Taiwanese LED lighting manufacturer Lextar revenue will grow steadily in second half of 2014, as the company benefits from international manufacturers rising lighting OEM orders and new LED TV backlight clients that is alleviating the risks of relying on orders from a single client, according to a Money DJ report.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo has preliminary approved Osram Sylvania US $ 30 million settlement over falsely advertising superiority of halogen headlights to deceive consumers into overpaying, according to a Law360 report.

Increasingly market popularity for Patterned Sapphire Substrate (PSS) has led to Aceplux Optotech to increase capital by NT $297 million (US $9.90 million), according to a Money DJ report.

While importers have been shifting their focus to LED lamps and are importing from Chinese manufacturers, it is important they get the right kind of information about requirements and qualifications of their Chinese suppliers. Here is an article by LED Lights Supplier - Lightinstar

Plessey announced it has entered into a distribution agreement with CODICO GmbH, a demand creation distributor for electronic components, headquartered in Perchtoldsdorf, Austria and with offices across Europe. With CODICO, Plessey will be expanding its European network with coverage in Central and East European, Italian and Danish market for its GaN-on-Si LED products.

LED Lighting manufacturer Evluma moves into a larger manufacturing facility at the end of July 2014. Located in Renton, Washington, U.S., the new facility embraces Lean Manufacturing philosophies and increases Evluma's manufacturing capacity by up to five times. The new site provides room to expand, allowing Evluma to bring on additional Lean lines in parallel with demand. Evluma makes the move to better serve and support their customer base.

Top Taiwanese LED manufacturers Epistar and Everlight delivered strong revenue performances in 2Q14, according to statistics compiled by Chinese media Sinai.

Aoto Electronics announced on an investment platform the latest developments of a new naked-eye 3D LED TV model that “utilizes multi-view technology, and is glasses free,”  according to numerous Chinese reports.

Known as the “Oscars of Invention,” the 2014 R&D 100 Awards were announced by R&D Magazine last week in U.S., the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) again singled out for excellence in technology development. This marks the seventh consecutive year ITRI has won these awards, with its development of eco-related “In-Line Compact Thermal Analyzer (ICTA)” being one of the accolades this year.

GT Advanced Technology (GTAT) low sapphire yield rates seem to have confirmed earlier rumors that the iPhone 6 sapphire cover version will come in limited volumes, according to numerous reports.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a notice of recalling 14 Halco LED bulb models due to risk of injury and potential burn hazards. Consumers should stop using this product unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Agnitron Technology is scheduled to ship its latest 1500°C+ reactor upgrade for the Veeco MOCVD D-series Legacy System platform. The single 2 or 3 inch wafer, vertical quartz tube reactor upgrade will be fitted to a D180 system at the Korean Photonics Technology Institute (Kopti) in Gwangju, Seoul, South Korea. The upgrade will ship from Agnitron’s facility in Eden Prairie, MN in July after completion of final preshipment verification testing. 

Gold Crest Care Center is taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint, minimize its environmental impact and cut back on emissions. To do this, the nursing care facility will begin using environmentally safe products like smart cars, low-energy light fixtures and LED light bulbs.

Everlight General Manager Wu Cheng-che and another high ranking officer Wang Bing-bing have resigned, according to an Ofweek report. Wu will be succeeded by Lee Chien-nan (李建南), while Su Hui-hsian will take over Wang’s role.

NVC Lighting recently announced a series of management changes. The company’s high ranking managers including founder and Chairman Wu Changjiang, Vice Presidents Wu Changyong, Mu Yu, Pei Jinhua, Yang Wenbiao and others have all resigned from company subsidiary boards. This has been the largest restructure tide since Mu left the board in May 2014. All high ranking officers will step down from 11 subsidiaries board positions after the recent adjustments

Harvatek Corporation (“Harvatek”) and Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd (“TG”) have voluntarily signed and entered into a License Agreement relating to silicate-based LEDs.

An ambitious Canadian researcher hopes to be able to plant strawberries and cherry tomatoes on the moon or other planets in the near future, according to a CBC report.

A Mexican software development company Sisoft has caught up with Scottish research team headed by Harald Haas in achieving 10Gbps Internet data transmission using Visible Light Communications (VLC) aka LiFi, according to an Engineering and Technology Magazine report.

An unusual emerging LED market has appeared in North Korea as more residents turn to the power efficient light source from China, according to a Radio Free Asia report.

Dubai’s The Roads and Trasport Authority (RTA) has started to replace halogen traffic lights in the emirate with LEDs, according to a Gulfnews.com report.

This GE blog entry interviews Japanese plant physiologist and farmer Shigeharu Shimamura about the developments of LED indoor farming and what the future holds for hydroponics.

Earlier today, Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India Pvt Ltd, Messe Frankfurt’s Indian subsidiary, announced the acquisition of the LED Expo and Media Expo trade fairs from founders Media Exposition & Events and MEX Exhibitions Pvt Ltd. With LED Expo and Media Expo, Messe Frankfurt is expanding its portfolio by two additional events in its Technology & Production division and by three in Entertainment, Media & Creation. 

Sensity Systems, the pioneer of Light Sensory Networks (LSN), today announced the appointment of Phil Rehkemper as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). In this newly created position, Rehkemper will lead the company’s financial and administration operations, reporting directly to Sensity Chairman and CEO Hugh Martin.

After Epistar and FOREPI’s merger earlier this month, Everlight is also showing a rarely ambitious side, according to a China Post report. The company has decided to expand capital expenditure (CapEx) from less than NT $ 1.0 billion (US $ 30 million) to NT $1.5 billion to NT $ 1.7 billion. The move highlights the LED industry’s high growth.

A small Taiwanese technology company Gunitech’s Bluetooth lighting controlled smart LED bulbs are now being used at Google’s headquarters in California, according to a Taiwanese Sanlih E-Television report.

LED prices are anticipated to drop around 20 percent in 2014 and pricings are already at a level comparable to traditional lighting, according to an Ofweek report. At the Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition (GILE) LEDforum, Dr. Ke Zhang, Director of Business Development and Government Affair, Asia Pacific Osram and Dr. Guoqing Tang, General Manager, LED China, Samsung and Sr. Vice President, expressed their optimism about LED prices continual decline. The LED industry remains upbeat despite faltering macroeconomic growth for LED products, and manufacturers aggressive production expansions.  

Veeco  Instruments  Inc.  (Nasdaq:  VECO)  has  formed  a  strategic partnership  with  Agnitron  Technology,  Inc.,  a  focused  compound  semiconductor  research  and  development company specializing in the refurbishment and upgrade of Veeco legacy metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) equipment. 

Apple fans might be slightly disappointed to note the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 launch date might be pushed back to 2015, according to an Apple Insider report.

A video released by Chinese media Apple Daily shows rumored Apple iPhone 6 sapphire phone cover withstanding coin and key scratches, and does not deform when bending. The phone cover even emerges unscathed after being forcefully thrown to the ground, and being roasted by a lighter. It took a 1.6-ton car to break the cover to several dozen pieces.

The LEDinside editorial team has released our July edition feature, discussing in-depth the impact of the two biggest mergers in the industry so far this year: Epistar and Philips Lighting.