The Euclid, Ohio-based parent of Cortes Campers and Futuro Houses has hired Michael Coates as controller.
The parent company, U.S. Lighting Group Inc., sold its LED light-making business in 2021 and started businesses the following year that make recreational vehicles, UFO-like off-grid houses and speed boats out of molded fiberglass.
These operating changes as well as financial commitments to its former CEO have complicated U.S. Lighting's financial statements, making the company late on a handful of regulatory report filings in the last few years.
In addition, U.S. Lighting's chief financial officer, Donald Retreage, is a "fractional" CFO who works for the company part time, according to his LinkedIn profile.
U.S. Lighting is spending more money building its Cortes Campers trailers — its sole product line with sales, so far — than it makes selling them, ending the first nine months of 2021 with a loss of $1.6 million, or 2 cents a share, according to the company's third-quarter report.
As U.S. Lighting's newly hired controller, Coates will be responsible for directing and coordinating accounting functions, managing the consolidation of financial data for accurate reporting and analysis, and preparing internal and external financial statements, the company said on Monday.
Prior to joining U.S. Lighting, Coates was a senior tax analyst at PNC Private Bank Hawthorn, a business that serves high-net-worth individuals and families. Coates is a certified public accountant and a certified financial planner, U.S. Lighting said.
"Due to our rapid expansion, we are in need of additional financial staff for analysis and reporting purposes," said Anthony Corpora, U.S. Lighting's CEO and president, in a statement. "Given his years of accounting experience and business acumen, Michael will be a critical addition during 2023 as we continue to ramp up production, driving higher revenue growth and a path to profitability."
Two weeks ago, U.S. Lighting filed a Form D with the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise up to $500,000 by selling equity securities that are exempt from registration.
U.S. Lighting is building its first Futuro House model and plans to display it at the Great Big Home + Garden Show at Cleveland's I-X Center in early March.
Shares of U.S. Lighting Group, which trade among stock brokers (PINK: USLG), ended Feb. 10 — the last day on which they traded — at about 11 cents.
