Products We Love: Citadel 4

For the rest of the month, we will be featuring the products some of us at SLP love the most. Here’s what Craig Gravatte, our Regional Sales Manager, had to say about his favorite product, the Citadel 4:

“If I had to pick a product in SLP’s Line that represents my favorite, it would have to be Citadel 4.

It was 2007 and the lighting market was going crazy with fluorescent high bays. At the time, if you installed a high bay in a warehouse, the lamps and reflectors became dirty quickly because of dust. As a result, the original light output of the fixture was decreased. SLP was trying to go after the food industry, parking garages, etc., with our line of Citadel 2 enclosures and we were growing fast. With a market already devouring high bays, the idea was born to find out how big a high bay enclosure could be.

Many ideas went back and forth, and opinions were solicited until the final design came to fruition. In 2008, Citadel 4 was ready for launch. It only came with stainless steel components and had a fiberglass body like Citadel 2. The trays allowed for 4 or 6 lamp T5s or T8s and it had MIRO reflectors. All packaging was standardized for 10 units, and it had UL, NSF, IP certifications and more followed.

To be a young salesperson on this team was a once in a lifetime experience. Every OEM wanted it and they wanted it IMMEDIATELY! Once again, SLP designed it for the food industry, but the OEMs used the unit to applications SLP had never even thought of. It has now been 14 years since the launch of Citadel 4, and the lighting industry has grown and changed by leaps and bounds. As a result, all of SLP’s Citadels have been modified for LEDs. CT4i was developed as a more industrial version of Citadel 4. CT4s (2’) was developed, plus many other products too.  However, it doesn’t take away my great memories of 2008 and the launch of Citadel 4. Those memories are why it’s my favorite SLP product.”