KC HiLiTES

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KC HiLiTES, Inc is a manufacturer of off-road lighting based in Williams, Arizona.

History[]

1969 Jeep Wagoneer built by KC Lights

The company was founded in 1970 in Saugus, California by Peter Kim Brown and his wife Carol Brown and named using their initials KC.^[1] They were spurred to start the company when Peter began using landing lights from aircraft adapted to fit his truck, and realized that the way they were mounted would not stand up to the rigors of use of the off-road community of race buggies and pickups. Available lighting at the time was limited to 55-watt halogen lamps that were in Brown's words, "really disappointing in the desert".^[2] Initially he made a few sets for friends, but eventually began working with neighbors out of his garage assembling the lights, building the wiring harnesses and selling the packages to off-roaders and local shops.^[3] In 1974, the company was moved to Williams, Arizona where it remains today.^[4] Many race teams use KC's lamps, included pioneers Walker Evans and Ivan Stewart. Peter's step-son Michael Dehaas was the company owner for over a decade after purchasing it in 2004,^[4] and it is now owned by family members - Alan, Andy, and Mike.

Products[]

1970-2000's

The company's best known product is the Daylighter®. The Daylighter® served as the backbone of KC's development for many years. KC designed the special patented isolated rubber mount for the Daylighter when they noticed too many failures due to the severe vibration within the metal housing during off-road use. Many hours were spent with GE engineers learning about the intricacies of lighting, sealed beams, filaments, the varied types of construction, wattage and candlepower in order to devise a way to completely encircle the bulb in rubber, helping isolate it from damaging vibrations.^[3] In addition to the Daylighter, KC manufactured a wide variety of Halogen products through the late 1900s. Some of these include forward facing lights such as 6" round J Series Flood Lamps and rectangular Driving Lamps.

In addition to forward facing lights intended for either on- or off-road use, KC also offered many accessories in their infancy. Anything from shields that went underneath a light to reduce glare, to interior map lights, to light locks (security nuts) to help deter light theft. The vinyl covers were also highly popular as they allowed the owners to both protect their lights and add their own flare to their off-road vehicle.

1990-2010

In the 1990s, KC developed the HID (High Intensity Discharge) lighting system, based on the same metal halide concept used to illuminate giant sports complexes. More recently, KC offers HIDs and LEDs for off-road use, and for commercial and industrial applications. Many ATVs are now running HIDs, LEDs and other KC lighting products. Many of these original Gen1 products are still in wide circulation and use to this day.

The company saw a resurgence of interest after the release of its now iconic Gravity Pro6 light bar which received massive adoption industry wide. Following the form factor of its unique daylighter lights and how people would use them in conjunction with cross bars on top of their vehicle, KC was the first company to develop and patent an interconnected linking system of Pro6 LED lights in an expandable array dubbed the Infinity Ring System®. This type of forward thinking also led to the introduction and adoption of the original KC FLEX LED series which featured a stackable design as well as interchangeable parts such as bezels, lenses and more.

KC HiLiTES Gravity LED Pro6 Lights

An interim introduction that tows the line between gen2 and gen3 lighting is the KC Slimlite which offered a competitive product in terms of light output and pricing.

2010 - Current

With the success of the Gravity Pro6 Bar and Flex series, KC doubled down on the next generation (era if you would) of lighting by way of the KC FLEX ERA® product family featuring the industry's first three source triangular light built to withstand the rigors of heavy offroad and racing use. Expanding the family to a four source pod featuring an industry standard square form factor but with industry leading technology, output and design, the KC FLEX ERA® 4 is just another story to tell in ever growing legacy of performance products purpose built for life's most demanding adventures.

References[]

External links[]

• Official Website