This almost sounds like a case where the city cheaped out (maybe the budget just wasn't there?), and went with a third tier supplier.
I noticed the article noted that units supplied from Cree, used in other areas of the country, are performing up to standards and not dying like the ones in Detroit from Leotek.
To me, it's one thing if you're a hobbyist or something looking to save some bucks so you buy cheap LEDs drop shipped from China via Ali Express, from some rando vendor and manufacturer. If one or more die, usually it's not a big deal.
But if you're building a product, or installing something commercially or at a government level, you should do yourself a favor and not go for the lowest cost. While I'm sure Cree LEDs are probably manufactured in China, too, they are likely made to a much different standard.
For all we know, Leotek is using relabeled parts that are marginal or failed to pass QA inspections at other manufacturers, but they got a great deal on barrels of rejected LEDs, and decided to go into the commercial light manufacturing business.
I honestly don't know who or what the company is. What I do know is the name "Cree" and their quality (which also comes with a hefty $$$ price/cost) - but "Leotek" sounds like a company you'd find in a random search on Alibaba.
Maybe that's an unfair assessment; sometimes when ordering a large volume of parts, you'll get entire batches that fail in the real world when they passed QA fine...
I noticed the article noted that units supplied from Cree, used in other areas of the country, are performing up to standards and not dying like the ones in Detroit from Leotek.
To me, it's one thing if you're a hobbyist or something looking to save some bucks so you buy cheap LEDs drop shipped from China via Ali Express, from some rando vendor and manufacturer. If one or more die, usually it's not a big deal.
But if you're building a product, or installing something commercially or at a government level, you should do yourself a favor and not go for the lowest cost. While I'm sure Cree LEDs are probably manufactured in China, too, they are likely made to a much different standard.
For all we know, Leotek is using relabeled parts that are marginal or failed to pass QA inspections at other manufacturers, but they got a great deal on barrels of rejected LEDs, and decided to go into the commercial light manufacturing business.
I honestly don't know who or what the company is. What I do know is the name "Cree" and their quality (which also comes with a hefty $$$ price/cost) - but "Leotek" sounds like a company you'd find in a random search on Alibaba.
Maybe that's an unfair assessment; sometimes when ordering a large volume of parts, you'll get entire batches that fail in the real world when they passed QA fine...