Lighting solution provider Sylvania has opened a high-tech laboratory for innovative lighting products design and manufacturing in Costa Rica.

Chinese company BOE Technology will reportedly begin trial production of Micro OLED display in the beginning of 2019 which will be applied for VR and AR, according to Korea’s ET News. 

Austrian lighting solution supplier Zumtobel Group Services (ZGS) reported that it will provide optimized lighting solutions for Swiss Helicopter, an aviation firm based in Switzerland, under a lighting deal for a monthly fee, which is a “lighting-as-a-service” contract reflects the growing appeal of service related businesses in the lighting industry.

Innolux, the Taiwanese panel maker, has announced a revenue for July of NT$ 25.2 billion (US$ 819.58 million) with an increase of 1.6% MoM and a decrease of 0.8% YoY. 

In the beginning of 3Q18, Epistar’s revenue report did not match its expectation. The company registered a revenue of NT$ 1.81 billion (US$ 58.87 million) for July, down by 0.1% MoM and 19.36% YoY.

ProLight’s automotive headlamp generation II- Pro-CSP Headlamp series adopts chip scale package (CSP) technology into headlamp to improve flux up to 18% (compare with the previous version.)

Lextar reported its financial report for the second quarter of 2018 with a consolidated revenue of NT$ 2.98 billion (US$ 97.24 million), up by 12.6% QoQ. The net profit came to NT$ 50 million (US$ 1.63 million). For the first half of the year, the revenue was NT$ 5.63 billion (US$ 183.71 million) with a decrease of 8.8 YoY, while the net profit dropped by 75.5% to NT$ 12 million (US$ 391,572). 

LED IC driver manufacturer Macroblock registered a revenue of NT$ 245 million (US$ 7.99 million) for July, down by 9.97% MoM, which was not in line with the expectation of the peak quarter. Macroblock indicated that the trade war between the U.S. and China has impacts on the company’s orders.

Automotive LED module producer Laster Tech has registered a revenue of NT$ 358 million (US$ 11.68 million), up by 45.82% YoY, hitting record high levels. 

The Korean UV LED solution provider, Seoul Viosys, has launched its new product UV WICOP which combines Seoul Semiconductor’s WICOP LEDs with compact and high efficiency technology.

MEAN WELL now launches HBGC-300 series (300W) which has the same circular housing design for Bay lighting and Flood lighting application to offer more choices for high wattage LED driver and design. With the circular housing design (patent No. CN 201220314551), LED driver matches with the lighting fixture in streamlined shape.

A research team at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has produced a fiber-based “soft hardware” with embedded LED and diode photodetectors which can be used to make clothes.

Canadian automotive components supplier Magna has reported its net income of the second quarter with a growth of 13% YoY to US$636 million. Despite the growth, the company has adjusted its outlook for 2018 in response to tariffs. 

During the second quarter of this year, many panel producers reported profit drop due to oversupply. However, as the third quarter began, AUO has announced its increased revenue for July with panel price bouncing back and rising shipments. 

Heliospectra announced that a Swedish vertical farming company, Ljusgårda AB, has placed a SEK 1.3 million (US$ 143,552) order for LED lighting solution of Heliospectra.

Lite-On Technology has reported a revenue of NT$15.5 billion (US$506 million) for July with a decrease of 21.05% MoM and 11.49% YoY. 

Tridonic has launched a new flexible linear LED module, LLE FLEX IP67 EXCITE, which can be installed in moisture-prone environments with its water and dust protection feature. 

LED vertical integration manufacturer Lextar Electronics registered a revenue of NT$ 950 million (US$ 31 million) for July, up by 4.3% MoM and down by 15% YoY. The company said it has adjusted its product portfolio by radically reducing the share of general lighting products and targeting customized LED lighting modules and high power LED for special applications.

Lighting companies have released updates about their financial results and reported their outlook for the second half of 2018.

The UK based company, Plessey, has announced its partnership with B-Four Agro, a Dutch lettuce grower, to provide its growing lights to a new greenhouse owned by its subsidiary company, B4Hydrogrow B.V, which measures 29,000 square meters.

In order to expand the surge protection device product line, MEAN WELL is releasing new surge protection device with high performance, SPD-10-320S. 

The prices of mainstream LED package products remained stable in the Chinese market for July 2018, says LEDinside, a division of TrendForce.

By donating its solar lanterns to the refugees’ shelters in Bangladesh, Signify has helped to enhance the living conditions for more than 22,000 families so far. 

Tridonic Jennersdorf, a subsidiary of Tridonic and a member of the Zumtobel Group lighting group, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the German company, Ingram Micro Distribution. 

The price of blue LED chips has dropped to almost half compared to the price last year, putting a great pressure on many manufacturers. The price of 4-inch wafer has fallen from US$ 22 in 1Q17 to around US$ 15 in 1Q18. As the cost is about US$ 15, the decrease of price could lead to deficit for LED chip makers.

As one of the most important display shows of the industry, Touch Taiwan will take place during August 29 – 31 in Taipei, Taiwan. Manufacturers of the supply chain including LED chip, panel, driver IC and end-product applications will gather at the event to demonstrate their innovative technologies as well as to discuss the development trend of the industry. Micro LED, considered to be the next generation display technology, will be a spotlight of the event.

MEAN WELL Releases New LED Driver: ELG-100U/150U Series, 100W~150W Universal Input Constant Voltage + Constant Current LED Driver

In the past few weeks, the LED industry has been active with several worldwide leading brands reporting their financial results of the second quarter and the first half of 2018 as well as big names announcing news of company reconstruction. LEDinside highlights the news for our readers to quickly follow up the industry updates. 

Veeco Instrument released the financial results for its second quarter of 2018. Its revenue has grown by 40.64% YoY to US$ 157.8 million, with Non-GAAP operating income of US$ 11 million and EPS of US$ 0.15. With GAAP, the company had a net loss of US$ 237.6 million or US$ 5.02 loss per diluted share. 

Under the pressure of price competition and oversupply in the LED industry, LED producers worldwide have been devoting their efforts in organization transformation and reconstruction as well as focusing on innovative technologies. The development of Mini LED and Micro LED has been viewed as the new opportunity for LED firms. LEDinside has estimated that the revenue of Micro LED and Mini LED will reach US$1.38 billion by 2022.