The six month run of NEMA’s Electroindustry Business Conditions Index (EBCI) scoring 50 or higher has ended with September’s result of 47.1. Dropping below 50 suggests that current conditions are no longer conducive for expansion in the electrical manufacturing sector. Only 24% of respondents reported better conditions in September, versus 33% last month. The share of respondents reporting worse conditions nearly doubled from 17% in August to 29% this month, while the proportion of panel members who noted unchanged conditions showed little movement—47% this time compared to 50% last month.

Taiwanese LED company Lianovation announced last Friday it will be halting trade on the Chinese bourse as of Monday this week, due to uncertainties in a recent acquisition caused by changes in the capital market, management environment, and company restructure.

A city located in eastern India, Chennai is finanlizing its second phase streetlight extension which will value an estimated INR 1.45 billion (US $200 million) and install 74,000 new LED streetlights in an expanded area.

Plainville, a town located in Connecticut, U.S. is installing hundreds of LED streetlights with some featuring advanced connectivity technology, reported NBC Universal.

Feilo Acoustics the lighting arm of INESA announced it will be scaling up investments in smart lighting by forming a joint venture with two other Chinese companies, including a state-owned investment company.

Refond Optoelectronics recently announced its board members approved two proposals including the termination of its subsidiary in Dongyuan city in Guangdong Province, China, and forming a joint venture with foreign investors.

Rising VR, security and small pitch LED display demands has led to severe shortage in AlInGaP LEDs, reported Chinese-language newspaper Commercial Times.

Philips Lighting, a global leader in lighting, and Huawei Technologies have signed a partnership agreement to ensure the seamless interoperability of the Philips Hue connected lighting system for the home with Huawei’s OceanConnect Internet of Things (IoT) platform. Under the agreement, Huawei will become a ‘Friends of Hue’ partner and Philips Lighting an OceanConnect partner, so that customers using Huawei’s IoT platform will be able to offer their end users a certified user experience with full control of Philips Hue lighting.

Cree has been named the exclusive Official Lighting Partner of the Cleveland Browns. Cree and the Browns have partnered to continue to deliver a better fan experience with recent lighting improvements made to the Cree branded gate at FirstEnergy Stadium. This season, fans will enjoy a better lighting experience with new Cree® LED lighting installed throughout the gate, as well as a new escalator wrap that gives fans bright ideas for saving with LED lighting while having fun on game-day.

Power management company Eaton announced that it is demonstrating its Streetworks wireless smart city solutions featuring LED outdoor luminaires with CIMCON’s intelligent, wireless controls, sensors and software products at the IES Street and Area Lighting Conference in Hollywood, California, on September 18 to 21 at the Lowes Hotel at booth 40 and 41.

Philips Lighting, a global leader in lighting, announced the launch of its new five-year sustainability program ‘Brighter Lives, Better World’ during the Climate Week NYC. This is the first time Philips Lighting has set sustainability goals as a standalone, listed company, building on the long legacy of Philips’ world class performance in sustainability and its EcoVision programs. Earlier this month, Philips won anindustry group leader position in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index Capital Goods categoryafter four years of consecutive nominations. Philips Lighting had an integral role in this achievement with its sustainable revenues reaching 72% of its total sales in 2015.

San’an Opto announced last Thursday it has temporarily shut down its LED manufacturing sites in Xiamen, Fujian province of China for repairs, due to damages caused by Typhoon Meranti last weekend.

Osram Opto announced it will be appointing general LED lighting veteran Dr. Jiaping Shao as its new Solid State Lighting sales leader in China.

Traditional light bulbs in three areas in Dubai will be replaced with LED lights, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) stated recently.

Swedish lighting experts, Aura Light, welcomes Craig Herriott as its new Northern Regional Sales Manager, as the company continues to expand its UK operation.

David Smart has achieved shareholder status at BioStar Lighting, thanks to his success as Vice President of Sales. David has sold over $4 million dollars in LED lighting retrofits within 2 years. His clients include nationally recognized businesses and large commercial property owners such as Hallmark, UMB Bank, Block Real Estate, DST, MC Realty, Tutera Group and US Toy Co. Smart possesses an entrepreneurial spirit and has been passionate about sustainability from a young age.  Selling and managing energy efficient lighting installations comes naturally to him.  He has set himself apart in the industry by providing customer-focused solutions that include best-in-class products resulting in maximum savings for clients.

Wait…..its Wednesday right? So why are LEDinside editors posting this? Due to the upcoming Chinese Moon Festival, we will not be in office from Sept. 15-16, 2016 and will not be updating our site during this time. So we’d like to wish all our readers Happy Chinese Moon Festival in advance, as we battle against natural elements caused by raging Super Typhoon Mernati in Taiwan.

Osram, a leading global lighting and technology company, has appointed Michael Flieger, 42, as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Americas region. Flieger succeeds Grant Wright, who was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Osram’s Americas region in July 2015, and for the past year has maintained a dual role as CEO and CFO. Flieger will be responsible for the financial oversight and governance of Osram’s business operations in the Americas region.

Fremont, a city located in California, U.S. will be replacing 14,000 streetlights with LEDs in the next few months, as a citywide effort to slash energy costs and make streets safer for pedestrians at night, reported East Bay Times.

Rubicon Technology announced plans to cease all production activities and shut down its Penang, Malaysia facility. Production activities at the Penang facility are expected to cease by Nov. 30, 2016, with the shutdown of the facility to be completed by the end of the year. The Company’s Malaysia facility has been primarily engaged in producing polished and patterned substrates for the LED market and the decision was made in order for the Company to focus on the optical and industrial sapphire market for the foreseeable future.

MLS board recently nominated Guoqing Tang, a seasoned professional in China’s LED industry, as one of the company’s independent director.

Veeco Instruments announced that HC SemiTek Corporation, one of China's leading solid state lighting manufacturers, has ordered multiple TurboDisc® EPIK™ 700 GaN (Gallium Nitride) Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition (MOCVD) Systems and the TurboDisc K475i™ As/P (Arsenic Phosphide) MOCVD System for production of LEDs.

Seeking to add a leading comprehensive suite of smart city solutions enabled by its ThingSpace internet of things (IoT) platform to help communities increase economic development, drive citizen engagement and enable sustainability, Verizon Communications announced it has signed an agreement to purchase Sensity Systems, a private company based in Sunnyvale, California.

MAC Group is pleased to announce a new U.S. distribution agreement with California-based Light & Motion for their line of Stella Single-Point LED lights and lighting kits.

LCD display manufacturer Japan Display Inc. (JDI) developed an ultra-thin bezel LCD that is merely millimeters thick, which could greatly increase smartphone makers design flexibility, reported Nikkei.

A Xiamen-based Chinese technology company (厦门市钛科创科技有限公司) has alerted LED manufacturers of a U.S. LED T8 tube light patent that companies should avoid infringing on in its LED patent thread on social platform WeChat.

Korean LED manufacturer Seoul Semiconductor has filed a lawsuit against Kmart, claiming the American retail franchise was selling LED products that violated its patents, reported The Korea Herald.

Serenity LED, a leader in the LED lighting industry, has announced that they have hired a new chief executive officer, Anthony Bianco. Bianco, the former president of Supreme Lobster & Seafood, has emerged from retirement to take over business development and day-to-day management of Serenity LED.

A state backed power company NamPower rolled out a city wide project covering the replacement of 1 million incandescent bulbs with LEDs, and to reduce household power consumption in Nambia capital Windhoek, according to a report from Creamer Media’s Engineering News.

Material manufacturer Merck announced it has invested EUR 30 million (US $33.84 million) in an OLED materials plant in Darmstadt, Germany recently to manufacture future displays and lighting.