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.

In difficult weather conditions such as rain, fog, and snow, the LEDriving fog light family from Osram helps improve visibility for drivers. In addition to the familiar LEDriving FOG and LEDriving F1 products, Osram now for the first time offers a fog light with colored ornaments. LEDriving FOG PL is available in five different colors. Like LEDriving FOG and LEDriving F1, it is certified to ECE regulations (Economic Commission for Europe).

Osram announced Wednesday it would be selling its 13.5% stake in Foshan Electrical and Lighting (Foshan Lighting) to a subsidiary of Guangdong Rising Assets Management (GRAM) for more than EUR 350 million (US $392.51 million).

Osram’s transformation is making further progress: the company has agreed to sell its 13.5% stake in the Chinese company Foshan Electrical and Lighting (Felco) to a subsidiary of Guangdong Rising Assets Management With this move, Osram will dispose of a non-strategic investment. The agreed selling price is more than EUR 350 million (US $392.51 million), which corresponds to a premium of more than 30% over the current share price. Osram expects to have a pre-tax gain of around EUR 300 million from the transaction, which is expected to be booked in fiscal 2016.

Especially in fashion stores the POWERBALL HCI Excellence shows its strengths – with brilliant light, high luminance and very good color Rendering. It clearly highlights textures and fine shades so that colors become even more vivid.

Osram has developed and produced the LEDriving Xenarc headlight, its first full retrofit headlight. The front lighting on the Audi A4 is equipped with a combination of xenon and LED technologies. Osram is the only manufacturer so far to offer the option of a legal upgrade to xenon light without the need for costly reconstruction of the front of the vehicle.

OSRAM will present its LEDsBIKE range of bike lights at EuroBike 2015 with a personal appearance by Olympic champion, Sabine Spitz. As an indicator of trends in the bicycle industry, EuroBike attracts 45 000 visitors each year. Visit us this year from 26th to 29th August at the Friedrichshafen trade fair grounds and discover our high-performance bike lights with efficient LED technology at OSRAM stand 808 in Hall A3. See you there!

The new SFH 7060 sensor from Osram Opto Semiconductors is designed to measure pulse rates and the oxygen saturation level of blood. It offers excellent signal quality and low energy consumption. The main applications for this component include mobile devices such as smartwatches and fitness armbands – also known as wearables – for continuously monitoring fitness levels. The integrated optical sensor contains five light emitting diodes with three different wavelengths and one high-sensitivity photodiode.

The new “Brilliant Color” LED is especially designed for shop lighting applications as it features a high color quality which is very similar to that of high intensity discharge lamps (HID). This enables rich and saturated colors and provides a high quality of white. The high-tech company also launches product versions with an increased efficacy of up to 15%, depending on the LED type. The performance improvement refers to all Soleriq S 19 LEDs with CRIs of 70, 80 and 90. The new versions of the CoB family (Chip-on-Board) will be introduced step-by-step from mid of August till the end of the year.

The height of summer is the height of the barbecue season – and Osram adds to the atmosphere with Lightify Garden Spots Mini RGB, an intelligent chain of lights for outdoor use. These Lightify lights are controlled via an app using a smartphone or tablet (iOS or Android), illuminating gardens, terraces and balconies in around 16 million different colors – turning every garden party into a memorable event. And with extremely low energy consumption.

Founded in 1930, high-end department store CIMACO opened its doors in Mazatlán in November 2013. The focal point of the new CIMACO store is an expansive illuminated glass façade that wraps around two sides of the building.

Osram is launching the Oslon Black SFH 4713A, an infrared LED (IRED) with a wavelength of 850 nanometers (nm). It is ideally suited to security applications, such as camera-surveillance of public spaces, company premises and entrances to banks and shopping centers. While previous Oslon Black high-flux IREDs were designed for systems with a range of up to one hundred meters, the SFH 4713A supports efficient designs for near-range illumination from 10 to 50 meters.

Adjusted EBITA margin increases to 9.5%in the third quarter Revenue up 12%; almost stable on a comparable basis Carve-out of lamps business planned to be completed by spring 2016

OSRAM, a leading global lighting manufacturer has announced the appointment of Grant Wright as CEO/CFO of OSRAM Americas and President and CEO/CFO of OSRAM SYLVANIA effective July 1, 2015. He succeeds Jes Munk Hansen who was appointed CEO of the recently formed Lamps Business Unit. Wright will be responsible for the OSRAM business in North, Middle and South America. 

Osram is making smartphones even smarter: Infrared technology enables mobile devices to be unlocked for the first time by scanning the iris of the user. Iris scanning is being used in the ARROWS NX F-04G smartphone from Fujitsu Limited, which is being marketed by the Japanese telecommunications company NTT DOCOMO Inc. This smartphone, which is currently only available in Japan, is the first in the world with this extremely secure functionality for consumers. Infrared light emitting diodes (IREDs) from Osram Opto Semiconductors are used as the light source. These IREDs are the only ones capable of the high power needed for iris scanning from a compact package. 

German lighting manufacturer Osram has started a round of talks with potential buyers of its lamp business, the lineup of candidates includes several large Chinese lighting companies, according to a Reuters report.

A lot has happened in the field of automotive lighting in recent years. Modern technologies such as LED, OLED and laser are very much on the advance. Richard Lothholz, Global Head of Sales Automotive Lamps and LED at OSRAM, answers questions about the development of automotive lighting technology.

Osram was not only acting as an industry partner at the fifth tour of the largest electric vehicle rally in the world, the WAVE (World Advanced Vehicle Expedition), but also mingling amongst the competitors with a car fitted with OSRAM products. WAVE 2015 took place from 12 to 21 June, with a route over several locations from Plauen in Germany to St. Gallen in Switzerland.

Valeo announced that it has purchased a 10.5% stake in Aledia, by subscribing to a portion of Aledia’s capital increase. Aledia is a technology start-up dedicated to the development of cutting-edge LED technology for general and automotive lighting.

Osram is making further progress regarding its realignment. In an extraordinary meeting, the supervisory board of OSRAM Licht AG approved the carve-out of the general lighting lamps business. As an independent entity, the business will be able to operate more freely on the market and realize strategic options, such as partnerships, more easily. Jes Munk Hansen, until now CEO of the Americas region, will lead the lamps business in the future. "Today's supervisory board decision lays the foundation for our strategic orientation toward growth, innovation and technology leadership," said Olaf Berlien, Chief Executive Officer of OSRAM Licht AG.

German lighting manufacturer Osram has been a forerunner in automotive lighting, developing a lot of advanced automotive lighting applications including laser headlights for luxury car brands Audi and BMW, and OLED taillights for the BMW i8.

Duris S 10 is the latest addition to the Chip Array SMD family (CAS) from Osram Opto Semiconductors. This new LED is characterized by high efficiency, high light output and uniform color appearance. Efficient SMD technology (surface mounted device) makes assembly simple. These properties lead to significant cost savings in system and optic design, which may be as high as 30 percent depending on the particular customer application. The new Duris has a compact footprint and is available in two output classes with up to 1400 lumen. It simplifies the design of lamps and luminaires and is ideal for use in spotlights, downlights, and directional and omnidirectional retrofits.

LEDinside recently interviewed Louis Lam CEO of Osram Opto Semiconductors Asia about the company’s future LED product outlook for niche market applications, including IR LED, laser diodes, and the automotive lighting market and German government subsidies that are supporting industry developments.

Osram has obtained a favorable first instance judgment in a patent infringement lawsuit against the Taiwanese consumer electronics manufacturer ASUSTek Computer Osram had claimed that certain white LED such as those incorporated in first generation ASUS Nexus 7 tablets infringe its German patent DE 196 55 185. The District Court in Düsseldorf has awarded Osram an injunction and found that ASUS has to compensate Osram’s damage caused by the patent infringement. ASUS has filed an appeal against this judgment. Osram has initiated the provisional enforcement of the judgment against the provision of a security.

When Chris Bajuk, founder and CEO of the urban farming company "Urban Harvest" enters the production halls of his vegetable crop business in the mornings, he sees hundreds of square meters of sprightly growing lettuce heads. What's special: Bajuk isn't standing in giant greenhouses set in a rural atmosphere, but in the center of the million-strong U.S. metropolis of Seattle.

With an expected audience of 200 million, the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) will this year once again be a great TV entertainment show. Last year's winner came from Austria, so the 60th ESC will be taking place from May 18 to 23 in Austria. Spectacular stage and light shows are a traditional fixture of this major media event. As the Official Lighting Partner, OSRAM is responsible for the majority of the lighting this year.

About two years ago, LED manufacturers that turned up at LED Forum 2013 were skeptical about smart lighting taking off anytime soon. Many industry insiders projected it would be a niche market that would take another two years before fully blossoming, while others believed at the time only gadget lovers would warm up to the products. Their predictions have been fairly accurate so far.

Osram Opto Semiconductors is extending its Duris product portfolio with a compact version without a classic package. The Duris S2 is in the low to middle output range and offers a high typical luminous efficacy of 160 lm/W, excellent color homogeneity and color stability. It is therefore capable of achieving homogeneous illumination in LED products designed as replacements for fluorescent tubes.

Osram is systematically tackling its realignment. At yesterday’s meeting, the supervisory board of OSRAM Licht gave the green light for a mandate to examine the carve-out of the general lighting lamps business. As an independent entity, the business could operate more freely on the market and realize strategic options, such as for example partnerships, more easily. The businesses with opto semiconductors, automotive and specialty lighting as well as luminaires, lighting systems and solutions would as a result form the future core business of Osram. With this move, the company will increase its focus on growth, innovation and technology leadership and addresses the different dynamics and requirements in the changing lighting market.

At today’s meeting, the supervisory board of OSRAM Licht AG extended the contract of Chief Financial Officer Klaus Patzak (49) by five years until 2021, effective from April 1, 2016. Patzak, who holds a doctoral degree in business administration, has been a member of the Osram managing board since April 2011. Before that, he was Chief Accounting Officer and Controller at Siemens AG. “We are very happy to continue our work with Klaus Patzak. He had an essential part in bringing Osram’s transformation forward during difficult times and will now also accompany the company’s strategic realignment with his expertise,” said Peter Bauer, chairman of the supervisory board of OSRAM Licht AG. Additionally, the supervisory board of OSRAM Licht AG today gave the green light for a mandate to examine the carve-out of the general lighting lamps business.