LEDinside: LED Perspective from President & CEO of Everlight, Robert Yeh

Taiwan has built a strong LED landscape following the specialization model under the combined efforts of all LED makers. Everlight Electronics, the Taiwan-based leading LED package maker has not only successfully expand its product lines but also make remarkable achievements in the brand management and bidding markets. This is an honor for LEDinside to have invited Robert Yeh, President & CEO of Everlight to talk about the future development and strategies of Everlight.  

Faced Up With the Competition from International Giants, Everlight Will Create New Value With Diversified LED Product Lines and Existing Channels

Faced up with Korean competitors like Samsung and LG, who can quickly develop LED business based on their brand outlets, Everlight adopted the approach of developing diversified product lines in response to the competition against vertical integration makers. Even in low-end market such as the Christmas lights market, Everlight has been working hard to maintain the market competitive advantage through cost control. 

Besides, Everlight’s most valuable asset is channel management. Given the existing channels, it can create more value with the same technology. This is also the major reason why Everlight can still retain its leadership in the LED packaging market.  

Everlight is Vigorously Grabbing for Business Opportunities in the LED Lighting Market By Means of Virtual Vertical Integration

Everlight mainly produces LED components, LED optical drivers and modules as well as LED lighting products covering the fields from chips, packages to product application. It can be seen that Everlight is trying to enhance its competitiveness in the solid state lighting market through the virtual vertical integration model.

In light of the upstream of LED industry, Everlight has entered the area through sub-investments including share-holding in Epistar, Huga and Tekcore. As for the product application, Everlight familiarizes their lighting channels through cooperation with Shanghai Yaming Lighting. Apart from ODM / OEM, Everlight has also established brands such as Zenaro and Everlight SSL in the hope of further approaching consumers. Therefore, Everlight is rather active in the SSL development.

Everlight Will Directly Improve the Consumer Recognition of LED Application Products

The change that Everlight has turned active in building up its own brands has been revealed from President Yeh’s insistence on energy-savingness and environmental protection. Robert Yeh believes that with current technology we would better accelerate SSL introduction rather than create new energy to achieve energy-saving target and carbon emission reduction. Take the wind power for example, although the investment cost is low, the wind power popularization will be limited due to the wind field limitation. For the solar power, although it takes a USD 4000 investment to generate 1kw/hr, the same as the nuclear power, it does protect environment. However, the solar power can only generate 3kw/hr a day, far less than 24kw/hr produced by the nuclear power.

In terms of energy-saving awareness, it takes only USD 1000 to invest in 1KW/h saved by LED lighting. Besides the lowest cost, LED’s luminous efficacy has reached 120~130lm/w and is likely to reduce 20%~30% of the total cost along with its increasingly rapid improvement. After Japan’s earthquake, the energy-saving awareness has risen around the world. Everlight believes that LED lighting products can pioneer the trend of energy savingness, carbon emission reduction and environmental protection thus generate considerable market potential and opportunities.

To realize its own brand dream, Everlight Electronics has founded Everlight SSL in 2011 for the Chinese market across the straits. It will also set up new facilities to reduce tariff and strengthen LED lighting investment in Mainland China. 

In addition to Everlight SSL, Everlight also join hands with LCC from Germany and Aphos Lighting from the USA to co-establish the brand---Zenaro Lighting in 2010. In future, Everlight will jump into B2C market from B2B one and provide more awareness of LED application products to consumers. In view of LED lighting brand management, as all makers are currently exploring the LED lighting market, there will be no conflict of interests among its current customers. Everlight believes that LED marketing approach should be the same as that of IT products. Initially targeted markets will be Mainland China, Taiwan, Europe and North America. Then, a full range of LED lighting products will be provided to emerging markets like India, the Middle East, South East America and Russia. 

In Outlook, LED Lighting Market will Undergo Several Reshuffles Testing the Product Quality, Reliability and Product Warranty

Due to the low threshold, LED lighting industry is easy to enter, so the product quality is varied. In future, there will come several market reshuffles which test not only the product reliability but also the product warranty over time. LED lighting market still needs to establish national standards for LED makers to follow so that the product quality can be ensured under the standard operating procedure and safety regulations. 

With regard to the development of LED product lines, Everlight will develop more diversified LED product application fields while thinking about how to transcend lighting in future lighting applications. Moreover, Everlight expects to create a brand belonging to the Greater China in order to go neck and neck with European and American giants.