HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Tideland Signal, sometimes referred to as Tidelands, was a
privately held A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...
,
Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
based manufacturer of marine
navigational aid A navigational aid (NAVAID), also known as aid to navigation (ATON), is any sort of signal, markers or guidance equipment which aids the traveler in navigation, usually nautical or aviation travel. Common types of such aids include lighthouses, ...
s, with main offices in
Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette ( , ) is the most populous city in and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, Lafayette Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located along the Vermilion River (Louisiana), Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's List of municipaliti ...
,
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, British Columbia, Canada, Burgess Hill, UK,
Dubai, United Arab Emirates Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
and
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
. It was the manufacturer of the ML-300 lantern, widely used in
lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...
s around the world for more than 50 years.


History

Tideland Signal was founded by several salesmen of Automatic Power, a battery manufacturer which was then a primary player in the buoy market. The company originally sold directly to Automatic's market, but with limited success. During the 1960s,
solar cell A solar cell, also known as a photovoltaic cell (PV cell), is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by means of the photovoltaic effect.
s had started to become practical systems for recharging batteries in remote locations. Hoffman Electronics, a pioneer in solar power, had approached Automatic with the idea of placing panels on their buoys to reduce the number of battery replacements needed to keep a site operations. Automatic instead saw this as a serious threat to their business, so they purchased the Hoffman concept and buried it. Shortly thereafter, a research division of
Exxon Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the largest direct successor of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, the modern company was form ...
was in the process of introducing their own solar panels. Examining the market, they saw that Tideland was struggling with 30% market share, and approached them. Tideland took up development, introducing a buoy with rechargeable batteries and a solar panel. It was an immediate success, and the company soon eclipsed Automatic. By the late 1970s the solar-powered buoy was widely used. In 1965 Tideland introduced the world first
transistor A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch electrical signals and electric power, power. It is one of the basic building blocks of modern electronics. It is composed of semicondu ...
ized
automatic lamp changer An automatic lamp changer (or lampchanger) is a device used to ensure that a navigational light such as a marine lighthouse or aero beacon stays lit even if a bulb burns out. Numerous types exist. The common design elements are an array of two o ...
. In 1967 Tideland introduced a acrylic
Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens (optics), lens which reduces the amount of material required compared to a conventional lens by dividing the lens into a set of concentric annular sections. The simpler Dioptrics, d ...
lantern, the ML-300, which is still widely used. In 2002, the
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
issued a tender for the
procurement Procurement is the process of locating and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. The term may also refer to a contractual ...
of navigation aids for the ports of
Aktau Aktau (; ) is a city in south-west Kazakhstan, on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea. Aktau is on the Mangyshlak Peninsula in the Mangystau Region. Known for its strategic location on the Caspian Sea, Aktau is a port, playing a key role in th ...
(Kazakhstan),
Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
(Azerbaijan) and Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan) under a EuropeAid project which the European Union was undertaking. Tideland submitted a tender via its UK subsidiary. The European Commission then changed the description of one of its requirements and returned the tender documents, unopened, to the companies who had submitted them. This was to enable the companies involved to revise and re-submit their proposals, with a revised tender closing date. The commission's changes did not affect the supplies being offered by Tideland so the company resubmitted their original tender in advance of the commission's revised deadline. However, one of the tender documents stated that the company would keep its tender open for 90 days, "i.e. until 28/07/02", which complied with a requirement specified by the Commission in its original invitation to tender. The 90 day requirement for the amended tender process entailed that tenders were now to be kept open until a later date, and so the Commission rejected Tideland's tender as non-compliant. Tideland successfully challenged the commission's actions in the
Court of Justice of the European Union The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ( or "''CJUE''"; Latin: Curia) is the Judiciary, judicial branch of the European Union (EU). Seated in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, this EU ins ...
, where the Court held that the commission should have sought a clarification from the company about its undertaking to hold the tender open, instead of rejecting it. The basics of this judgment have subsequently been referred to as the "''Tideland'' principles", according to which there is a duty in European public law to seek clarification of a tender in exceptional circumstances, where the submitted tender is
ambiguous Ambiguity is the type of meaning in which a phrase, statement, or resolution is not explicitly defined, making for several interpretations; others describe it as a concept or statement that has no real reference. A common aspect of ambiguit ...
, but only where the ambiguity probably has a simple explanation and is capable of being easily resolved, and such resolution will not in reality create an opportunity to submit a new tender. In June 2012, Rock Hill Capital closed a majority recapitalization of Tideland. In 2016, Rock Hill sold Tideland to Xylem, a water technology company. In June 2020, Xylem announced that Tideland has ceased operations. In September 2020, Orga Signal, a Netherlands-based provider of marine navigational aids, announced that it had bought some of Tideland's
intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...
and product design assets. In April 2021, Orga Signal announced that it would continue the production of the Tideland product portfolio from the original facility in Houston.


Tideland ML-300

The Tideland ML-300 (ML for MaxLumina) is a multi-purpose marine lantern, with a
focal length The focal length of an Optics, optical system is a measure of how strongly the system converges or diverges light; it is the Multiplicative inverse, inverse of the system's optical power. A positive focal length indicates that a system Converge ...
of . It consists of a single piece
injection molding Injection moulding (U.S. spelling: injection molding) is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting molten material into a mould, or mold. Injection moulding can be performed with a host of materials mainly including metals (for ...
acrylic 300mm Fresnel lens and a base assembly, where a flasher or lamp changer can be installed. The light produced is a 360° omnidirectional beam and colored signatures are achieved by colored inserts. It has a range of more than . Since its introduction in 1967, the ML-300 is in wide use all around the world. It is in wide use in the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
region as a medium-range lens. It is also in use in Australia by the
Australian Maritime Safety Authority Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is an Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's shipping fleet and management of Australia's International Maritime Organization, international ...
, for example in Dent Island Light and Bugatti Reef Light, both in
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
.


Other products

In 2010, Tideland Signal provided SB‐30 lateral marker
buoy A buoy (; ) is a buoyancy, floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. History The ultimate origin of buoys is unknown, but by 1295 a seaman's manual referred to navig ...
s and three DM‐390 buoys for use during the Vancouver Winter Olympics.


References


External links

* {{official website, http://www.tidelandsignal.com/ Manufacturing companies based in Houston Defunct companies based in Texas Manufacturing companies established in 1954 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2016 1954 establishments in Texas 2020 disestablishments in Texas