Taiwan’s leading LED chip maker announced it would be slashing around 60 jobs this week, but market rumors estimate the number of layoffs are much higher. Easing backlight market demands, and challenges following the absorption of FOREPI has placed Epistar in a particularly challenging market position.

The year of 2015 will be the turning point for color television technology, said Houjian Zhou, chairman of Hisense Technology on Sep. 15, 2015 at a press conference. According to Zhou, electrical technology has its own life cycle and LED industry growth has slowed down. The position and strategy of LED manufacturers today will determine their market position and development five years later. Mainstream Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) technology has evolved for more than 50 years, but did not see any real technology breakthroughs until 2000. Although, liquid crystal display technology became an absolute mainstream display solution, it has seen few innovations within the past two years, which led to price cuts and low profits. Meanwhile, manufacturers have developed OLED display technology for TVs for more than 10 years, yet OLED remains an unmarketable mainstream display technology.

According to the latest 2015 Global LED Industry Supply and Demand Database Report by LEDinside, a division of TrendForce, capacity expansion efforts of Chinese LED chip manufacturers have resulted a supply glut with this year’s LED chip supply-demand ratio reaching 22%. LEDinside also estimates that the global MOCVD installed volume in 2015 will grow to 3,130 chambers, among which 1,473 are located in China and will account for 47% of this year’s global MOCVD capacity (MOCVD systems used in the calculation are of the K465i model).

Leading LED chip manufacturer Epistar’s has raised the number of job cuts from the previously announced 65 to about 180, reported UDN.

Taiwanese LED manufacturers revenue performance continued to wane in August, according to Pingan Securities. Revenue performances downed both annually and on a monthly basis, according to statistics released by Taiwanese companies.

Demand for lighting equipment, as measured by NEMA’s Lighting Systems Shipments Index, increased by 2.2% year-over-year (y/y) and by 0.4% quarter-to-quarter during second quarter of 2015. The increase was driven by emergency lighting and fixtures which gained ground on a year-over-year basis while the ballast and lamp–large and miniature–components offset these gains with year-over-year declines.

VantagePoint gives public service providers more control than ever before, with a lighting solution and module that fits into standard socket fixtures. The module identifies the type of light (legacy or LED) and adjusts to accommodate capabilities like flashing and dimming. Lighting, public safety and conservation can be addressed with the click of a button.

Two local companies team up to revamp a mobile forensic laboratory. LumaStream designs and manufactures low-voltage LED lighting systems. The National Forensic Science Technology Center (NFSTC) creates deployable forensic laboratories from standard ISO shipping containers. Together, they have redesigned NFSTC's mobile laboratory to include the latest in lighting technology.

The Main Street Bridge is a vertical lift bridge that crosses the Welland Canal in downtown Welland, Ontario, Canada. Built in 1930, the bridge is the location of a historical intersection linking East Main Street which leads to Niagara Falls, to West Main Street and the rest of the town. The Main Street Bridge stretches 70.6 m (232 ft) long and stands 9.1 m (30 ft) high.

 Acuity Brands has opened up a world of inspiring possibilities for clean, uninterrupted lines of light with its award-winning LED lighting innovation: Peerless® Open LED luminaires. Peerless from Acuity Brands announces the commercial availability of Open, a family of lens-free LED luminaires for offices, as well as educational and healthcare facilities that brings a new aesthetic to commercial architects and lighting designers. By eliminating connection seams, Peerless Open has solved the technological riddle that had previously prevented seamless, continuous linear lighting. The result is uniform, glare-free illumination without the leaks, seams and dust incumbent with linear lenses.

Lunera® Lighting, a leader in lighting innovations accelerating the transformation to advanced LED technology, will be demonstrating the energy saving advantages of its plug-and-play LED lamp replacements for conventional compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) metal halide (MH) lamps or high pressure sodium (HPS) at the upcoming World Energy Engineering Congress (WEEC), held September 30 - October 2, in Orlando, Fla. To learn more about Lunera's award-winning commercial LED lighting solutions, visit booth #734.

Darfon Electronics the turnkey green energy total power solutions provider, new launched a whole series of built-in 10KV lightning surge protected rugged & ultra efficiency outdoor LED lighting driver 60W ~ 270W smart series. To catch the conversion is well under way in many municipalities to convert roadway lighting to solid-state LED streetlight technology. Nowadays rapidly increasing demands for LED-based light sources for outdoor applications bring new challenges to system durability. In order to maximize the durability and reliability of LED lighting systems, it is critical to protect them from damage due to high current surges on the main lines.

Indonesia is situated in Southeast Asia and is located on the Equator. It is close to Papua New Guinea, East Timor and borders Malaysia. Geolocation wise the world’s largest archipelago is also an ocean across from Thailand, Singapore, Philippines and Australia. With a population of 240 million people scattered across 18,307 islands, Indonesia is the fourth most populated country in the world following China, India, and U.S. Annual economic growth rates peaked to 6.3% over the past few years indicating it is a country that holds great market potential.

A few weeks ago, Hollywood actress Jessica Alba created a buzz on the Internet with her anti-age LED skin care treatment. Turns out LEDs market potential in the beauty sector extends to weight loss, and for those aiming to stay thin and slim.

Jules Verne said in Around the World in 80 Days: “Anything one man can imagine, other men can make real.” Today, that is truer than ever before. Did you ever think it would be possible to communicate so easily with anyone around the world? Surely not. With what we already know about technology and with what we can imagine, there are limitless possibilities for smart cities and for the marketplace of tomorrow. And while the ideas may seem like a sci-fi fantasy now, the current rate of progress means we’re already on the brink of a totally unexpected future.

The new Chevrolet Camaro is being unveiled for the first time in Europe at the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. HELLA is providing a new kind of interior light concept for the iconic performance car, giving the interior a distinctive design. The color changes slowly throughout the vehicle in a subtle, flowing pattern from the center screen.

- Two new powertrains, including first Honda turbo engine in U.S.   - Available Honda Sensing™ technologies   - Compatible with Apple CarPlay®, the smarter, simpler way to use your iPhone in the car   - Also supports Android Auto™   - New styling includes significant use of LED lighting   - New platform and package yields largest cabin in compact class

Many people will agree that the right lighting can help evoke feelings of safety. Whether you’re at home and leave on porch lights or away and keep on a few at night, lighting and a sense of security go hand in hand. With the growing home automation sector, it’s becoming increasingly essential to find ways to expand the connectivity of lighting within other areas of the home. To help home automation enthusiasts unite lighting and a sense of safety with ease, OSRAM LIGHTIFY® smart connected lighting products now work with Nest Learning Thermostats.

Amerlux® introduces "a new linear era" in flood lighting with Insigna, a family of LED exterior luminaires that provide the power to light up an entire building, wall or billboard.

Korean LED chip manufacturer Seoul Semiconductor unveiled its breakthrough second generation CSP LED product Wicop2, and spoke about its future outlook during a press conference at the Marriot Hotel in Shanghai, China on Tuesday.

OPPLE Lighting, a leading lighting manufacturer based in Shanghai, China, recently launched a branding campaign extending point of sales with aggressive promotion in Bangkok, Thailand, with an aim to enhance the brand awareness, help the terminal stores improve their images and boost sales, and introduce OPPLE LED products to the consumers.

Today, Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) is unveiling its first networked LED-based lighting solutions designed specifically to address the tough conditions food processing facilities deal with every day. The new networked solutions for food processing facilities are a groundbreaking approach to lighting that enable savings, flexibility, operational efficiency and visual comfort.

Acuity Brands  announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Acuity Brands Lighting, completed the previously announced acquisition of Distech Controls Inc., a leading provider of building automation and energy management solutions that allow for the seamless integration of lighting, HVAC, access control, closed circuit television, and related systems.  Acuity Brands Lighting acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of Distech Controls for approximately 318 million Canadian dollars. 

 Ephesus Lighting, the leader in developing digital lighting solutions for sports arenas, stadiums and fields of all sizes has been selected to create an LED arena lighting solution for Bridgestone Arena, home of the National Hockey League's Nashville Predators and the host site for the 2016 NHL All-Star Game.

Power management company Eaton, a 2015 ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year, will showcase energy-efficient lighting-emitting diode (LED) solutions and it’s latest controls technology at the Crites-Tidey & Associates, Inc. (CTA), LIGHTING FORUM XVI in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on September 15 and 16 at the Crown Plaza Hotel. Visitors to Eaton’s displays will also have the opportunity to preview The Lighting reSOURCE to be launched next month.

Today, PolarPro, a manufacturer of professional-grade action camera accessories for the action sports, outdoor and consumer markets, announced the launch of its latest Kickstarter campaign for the PowerGrip H2O, the world’s first waterproof, battery-integrated extension pole system for GoPro® and smartphone shooters. Launching today, the 30 day Kickstarter campaign offers several bundle options with PolarPro’s newest innovative accessories including a waterproof LED light bar, smartphone mount and carry case. For more information on the PowerGrip H2O and available backer packages, please visit: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/444368761/powergrip-h2o-waterproof-battery-powered-gopro-gri

Hubbell Building Automation has introduced the new IFC In-Fixture Controller. The IFC device offers stand-alone lighting control with unified motion and daylight sensing. A provider of occupancy sensors and lighting controls, Hubbell Building Automation has a long-standing commitment to innovation.

The global average price of 40W replacement LED light bulbs fell 1.5% in August to US$10.9, while the 60W replacement LED light bulbs fell 2.3% to US$14.9, based on the latest report by LEDinside, a division of TrendForce. The U.S. was again the regional market that had the biggest decline in LED light bulb prices after July as product vendors including CREE and Philips are using package promotion deals and low prices to drive up sales volume and capture market shares, according to LEDinside analyst Allen Yu,. Furthermore, Chinese LED and chip manufacturers have been gradually expanding their capacities, pushing down component prices during this period of slowing demand. The competition in the LED market on the whole has therefore become more heated.

With growing worldwide demand for innovative lighting products, Osram established a second LED plant in Kunshan, China on Sep. 10 to further expand its production capacity in the district. The new LED plant will hire 500 employees in Kunshan City, Jiangsu Province, mainly to manufacture automotive lighting and display lighting products.

On September 15th at Pudong Marriott Hotel, Shanghai, China, the global Seoul Semiconductor specializing in LED (CEO Chunghun Lee,www.seoulsemicon.co.kr) announced a new product, or the new concept Wicop LED which does not need processes such as Die Bonding, Wire Bonding, etc. which were necessary for the conventional LED Package production nor main LED package component parts such as Lead frame, Gold wire, etc.