Gary Force Toyota
Established in 1973, family-owned Gary Force Toyota is part of three award-winning auto dealerships that has grown to include Gary Force Honda and Gary Force Acura. Backed by years of business experience, owners Gary Force, and Dave and Matt Stumbo possess a creative tenacity that has resulted in some of the most successful auto dealerships in the area, which have been recipients of the Residual Value Award and the Torch Award for Marketplace Ethic.
As a Bowling Green, KY-based business, Gary Force Toyota is committed to not only providing the best customer service but also to incorporating sustainable products into the dealerships because sustainability pays back in so many ways.
EXTERIOR LUMINAIRES
As a long-estabished business, the owners and management team knew they could make a strong environmental statement while also attracting customers. Car dealership lots use a tremendous amount of energy and install a lot of light fixtures to illuminate the cars outside at night.
Gary Force Toyota sits on a 2 acre lot with a 210 car inventory, and a 20,000 square-foot showroom and repair shop. The dealership recently replaced 63, 1 OOOW metal halide fixtures in the exterior lot with 63, 240W LED luminaires. The dealership also replaced six 250W metal halide wall packs with six 60W LED wall packs.
The impetus for the LED retrofit was the dramatic energy savings. Previously, the dealership was spending almost $30,000 annually on utility costs, however, with the new luminaires, their costs will be reduced to just $6,619. Additionally, every three months, approximately 12 of the metal halide fixtures needed maintenance, costing $26,400 in maintenance over five years. Now, the new LED luminaires are virtually maintenance free with a five year warranty.
After seeing the product, learning about the energy savings greater than 70 percent over the metal halide-and determining the dealership would have just a two year ROI on the LED lights, it was an easy decision. The Tennessee Valley Authority also provided an incentive of $21,700 for upgrading the fixtures to LED.
The LED luminaires provide consistent light levels, reduce hazardous waste disposal and provide dramatically more efficient light distribution than the metal halide fixtures.
“The new exterior LED lighting allows us to drive down operating expenses, present our cars in the best light, and contribute to the greening of our community,” said Dave Stumbo, owner and vice president/ general manager.
Both employees and customers have noticed the bright, white lights and have commented about how much easier it is to see the cars, anywhere in the lot.
“We installed the LED luminaires because they pay back in so many ways,” continued Stumbo. “Additionally, we are so impressed with how well these LED luminaires are performing at Gary Force Toyota that we upgraded the exterior lighting at Gary Force Acura Pre Owned Dealership in Franklin, TN,” added Stumbo.
PARTNERS
The LED luminaires are supplied by California-based Optec LED Lighting® , a supplier of high efficiency, super bright LED lighting fixtures that feature a patented thermal management system that allows even heat dissipation and extended life. Optec LED Lighting products are suited for a wide variety of commercial, transportation, industrial and institutional applications.
The luminaires were installed by Bowling Green, Kentucky-based Neon Campus ®. Since 1993, Neon designs and manufactures new signs, and services existing signs. The company works on a wide variety of signs and applications, from replicating 100 year-old signs to installing trillion-color mega hybrid LED signs. Additionally, Neon provides parking lot lighting maintenance and 100-foot crane service.
