2010 China (Guzhen) International Lighting Fair Focuses on Eco Lighting

LED lighting makes up a third of displayed items

Meeting 60-70% of China's domestic demand for lighting, the 47.8-square-kilometer Guzhen Township in Guangdong Province has earned the title as the “Lighting Capital of China” since 2002.

The lighting industry has been growing in this township for three decades, spilling over into three neighboring cities and 11 bordering townships, including Henlan, Xiaolan, Jiangmen, and Hetang Townships. In Guzhen alone, some 9,600 registered lighting-fixture manufacturers generated revenues of RMB16.6 billion (US$2.4 billion) in 2009, with the 4,000-odd fitting manufacturers ringing 2009 sales totaling RMB20 billion (US$2.9 billion).

A major event held annually since 1999 is credited for not just raising profile for the township but also global presence of the township's lighting industry. The local government, the main advocate for the fair, says the China (Guzhen) International Lighting Fair (CILF) is “the most influential lighting event in Asia after Hong Kong International Lighting Fair.”

The 2010 CILF was held Oct. 18-23, drawing 613 manufacturers to set up across 2,250 booths, with eco-friendly lighting taking center stage and light emitting diode (LED) lighting making up one-third of the displayed products.

Significant exhibitors at the show included the publicly held Foshan Nationstar Optoelectronics Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Manelux Lighting Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Yiguang Science and Technology Co., Ltd., Glamour Electric Appliance Co., Ltd., TOT Electrical Equipment Co., Ltd. and Qi Mei Ao Lighting Co., Ltd.

TOT specializes in lighting switches, having recently overcome a technical problem to introduce a steel-frame switch encased in plastic, making it China's first manufacturer of its kind to do so.

Extensive Retail Network
This maker has contracted over 200 retailers across China, working with dealers to set up 30 franchised stores and distributors, with such effort having helped to raise sales 20% relative to competitors' throughout the first half of 2010.

President Tsai Goping stressed that his company will continue on its course, which is how his company can stay innovative.

Glamour, a leading manufacturer in China focusing on intelligent remote controllers for the commercial market, had switched attention to China's vast domestic market in early 2010.

The general manager, Hsieh Mingsu, said the company recently rolled out its fourth-generation intelligent remote controller as part of its blue-ocean strategy, noting that most of competitors are flocking to join the underselling race.

The maker's latest product addresses traditional issues as deficient programmed learning, automatic memory, and timed shutdown, excluding preset programmed design.

Foshan is a pioneer in China's LED lighting sector noted for postdoctoral R&D projects within the firm and being listed on the A Board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The company has introduced a number of patented advanced high-power LED devices designed around printed circuit board (PCB) architecture. As of November 2010, the company had applied for 34 invention patents, 47 exterior design patents, and 67 performance patents.

In early 2010, Foshan opened an LED laboratory for urban lighting design and a similar laboratory for industrial lighting design.

With so many new products introduced and extensive dealership networks, the company saw its sales offshore double in the first half of 2010 from that in 2009.