Andreas Weisl (38), former Vice President Europe of Korean LED manufacturer Seoul Semiconductor (SSC), has taken on the position of CEO at Seoul Semiconductor Europe GmbH based Munich, Germany, with effect from Nov. 11, 2016.

Dinos Café, a popular old-fashion American diner located in Bloomingdale, Illinois replaced their outdated 250 watt HID lights on their rooftop with weather resistant, vibrant, state-of-the-art color changing 30w Serenity LED floodlights. These LED floodlights are remote-controlled with 32 different color options and are part of the Serenity LED Rainbow Series. Serenity LED, a U.S. based innovative lighting company, manufactured these LED Floodlights and used a US Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business to install the lights.

After halting trade on the Chinese bourse for four consecutive months, Kingsun Optoelectronics recently announced its Hong Kong subsidiary will be acquiring China’s leading international education enterprise NIT Group for RMB 2.9 billion (US $41.76 million)

The Baker-Polito Administration today announced US $11.4 million in grant funding opportunities to help cities and towns across Massachusetts convert traditional streetlights to LED technology through the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) Rapid LED Streetlight Conversion Program. DOER has partnered with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company (MMWEC), Energy New England (ENE), and four Municipal Light Plant (MLP) communities to administer the grant funding to municipalities that currently own their traditional streetlights and expedite streetlight conversions.

Towards the end of 2016, more mergers and acquisition talks have been concluded. CFIUS opposition against Go Scale Capital acquiring Lumileds for US $3.3 billion earlier in January resulted in the wipe out of US $1.3 billion in company value for the LED chip and component maker. Lumileds parent company Philips Lighting sold the independent legal entity for US $2 billion to Apollo Global Management.

LG Display is merging its businesses to specialize in OLED technology, a sector the company considers its next generation growth engine. To keep up with accelerated growth in the OLED market, the company intends to merge and restructure existing distributed business structure by product to optimize efficiency and synergy, reported Business Korea.

The Odisha Government will supply energy efficient LED tube lights and ceiling fans at subsidized rates, said state government Energy Secretary Rajesh Verma.

The relighting of Detroit – a city that just three years ago was in chronic darkness – has been completed on time and under budget.

 David Errigo, vice president of sales for luminaire manufacturer LumenOptix, has been elected chair of the National Lighting Bureau (NLB), the independent, not-for-profit, lighting-education foundation sponsored by professional societies, trade associations, manufacturers, utilities, and agencies of the U.S. government.

Fluence Bioengineering today announced that its LED systems have been selected by MedMen, a leading cannabis firm, for its newly renovated cultivation facility in Los Angeles. The new, state-of-the-art vertical farm replaces a traditional single-tier cultivation facility, and enables MedMen to use fewer natural resources, increase overall revenue per square foot and reduce operating cost per pound.

1 in 10 design engineers are still relying on purely physical prototypes, potentially adding significant, unnecessary costs to their designs. That’s according to new research from 6SigmaET, which surveyed over 350 engineers working in industrial, consumer and mass-produced electronics.

Today, Magneti Marelli Automotive Lighting and the Carnia Industrial Park inaugurated a new pavilion dedicated to the production of electronics for LED rear lighting for cars in the production complex in Tolmezzo (UD) in Friuli Venezia Giulia. The new industrial site has production lines for circuit boards and will be completed by a design center specifically dedicated to electronics for rear illumination for cars.

Higher living standards in the modern world has transformed luminaires from a simple light source, to a lighting device that provides mood setting ambient lighting, visual stimulation, create a comfortable environment lit with soft light beams. These developments are making secondary optic designs in luminaires increasingly important, Taiwan-based Chung Kuang Optics (CKO) which specializes in the art of lighting designs, assisted manufacturers in their international branding strategies to make premium products. The company’s investments to build a new facility in 2017 has also caught industry attention.

India, one of the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gasses, aims to extend its lighting efficiency program to seven other Asian countries and the UK with aid from the World Bank, reported Bloomberg.

Maharashtra state in India became the second largest distributor of LED bulbs in the nation-wide campaign to slash energy consumption, reported The Hindu.

Japan Display Inc. (JDI) intends to acquire Panasonic and Sony’s OLED joint venture JOLED to better compete with Korean rivals and emerging Chinese players, reported Nikkei Asian Review.

The Jaipur Metro Rail in India will be replacing all sodium lights at the Vivek Vihar station with LED lights to cut energy consumption, reported The Times of India.

Mayor Emanuel has announced that the City is conducting a public demonstration of next-generation streetlights in seven neighborhoods as part of the Chicago Smart Lighting Project, which will upgrade streetlights across the city. Residents are being asked to provide feedback on the new lighting, which represents the latest advances in lighting technology, through the end of the year.

Royal Philips concluded its LED component business sale after the takeover was delayed for nearly one year, due to national security concerns raised by The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUs) earlier in January this year.

Royal Philips announced that it has signed an agreement to sell an 80.1% interest in Lumileds, a leading supplier of LED components and automotive lighting, to certain funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC (NYSE: APO) (together with its consolidated subsidiaries: “Apollo”). Philips will retain the remaining 19.9% interest* in Lumileds. 

Japanese consumer electronic giant Sony will be launching two new OLED TVs by 2017, reported Forbes.

The Delta State Government in Nigeria announced recently it will be raking in 65 million Naira (US $ 206,185.85) annually from its LED display boards installed throughout the state, reported Channels21 TV.

Holiday lighting is expected to add 750-800 megawatts (MW) to the level of electricity used by New Yorkers this season, the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) reports.

Brighton and Hove Council in UK is set to save more than GBP 200,000 (US $ 251,720) a year and slash its energy and carbon footprint by introducing new LED street lighting.

The finale of Aixtron’s sale to Grand Chip Investment ended with the Chinese investor dropping the deal after U.S. President Barack Obama prohibited the German equipment maker from transferring key U.S. patents and assets to the acquisitor, due to national security concerns. In brief, Aixtron’s equipment can be used to make GaN wafers that are used in U.S. military applications including Patriot missiles. The German equipment maker is currently considering to sell parts of its business off instead, after the deal with the Chinese investor failed.

The LED industry was volatile throughout 2016, but started to rebound during first half of the year following soaring upstream chip prices. Despite positive growth in the industry, companies were still shutting down or exiting the market, while more were paying attention to industry developments. Under current market situations, leading manufacturers’ development strategy also come under the lime light.

Chinese equipment manufacturer Jiangsu Huasheng Tianlong Photoelectric sealed a large monocrystalline silicon growth furnace order from equipment manufacturer SuperBrain valuing RMB 186 million (US $29.95 million).

Idemitsu Kosan (headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director & Chief Executive Officer: Takashi Tsukioka; hereinafter, “Idemitsu” or the “Company”) announces its decision to expand production capacity of the OLED materials at its 100% subsidiary Idemitsu Electronic Materials Korea Co., Ltd. (location: Paju, Gyeon-do, South Korea; president: Kazuki Maeda) to respond to the expected increase in demand for OLED materials due to increased penetration of OLED displays as well as to install additional evaluation equipment in order to strengthen technological customer support capabilities.

China’s capital Beijing has installed 28 streetlights enhanced with advanced graphene material technology in Tongzhou District, which can slash energy consumption by 20% to 30% compared to current lamps on the market, reported China Daily.

Leviton announced the acquisition of ConTech Lighting, a leading, Chicago-based manufacturer of high-performance and sustainable lighting solutions and fixtures. Through this acquisition, Leviton continues its strategic growth in lighting and expands its product offerings and solutions with ConTech Lighting’s high-quality, innovative designs.