Most companies selling smart building technology are assembling someone else’s hardware. MHT Technologies builds its own PoE lighting controllers, and where it builds it wasn’t always a given.
Every Inspextor PoE lighting controller in the field today is designed, assembled, and tested at MHT’s facility in Staten Island, New York. That wasn’t always the case. MHT once split production across facilities in China, Europe, and New York, the same arrangement common across the tech industry, where circuit boards, microchips, housing components, and assembly parts are often sourced from wherever it’s cheapest to build them.
A Decision Forced by 2020, Kept for the Right Reasons
When the pandemic disrupted global supply chains in 2020, MHT made a decision that has shaped the company since: it consolidated all manufacturing in the United States.
President and CEO Akram “AK” Khalis explains the move directly:
“Over the years, we’ve had MHT Technologies manufacturing in China, Europe, and New York. When COVID hit, we consolidated all production right here in New York, specifically the beautiful Staten Island! This means that whether you’re in the US or abroad, you’re getting the same high-quality, resilient products backed by dependable support. And if you’re in the US, that means no tariffs for you! Our commitment to excellence remains unwavering, no matter where you are.”
What began as a response to a supply chain crisis has held up as tariffs, trade disputes, and geopolitical uncertainty have made overseas sourcing more expensive and less predictable for the tech industry as a whole. Businesses that depend on imported circuit boards, microchips, and assembly components have watched those costs climb, then pass down the line to the end customer. MHT sidestepped that exposure by building its PoE lighting controller lineup entirely on domestic ground.
Why the Location Behind the Hardware Matters
A PoE lighting controller sits at the intersection of a building’s electrical and network infrastructure, carrying power and data to fixtures, sensors, shades, and other connected devices. If that hardware underperforms or a supply chain disruption delays a shipment, the consequences reach well beyond a single light fixture.
Building everything in Staten Island gives MHT direct control over the variables that matter most for that category of hardware: component sourcing, thermal design, firmware, and the testing that happens before a unit ever leaves the building. Reshoring production also shortened MHT’s lead times and gave its team faster visibility into quality control, since there’s no factory on another continent to coordinate with when a specification needs to change.
It also removed the tariff exposure that many of MHT’s competitors still carry. Companies still importing this kind of lighting hardware or its components from overseas are subject to costs that shift with trade policy. MHT’s domestic clients aren’t.
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What Reshoring Actually Changed
Consolidating production of PoE lighting controllers in the United States delivered benefits that go beyond avoiding tariffs:
Faster lead times, since parts and finished units no longer cross international borders before reaching a job site.
Tighter quality control, since engineering, assembly, and testing happen under one roof instead of across facilities on different continents.
Fewer disruptions from currency swings or trade disputes, since production doesn’t depend on international shipping lanes or exchange rates.
Faster support, since the team fielding a customer’s question is the same team that built the controller.
Investment in the domestic economy, including the jobs and expertise based in Staten Island rather than overseas.
Built in Staten Island, Built to Last
MHT’s Inspextor platform, from Constant Current and Constant Voltage lighting control to higher-capacity nodes with multiple independently controlled outputs, is manufactured entirely at the Staten Island facility. Every variation in the lineup goes through the same production and testing process, under the same roof, by the same team accountable for how it performs once it’s installed.
That’s what AK means when he says clients get the same high-quality product no matter where they are. The consistency doesn’t come from a supply chain spread across multiple countries and vendors. It comes from keeping the entire process, design through final testing, in one place MHT controls.
For building owners, designers, and integrators evaluating a PoE lighting controller platform, that’s more than a manufacturing detail. It’s the difference between a supply chain that’s exposed to tariffs, shipping delays, and inconsistent quality standards, and one that isn’t. MHT built its Inspextor lineup on the latter, and has kept it there since 2020.