CINCINNATI, July 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LSI Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: LYTS ) today announced that Ron Newbold, President of LSI Lighting, has decided to leave the company for personal reasons.  Effective immediately Chief Operating Officer, Crawford Lipsey, will assume direct responsibility for the Lighting Leadership team.  

Ron Brown, Chief Executive Officer, said, “We appreciate Ron Newbold’s contribution to LSI, particularly his efforts to accelerate and launch numerous new products and process improvements which are important to our future growth.  We wish him well in his future endeavors.”

Mr. Brown continued, “I would like to take this opportunity to comment on some of our plans to strengthen LSI.  First, over the next few months, we will be completing the Atlas integration.  This will improve our already strong service levels to customers with proven common processes in the areas of supply chain, customer service and back office support functions.  The Atlas acquisition has been a valuable addition, providing LSI with a recognized leading brand in the important stock and flow distribution market.  Atlas will continue to be a significant brand for LSI going forward.   

“Secondly, LSI has a rich history of success in certain key customer markets.  Our Lighting and Graphics markets continue to evolve very quickly, as evidenced by the growth in wireless controls and rapidly expanding IoT and digital technologies.  LSI is effectively addressing these market dynamics through its AirLink™, SmartVision™ and SOAR™ solutions.  We are focusing on a more integrated approach of providing solutions for our customers that leverages our entire portfolio of technology, product and service capabilities.  As a result, we are finalizing plans to better align LSI to leverage these and other capabilities to serve targeted customer markets. We expect to announce these plans during our fiscal first quarter.”

As previously reported on April 23, 2018, Mr. Brown has been serving as LSI’s Chief Executive Officer while the company conducts a search for a permanent CEO. Now that Mr. Brown has been reporting to the board since April 23, 2018, John Morgan, a member of LSI’s board of directors, will no longer serve as managing director.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This document contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to numerous assumptions, risks or uncertainties.  The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a safe harbor for forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “estimates,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” “believes,” “seeks,” “may,” “will,” “should” or the negative versions of those words and similar expressions, and by the context in which they are used.  Such statements, whether expressed or implied, are based upon current expectations of the Company and speak only as of the date made.  Actual results could differ materially from those contained in or implied by such forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of risks and uncertainties over which the Company may have no control.  These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the impact of competitive products and services, product demand and market acceptance risks, potential costs associated with litigation and regulatory compliance, reliance on key customers, financial difficulties experienced by customers, the cyclical and seasonal nature of our business, the adequacy of reserves and allowances for doubtful accounts, fluctuations in operating results or costs whether as a result of uncertainties inherent in tax and accounting matters or otherwise, failure of an acquisition or acquired company to achieve its plans or objectives generally, unexpected difficulties in integrating acquired businesses, the ability to retain key employees, unfavorable economic and market conditions, the results of asset impairment assessments, the ability to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, the ability to remediate any material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting and any other risk factors that are identified herein.  You are cautioned to not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.  In addition to the factors described in this paragraph, the risk factors identified in our Form 10-K and other filings the Company may make with the SEC constitute risks and uncertainties that may affect the financial performance of the Company and are incorporated herein by reference.  The Company does not undertake and hereby disclaims any duty to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

About the Company

We are a customer-centric company that positions itself as a value-added, trusted partner in developing superior image solutions through our world-class lighting, graphics, and technology capabilities.  Our core strategy of "Lighting + Graphics + Technology = Complete Image Solutions" differentiates us from our competitors.

We are committed to advancing solid-state LED technology to make affordable, high performance, energy-efficient lighting and custom graphic products that bring value to our customers.  We have a vast offering of innovative solutions for virtually any lighting or graphics application.  In addition, we provide sophisticated lighting and energy management control solutions to help customers manage their energy performance.  Further, we provide a full range of design support, engineering, installation and project management services to our customers. 

We are a vertically integrated U.S.-based manufacturer concentrating on serving customers in North America and Latin America.  Our major markets include commercial / industrial lighting, petroleum / convenience store and multi-site retail (including automobile dealerships, restaurants and national retail accounts).  Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, LSI has facilities in Ohio, California, Kentucky, New York, North Carolina and Texas.  The Company’s common shares are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol LYTS. 

For further information, contact Jim Galeese, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at (513) 793-3200.

Additional note:  Today’s news release, along with past releases from LSI Industries, is available on the Company’s internet site at www.lsi-industries.com or by email or fax, by calling the Investor Relations Department at (513) 793-3200.