Manufacturers of light-emitting diode (LED) lighting products in Taiwan have been turning out more attractive products, and in greater variety, thanks mainly to recent advances in ultra-bright light-emitting diode (LED) technology and the falling cost of locally produced diodes.

Recently, some Taiwanese LED-lighting manufacturers have begun adopting high-voltage, high luminosity diodes to boost the value of their products while some producers are developing new niche markets for low-voltage models. According to the Taiwan manufacturers, the LED joint-venture LumiLeds Lighting between Hewlett-Packard (HP) Co. and Philips Lighting is their major supplier of the diodes in power specifications above one watt, while Nichia Chemical of Japan is their major supplier of sub-watt diodes.

LEDs have been viewed by world lighting industry as the next-generation lighting source due to their low power consumption, high durability, environmental friendliness, good lighting effect and safety. Taiwan's LED-lighting manufacturers, have benefited from the support of low-cost LEDs from local suppliers and technical guidance from the Semiconductor Lighting Industrial Association.

According to the government-backed Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Taiwan's LED industry had revenue of NT$30.3 billion (US$918 million at US$1:NT$33) last year, surging around 30% from 2002's NT$23.5 billion (US$712 million). The organization projects the industry's revenue to rise by 25%, to NT$38 billion (US$1.15 billion) this year, helping Taiwan hold on to its second-place ranking worldwide with a 25% market share. Japan is the world's No. 1 supplier.

Flashlights

Yuan Lung International Enterprise Corp., a seven-year-old maker of LED laser pointers and measuring equipment, began shifting its emphasis to LED flashlights at the start of this year. Its high-performance flashlights are fitted with LumiLeds-made high-voltage diodes and mid-range and gift-class flashlights with Nichia-made diodes. According to company general manager Su Zhi-zong, LumiLeds makes the world's best high-power diodes. "We used to use Nichia's diodes in our high-end flashlights. However, we finally decided to use the pricier LumiLeds diodes due to their higher quality. Besides, Nichia has threatened lighting manufacturers not to use unlicensed diodes," he explains.

In addition to LumiLeds' one-watt diodes, his company has adopted the diode supplier's three-watt devices on its high-performance lights.

While only a few of Taiwan's lighting manufacturers have begun using high-watt diodes, Su estimates that such diodes will quickly gain market share.

A one-watt LumiLeds diode costs around US$3 and gives off 25 lumens of brightness. The three-watt model costs thrice the price of one-watt version and gives off 80 lumens, according to Su. "LumiLeds' diodes are costly, but it can take 10 Nichia diodes at a cost of around US$6 to produce the brightness of one one-watt LumiLeds diode," Sun notes.

To keep costs down, Yuan Lung has formed a joint-procurement alliance to bargain for lower prices from diode suppliers. The company has also invested in a packaging factory in mainland China to encase the diode chips and assemble them into modules. The company plans to invest in a factory to produce low-voltage white-light diodes for its low-end flashlights.

Although Yuan Lung was relatively late in entering the LED flashlight market, Su is confident that his company's superior quality will help it succeed in the new segment. He says that his company is able to make flashlights that are water resistant up to 100 meters deep. The lights can operate for six consecutive hours underwater, making them a welcome tool for divers, Su says.

Su attributes his company's good quality to its mature one-piece processing technique and good design tools. Before Su opened Yuan Lung, he worked in the hardware processing business. "Over the past seven years, our business has been closely associated with manufacturing of hardware and electronics products, enhancing our advantage in manufacturing the flashlights," he says. Yuan Lung carefully designs its products with the aid of three-dimension design software and builds molds for the lights with computer numerically controlled (CNC) lathes.

Yuan Lung currently offers low-end, middle-range and high-performance products. Its high-end lights are installed with LumiLeds' diodes and are priced at NT$500 to NT$1,000 (US$15 to 30) apiece. Its middle-range products, coming with six to nine Nichia diodes, are retailed at around NT$200 (US$6); and its low-end wares are sold as promotional items. The company adds its own brand name to its products bound for the local and South American markets.

Primo Donna

Primo Lite Co., Ltd. Is another Taiwanese LED-lighting manufacturer focusing on applications of high-watt diodes. Its products include lighting fixtures and modules, drivers for LED auto lamps and commercial lighting, as well as LED lamps for electronics systems.

"Our company decided to focus on LED lighting as a long-term strategy around six months after our establishment in 2001. We started with high-luminosity products to avoid the overly crowded market for low brightness products," says Don Sun, Primo's vice president in charge of marketing.



Sun says that the main markets for high-watt diodes are the United States and Europe, though mainland China has a lot of development potential. "For American and European LED-lighting manufacturers, assembling a number of low-wattage LEDs to modules is expensive in terms of labor cost as compared with installing one single high-bright diode to the modules," he says. Many of these firms, he adds, contract dedicated LED-module suppliers such as Primo to supply high luminosity LED modules.

In recent years, many office buildings and historical sites in mainland China have been illuminated with spotlights for night viewing. Many of these spotlights, says Sun, are LED models due to their low power usage and durability. Primo has opened an assembly factory and six marketing outlets in the mainland to date. And over the past few years, his company and its dealers have won many contracts to equip business buildings and historic sites in the mainland with LED spotlights.

Sun estimates that the mainland market is likely to account for 40% of his company's total revenue this year, helped by the opening of a factory there in August last year. He estimates each of the 100-some construction projects, including several lighting-engineering programs, that the mainland authorities have planned for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will cost around RMB100 billion.

Sun's company sells its products under its "LED Avenue" brand in the mainland and ships its products on an OEM (original equipment manufacturing) basis to other markets. Architecture companies and lighting designers are the company's major customers.

Like Yuan Lung, Primo buys its high-watt diodes from LumiLeds. According to Sun, his company is LumiLeds' only partner in Taiwan. Primo's management is mostly composed of former Philips Lighting Taiwan executives, who frequently visit their LumiLeds counterparts to discuss business deals.

Sun comments that LumiLeds' high-watt diodes are of very high quality and the company is rapidly becoming the leading supplier of the diodes, whose service life averages 100,000 hours or 10 years. "Nevertheless, LumiLeds has recently licensed its patents to Nichia in exchange for rights to use Nichia's patents as part of its plan to expand into the low-watt market," Sun notes.

To LED module suppliers, the greatest challenge is heat dissipation. "Diode size is usually small and a lot of power passes through high-watt bulbs, generating a lot of heat. Heat is usually the major killer of LED lights," Sun notes.

Sun notes that reliable quality is the major reason behind the company's rapid growth, with revenue doubling in each of the past few years. "Our major advantage is our ability to integrate lighting systems, which involves choosing the right materials, installation, and maximizing lighting efficiency," Sun says.

While high-watt diodes remain pricey, Sun is optimistic about the future market for high-wattage LED lights. He anticipates that prices will fall as soon as Osram and Nichia enter the market.

LEDs with an Artistic Touch

Unlike Yuan Lung and Primo, which stress the advanced LED technology in their products, Baroque Arts Co., Ltd. Aims to attract customers with the head-turning designs of its artistic lighting fixtures with low-watt diodes. The company makes the fixtures by piecing together tailored printed circuit boards (PCBs), imparting a modern-art sensibility to its products.

According to company owner Hsu Yu-tien, the idea of piecing together PCBs to make the lighting fixtures originated from tiffany lights, whose lampshades are composed of pieces of colored glasses. "I make my new products like works of art," says Hsu, a long-term industry veteran. "We process everything by hand so our output volume is fairly limited," he stresses.

Hsu came up with his innovative idea in 1997 and soon built a pilot desk lamp. Today, his company makes lighting fixtures in various unique shapes. One such product is a meter-high skyscraper lamps that evokes the energy of city lights.

The low-watt diodes used in Baroque Arts' lighting fixtures make them ideal for use as nightlights.

Contact information on companies covered by the article:

Yuan Lung International Enterprise Corp.
General manager: T.C. Su.
Add: 6 Fl., No. 653-1, Chungchen Rd., Hsinchuang city, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan
Tel: 886-2-2901-6168; Fax: 886-2-2901-1123
E-mail: mail:su@yuanlung.com; Web site: www.yuanlung.com

Primo Lite Co., Ltd.
Vice president: Don Suen
Add: No. 8, Lane 178, Sec. 1, Ping-Dong Rd., Ping-Chen, Taoyuan Hsien, Taiwan
Tel: 886-3-4601396; Fax: 886-3-4601672
E-mail: don@primolite.com.tw ; Web site: www.primolite.com.tw

Baroque Arts Co., Ltd.
Add: No. 5, Lane 368, Ganchen Rd., Lungtang Hsian, Taoyuan Hsien, Taiwan
Tel: 886-3-470-7655; Fax: 886-3-489-6464