EB Engineering's Success a Beacon of Light for Small Companies

Publish Date: November 2007

“Small companies should not feel intimidated by the Olympics,” says Eddy Butler, President of EB Engineering. “In fact, our experience so far is that organizers like to deal with smaller companies.”

Located in Sidney, BC, EB Engineering is a small operation with just one full-time and two part-time employees. The company designs and manufactures solar-powered LED lighting for marine, highway, rail and other applications. Since 1998, they have produced the SunBeacon brand of lights, which are distributed worldwide.

“Early on, I spoke with my distributor in Greece about the opportunity to get in on the Athens Olympics,” says Butler. “We already had a strong reputation in the country as our product is used by the Hellenic Navy. Before we knew it, we were asked to help develop the specifications needed for lighting the sailing and swimming events. After that, we won the contract.”

While SunBeacon's existing presence in Greece was influential in winning the contract, Butler is convinced that a company of any size - so long as it has a great idea - can play a part in Olympic contracts if they have the right attitude.

“Be bold,” says Butler. “I really think that small companies can succeed on Olympic bids. The guy in the basement is often the one developing the innovative stuff. It's all about confidence.”

The contract for the 2004 Summer Games has led to a significant amount of publicity in Greece and beyond. A potential new project at the Suez Canal came about because of the Olympic contract, and Butler says there is the “possibility of supplying security perimeter lighting for both the athletes' village and press camps. It seems that once our product was accepted for one portion of the Games, we were looked to for additional related products.”

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