Venture Lighting International, an Advanced Lighting company, was founded in 1983 as a metal halide, high intensity discharge lamp (light bulb) manufacturing company based in Cleveland, Ohio. Venture CEO Wayne Hellman began the development of the company after a 16-year career with General Electric, during which he pioneered innovations for metal halide lighting. Fifteen years of developing metal halide for GE convinced Mr. Hellman that a tremendous opportunity existed for a specialty metal halide lighting company. Mr. Hellman, along with a small core group of marketing and engineering managers from GE, formed Venture Lighting, literally beginning from scratch. From its inception, Venture is the only company in the world focused exclusively on the advancement of metal halide lighting technology. The company emphasis, according to Mr. Hellman, continues to be the development of breakthrough, superior quality metal halide technology for the world market, including materials, system components, systems and production equipment. As the company vision states, Venture aspires to be the best metal halide lamp company in the world and to dominate in the development of metal halide lamps for general lighting.