Tanko Lighting was founded in 2003 with a simple mission – to help reduce the waste stream from the street lighting industry. During our initial years, we operated solely as a green manufacturer of refurbished street light fixtures.

At the time, High Pressure Sodium (HPS) was the dominant technology in the market, and there were tremendous environmental and cost benefits resulting from rebuilding the fixtures. Tanko Lighting would routinely disassemble, clean, repaint and install all new components into each fixture, selling them back good as new to its municipal customer base.

As more energy efficient technologies entered the market, we chose to integrate them into our rebuilt products. Fixtures containing high frequency induction and Light Emitting Diode (LED) components were soon introduced into our product line of both rebuilt and new fixtures.

With the advent of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), municipalities began to consider comprehensive investments in the energy efficiency of their street lighting infrastructure. We provided products and professional services for many of these landmark ARRA-funded projects.

Tanko Lighting is a values-based company. Here are some of our core values:

People

Tanko Lighting firmly believes that at the core of any successful project or enterprise are relationships. Whether it is with customers, vendors, suppliers or employees, we promote respect, accountability, trust and good communication with all of the people with whom we connect. We are also committed to social entrepreneurship. Based in an Economic Enterprise Zone, we hire the majority of our workforce from surrounding neighborhoods and provide opportunities that support the economic revitalization of these diverse communities. In addition, we support the manufacturing base in San Francisco and are an active member of SFMade.

The Environment

As the nation’s largest and most successful manufacturer of rebuilt street lights, Tanko Lighting was founded on a core principle of sustainability and reducing the waste stream from the street lighting industry. This has expanded into a deep focus on energy efficient street light conversion projects. In addition to converting municipalities to LED fixtures, and mitigating waste and carbon dioxide emissions through rebuilding fixtures, our commitment to the environment also involves rebuilding parts, sourcing sustainable materials for the production of both our new and rebuilt products, recycling decommissioned parts, and engineering products using the most energy efficient technologies.

Practical Solutions

Tanko Lighting offers options that solve customers’ needs while staying grounded in reality. We understand that cost, quality, and efficiency are essential concerns for customers. The solutions we offer are workable, cost-effective and bring tremendous value. Our turn-key services creatively provide actionable options for comprehensive conversions, utility buyouts, and custom projects.

Services

Municipal street light conversions are not rocket science. But they do involve significant coordination to ensure that the details are right – from the initial planning to the final close-out phases of a project. Since most cities have never undertaken a comprehensive replacement of their entire street light infrastructure, it’s important that they select a partner who is knowledgeable about the conversion process. Partnering with experts is the most assured way that a city can guarantee that a project is designed to sufficiently actualize savings.

Tanko Lighting knows street lighting.  It’s our passion.  It’s all we do.  As such, we care that street light projects are done well.  Thus, we provide customers with turn-key services that seamlessly guide them through the process of transitioning to energy efficient street lighting.