When companies of the LED lighting industry are busy with integration, merger and expansion nowadays, an enterprise is acting in a diametrically opposite way, concentrating its development in a strategically selected field. In the era where companies are chasing for quick success, how does this enterprise keep its originality in the competitive market? What is the company’s counter-strategy for industry price war and oversea competitions?

Colorful LEDs can be applied in specialty lighting sectors, such as stage lighting, plant grow lights and landscape lighting markets. Regional markets in China, U.S., Europe and Southeast Asia have especially benefited from emerging applications in the local market and witnessed increased procurements for color LEDs. Demands for different color RGBW LED components have emerged as a result from this trend, and is accelerating in related specialty lighting market applications. The popular LED grow light market has grown to US $575 million in 2016, and LEDinside estimates it will reach US $1.42 billion by 2020. LEDinside has also observed LEDs for stage light market value reached US $500 million, and is projected to further escalate.

Mid-power LEDs have become a mainstream product in the LED package sector, showing strong growth in the market over the past few years. The global lighting market scale is estimated to reach US $3.74 billion by 2020, and it is projected mid-power LEDs will comprise the majority stake in the market due to its high reliability and performance, estimated LEDinside. Taiwanese LED package manufacturers have released mid-power LED products including 3030 LED, 5630 LED, and other major LED package products, EVERLIGHT for instance has been shipping large volumes of these products.  In an exclusive interview with LEDinside, Ewing Liu, Technical Marketing Manager at EVERLIGHT, talked about the company’s outlook for mid-power LED market and latest market trend developments.

Ivan-Christophe Robin, Strategic Marketing Manager at Leti, spoke to LEDinside recently about the French research institute’s outlook for micro-LEDs in various end-market applications, especially the wearable sector.

The global LED industry benefited from emerging lighting market demands, but the LED backlight industry has entered a mature plateau phase. Price wars intensified in mainstream LED chip and application sectors, turning into an overtly competitive red sea market. In 2015, global LED market value declined for the first time by 3% to US $14.33 billion, according to statistics compiled by LEDinside, a research division of Taipei-based market research institute TrendForce.

Product development in the LED industry has changed significantly over the past years, shifting from boosting lumen efficiency to prioritizing light quality. Lumileds latest LUXEON Stylist Series, designed to meet different commercial and retail lighting demands, especially emphasizes CoB LED color performance. Compared to the company’s older generation products, the new LEDs are incorporating TM-30 color parameter measurements into the design process.

Diminishing size of the annual Guangzhou International Lighting Fair in China was first observed in June 2015, but the extent of the shrinking fair accelerated in 2016. Despite fewer international companies displaying their products at the annual show this year, it still attracted a large number of visitors. In the LED industry where large manufacturers are constantly switching businesses, staying or leaving the industry are all market strategies to embrace market changes. LEDinside had the opportunity to interview Pang Yen Liu, General Manager Production Business Group Sales and Marketing Greater China of EVERLIGHT at the show recently.

Mobile World Congress Shanghai, which is held from 28 June to 1 July 2016, features two “Connected Lifestyle” halls that showcase up-to-date products and services. Bodo Ischebeck, Vice President Infrared Components at Osram Opto Semiconductors delivered a speech titled “Optical Sensors Advancing Mobile Technology.” Bodo Ischebeck introduced optical sensors’ applications and outlook of biometrics, biosensor, VR/AR and 3D sensor applications.

How can LED and OLED manufacturers improve light extraction efficiency? Advanced materials specialist Pixelligent CEO Craig Bandes recently spoke to LEDinside about the company’s zirconia nanocrystal technology, and its applications in different end markets encompassing LED packages, OLED technology, optical components and panel displays.

Top LED material manufacturer Dow Corning showcased a variety of new silicone-based materials for LED packaging, industrial and street lighting applications at the Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition 2016 (GILE 2016). This is LEDinside pleasure to have a chance to have an interview with marketing director of Dow Corning Lighting and Electronics, Rogier Reinders, to share the product features and market perspectives. 

Kaynam Hedayat, VP Marketing and Product Management at Digital Lumens recently spoke to LEDinside about the company’s partnership with Schneider Electric and its advantages in smart lighting operation system.

Earlier this week, UV LED specialist RayVio’s CEO Robert Walker spoke to LEDinside about the company’s outlook for the UVC LED sector, and their current market strategy.

Construction of comprehensive optic fiber networks and maturing Internet technology are ushering innovative technology developments. LEDinside observed the emergence of more innovative technology products at CES Asia 2016, which took place in Shanghai, China recently. Growing number of products require the integration of IR sensor technologies, such as trending virtual reality (VR) headsets, or wearable fitness devices for measuring heart rates and pulse. IR sensor technology in man and machine interface is also playing an increasingly important role. 

In November 2015, Osram Opto Semiconductors (Osram Opto) announced general lighting will be an integral part of its long term strategic development plan, and that it would be investing EUR 1 billion (US$1.14 billion) in Malaysia to construct a 6-inch LED production site. The news surprised the entire LED industry. Recently, Osram Opto hosted a series of innovative SSL technology forums to unveil its new product line across Asia.

The LED display market preference in 2015 were small pitch LED displays, and high definition products. These products that have been under the industry spotlight last year continued to show strong growth this year, especially in China. Small pitch LED displays is gaining traction in other regional markets including Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe. Emerging markets, such as Middle East and South America where the 2016 Olympics will be hosted in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, also witnessed soaring growth for small pitch LED displays. To learn more about display technology advancements and trend analyses, LEDinside spoke to international and Taiwanese LED chip manufacturers and other related industry players.

LED Expo Thailand 2016 that took place from April 19-22, 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand is the largest LED exhibition held in southeast Asia. Compared to Singapore’s economic role as a hub, the Thailand-based LED exhibition emphasizes more on creating business and market expansion opportunities for local manufacturers and international ones. Buyers are mainly local Thai manufacturers, foreign investors that focus on Southeast Asian market. Along with quite a few buyers based in Vietnam and Singapore. Vietnam, at the same time, is also one of Taiwanese manufacturers’ targeting markets.

Prospects of a booming LED filament bulb market in 2016 and Super Trend Lighting’s unique market position and distribution channels, were some of the main reasons behind Forest Lighting’s latest acquisition, said Forest Lighting General Manager Lawrence Lin in an exclusive interview with LEDinside recently.

Observations of the global economic outlook for 2016 remains dim, with the economy expected to further decline. Despite the grim outlook, the Indian market has emerged as a shining beacon for lighting manufacturers. Rising domestic demands, emphasis on Made in India, tariff-free and other opportunities are encouraging manufacturers to enter the market.

Leading Japanese LED manufacturer Nichia spoke to Taiwanese reporters about technologies it will be focusing on this year, and about its outlook for 2016, during a press conference held at Palais de Chine Hotel in Taipei, Taiwan on Thursday.

Leading Taiwanese LED manufacturer EVERLIGHT displayed its LED component for lighting product portfolio at the biannual Light+Building 2016 that runs from March 13-16, at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Center in Germany. EVERLIGHT representatives at the show Ewing Liu, Head of Lighting Product Development and Dr. Christopher Keusch, the company’s Europe branch Senior Technical Sales Manager of EMEA spoke to LEDinside about LED lighting market developments in Europe.

Leading LED manufacturer Lumileds has started off first quarter of 2016 with a strong mid power LED product portfolio range that is positioned to overtake market shares from competitors, said the company’s Vice President of Marketing and Product Management Rahul Bammi in an exclusive interview with LEDInside.

LED filament bulbs is an emerging product on the market that holds great market potential, with high visibility in the Middle East, Americas and Europe. It is also one of the most important lighting products in the Asian manufacturing supply chain. For instance, Taiwanese LED manufacturer Epistar currently holds crucial LED patents that comprise the core technology in LED filament bulbs. In an exclusive interview with Epistar managers and directors including Alexandar Wang, Director of the company’s Marketing Center Segment Group, the company’s Intellectual Property Division Meng-chun Kuo, Director, and Walter K.Y. Chou, Manager of the company’s Intellectual Property Department III, these managers revealed LED filament bulb market’s latest trends, technology development, and patent strategy deployment.

CSP LEDs developed by Taiwanese LED manufacturer Genesis Photonics Inc. (GPI) are being shipped to Japan, Europe and U.S. markets is gradually taking off. In a recent interview with LEDinside, the company’s CEO Mark Chen analyzed the company’s wafer level Chip Scale Package (CSP) LEDs that were an extension of its flip chip technology, and the advantages these products have in future niche market applications.

In an exclusive interview with LEDinside, Beatrice Witzgall, founder and CEO of LumiFi shares her valuable insights and opportunities in the smart lighting industry. The award winning lighting designer, who has been in the lighting industry for over two decades, shared how she transformed  experience accumulated from working with prestigious lighting design firms L’Observatoire and I3D to developing smart lighting products.

Left bleeding from price wars over the past few years, LED manufacturers are seeking alternative markets and restructuring business strategies. Epistar for instance is looking into niche markets including GaN power devices and specialized lighting, said Carson Hsieh,Vice President, R&D Center,Epistar during his presentation at LEDforum 2015, which took place recently at Room 201, National Taiwan University Hospital International Convention Center, Taipei, Taiwan.

Rapid developments in lighting technology are shifting driver demands, said David Lucchetti, Director of Marketing and Application Industrial, Power and Discrete Group Greater China and South Asia Region, STMicroelectronics at LEDforum 2015, which took place recently in Taipei, Taiwan.

From the exterior plastic smartphone case, wearable device wrist bands, semiconductors IC packaging, specialty material for crucial optoelectronic components to aeronautics and military applications, there are several large chemical manufacturers striving to provide better innovative products to their clients. Over the years they have significantly transformed people’s living experience. Among them, Solvay Specialty Polymers, a business of Belgian chemical company Solvay Corporate is one of the leading companies in the sector that has applied its products in all sorts of applications related to human lives. The company provides 1,500 high performance polymers, including fluoropolymers, fluoroelastomers, fluorinated fluids, semi-aromatic polyamides, sulfone polymers, aromatic ultra-high performance polymers, high‑barrier polymers and cross-linked high-performance compounds.

Leading U.S. LED manufacturer Cree announced earlier this month, it will be rebranding its power and RF business as Wolfspeed. In an exclusive interview with LEDinside analyst and assistant manager Joanne Wu, Cree co-founder and CTO John Palmour spoke about the company’s rebranding strategy and current trends in the Radio Frequency (RF) and power market.

Having ventured into the color LED market with its traffic light products in 1998, leading LED manufacturer Lumileds has come a long way with its color LED designs.

Raging price wars in the LED industry urged many manufacturers to veer away from low entry level products, and invest their resources in more profitable niche markets. Some of these markets include IR LED, UV LED, automotive lighting, grow lights, and smart lighting to name a few. The conventional wisdom is tapping into a blue sea market at an early stage would give enterprises a competitive edge in the market. But one top Chinese manufacturer MLS Co. LTD (or also known as Forest Lighting) is challenging this concept.