costs become a thing of the past. Dialight's newest illumination fixture, the SafeSite series, is designed exclusively for hazardous locations.

Rio Tinto Energy America has begun to replace traditional high-pressure sodium, metal halide and fluorescent lighting fixtures with the new SafeSite and LEDBright fixtures to achieve a better, whiter grade of lighting with an instant "On" feature so they can be used as needed.

These rugged fixtures are perfect for applications such as this, where shock and vibration are present. They provide extremely long life before service is required. With the great reduction in power needed to operate these new fixtures, they will assist Rio Tinto Energy America in efforts to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Specific applications at Rio Tinto Energy America include replacement of Hi Bay Lighting (400-watt HID fixtures) in maintenance areas with LEDBright fixtures; replacement of lighting on drill rigs where vibration shortens the life of traditional lights; and replacement of lighting in wash bays with LEDBright fixtures, thus eliminating the shock of hitting a hot fixture with cold water.

Future additional applications are presently being considered within the Rio Tinto Energy America facilities.

Rio Tinto Energy America is using SafeSite to replace traditional high-pressure sodium, metal halide and fluorescent lighting fixtures in maintenance areas and on drill rigs where vibration shortens the life of traditional lights.

SafeSite's rugged housing makes it ideal for applications like this where shock and vibration are present. Designed to meet UL Class 1 Division 2 requirements, SafeSite uses state-of-the-art, solid-state LED lighting to create a new era where failed lamps and expensive relamping are a thing of the past.

SafeSite incorporates the latest LED technology with proprietary optics to achieve area lighting comparable with traditional light sources. By focusing light where it is needed, SafeSite is the most efficient light source available for hazardous area lighting applications.

Doug Woehler, product manager at Dialight, says, "The emergence of LED technology designed specifically for hazardous environments means that companies like Rio Tinto Energy America can use SafeSite to make energy and maintenance cost savings without compromising on their lighting needs. In some environments where coal dust can create a potentially explosive atmosphere, traditional lighting cannot be installed. SafeSite provides a new, safe option to light these areas."

The first of its kind, SafeSite is designed to replace 75W to 250W HID light sources in hazardous location applications. The fixture provides better quality light, higher fixture efficiency and 30% greater energy efficiency than traditional HID light source technology.

The SafeSite LED white downlight can be mounted on walls, stanchions and pendent mounts. It provides an instant "On" response so it can be used as needed rather than wasting energy when not required.

Rio Tinto Energy America specializes in the production of low-sulphur, sub-bituminous coal, and operates five coal mines located in Wyoming, Montana and Colorado. With a combined workforce of more than 2,400 employees, and with the help of hundreds of contractors and suppliers, the company provides fuel to its energy company customers who generate nearly six percent of the nation's electricity.

For further information, contact Doug Woehler, Dialight Corporation, Farmingdale, NJ; phone +1-732-919-3119: email: dwoehler@dialight.com.

About Dialight

Dialight plc (FTSE: DIA.L) is one of the world's largest suppliers of applied LED technology. It operates in two principal segments: components using low-brightness LEDs for status indication in electronic equipment and signals/illumination utilizing the latest high-brightness LED technology for traffic and rail signals, obstruction lighting, hazardous location lighting and general illumination applications. More information is available at www.dialight.com.

Web site: http://www.dialight.com

Doug Woehler of Dialight Corporation, +1-732-919-3119, dwoehler@dialight.com