(Author: Ivan Lin, Editor-in-Chief, LEDinsidehttp:// Translator: Emma Chang, Editor, LEDinside)

LED Expo Thailand 2016 that took place from April 19-22, 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand is the largest LED exhibition held in southeast Asia. Compared to Singapore’s economic role as a hub, the Thailand-based LED exhibition emphasizes more on creating business and market expansion opportunities for local manufacturers and international ones. Buyers are mainly local Thai manufacturers, foreign investors that focus on Southeast Asian market. Along with quite a few buyers based in Vietnam and Singapore. Vietnam, at the same time, is also one of Taiwanese manufacturers’ targeting markets.

Taiwanese leading manufacturer EVERLIGHT has the largest booth among Taiwanese exhibitors at LED Expo Thailand 2016. The company showcased LED lighting, signage LEDs, IR LEDs, automotive LED components, popular 2835 models, newly launched DOB, ShwoF and single/ full color package LED for indoor and outdoor signage applications.

Taiwanese leading manufacturer EVERLIGHT has the largest booth among Taiwanese exhibitors at LED Expo Thailand 2016. The company showcased LED lighting, signage LEDs, IR LEDs, automotive LED components, popular 2835 models, newly launched DOB, ShwoF and single/ full color package LED for indoor and outdoor signage applications. (All Photos Courtesy of LEDinside)

Nicholas Choong, sales director of Southeast and South Asian market of EVERLIGHT shared the company’s experience in assisting clients for customized product tailored to Southeast Asian as well as South Asian markets in an exclusive interview with LEDinside. Choong also touched on the advantages the company has in signage LEDs, LEDs for transportation industry, horticultural LEDs and UV LEDs.

EVERLIGHT’s signage product line has advantages in Southeast Asian market as being widely used by products sold to Chinese, European and U.S. Markets

The company’s LED packaging line, including 1010 and 0606 packages for LED display applications, is tested and proved working for the market by selling in Chinese market and cooperating with leading display manufacturers.

Compared to other LED manufacturers based in Southeast Asia, EVERLIGHT is able to provide a wider selection of LED packages and LED product lines. For large clients that EVERLIGHT works with in Thailand, the LED signage products provided by EVERLIGHT perfectly meet the client’s needs. Currently, more and more large shopping malls and supermarkets are being built in first-tier Thai cities as the applications of LED displays boosted for its domestic demands. The company’s special applications include adding photo interruptor to the LED displays so that the sensor helps save more energy by detecting daylight and night time and adjust its brightness accordingly.

Vietnam’s LED display market has not entirely developed. However, as long as the demand rise, EVERLIGHT can simply apply their market experience in Thailand to that of Vietnam and expands to multiple region market sales.

LED market in Southeast Asian transportation vehicles sees great potential

The company expands the LED light source product lines in Southeast transportation vehicles in 2016 by releasing LED light sources, LED light indicators and LED display and has seen significant growth in the sales. Take LED display panels for buses that have received Southeast clients’ orders, the upcoming revenue is expected to boost with market expansion and growing demand despite each market in the region is relatively small. EVERLIGHT is now licensed LED light source supplier in the region market, which is helpful in promoting LED light source in transportation vehicles market. Aside from Indian market, buses markets include Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand are yet to be developed.

Meanwhile, EVERLIGHT has entered the transportation project in South Asian market, including Indian market that has a strikingly long rail way. The company also enters railway-related light source market as Indian railway authorities are actively replacing the light sources of stations and vehicles to LED lights.

Choong also shared with us a case study of automotive LEDs, which is one of IR LED applications. The taximeter only start to run when LED components equip with PTIR detect that client has boarded the taxi. For regions that have up to hundreds of thousand taxis like Vietnam, the taximeter on the taxi is product area with great potential. EVERLIGHT has also tapped into the replacement of taximeter with quality LED ones. It’s projected that this demand will raise the visibility of this product range and that demands as such will be explored in other Southeast Asian markets.

In general automotive lighting, Japanese cars top the market share in many Southeast Asian countries. Therefore, collaboration with Japanese manufacturers, vehicle manufacturers is needed to expand automotive lighting market. Meanwhile, the company successfully broke into Southeast Asian motorbike supply chain, suppling LED light sources for motorbikes.

Indian automotive LED markets mainly led by Japanese, Korean while local brands like Mahiadra、Tata、Bajaj also account for a certain market share. Similarly, EEVERLIGHT strives to enter the supply chain in of Indian automotive LED market. Compared to general products, the design process of automotive lights takes up to six months and above. As EVERLIGHT mainly focus on interior lighting, including LED dashboard and display panels. Meanwhile, the company is also working on other automotive light sources. With huge domestic demand, Indian market’s mainstream application have shorter design process comparing to other Southeast Asian markets. It’s also expected that India’s automotive LED market has great potential.

Indian market has the largest scale among Southeast Asian’s LEDs for general lighting markets

The role of EVERLIGHT in Indian market has shifted from adequately supplying LED lighting tenders to multiple segment deployment. Doing so avoids over-dependent on India’s LED bulbs market. Currently the price of 0.2W bulbs are too low when compared to 0.5W and 1W bulbs’ relatively stable prices. Yet in the long run LED bulb prices will only remain at a low level. Therefore, EVERLIGHT is actively seeking more LED lighting applications other aside from bids of Indian government, electricity companies and contractor opportunities.

LED downlights that first entered Southeast Asian markets mainly saw demands in India and Vietnam. The demand of LED downlights used for factory and logistics rises and that the increasing demand in voltage are evident. This trend gradually expand to adjacent countries include Thailand and Malaysia. It’s projected that demands of LED lighting for factory and logistics will be rapidly boosted in the future. Meanwhile, EVERLIGHT is actively cooperating with many manufacturers in the Southeast Asian markets so as to break into the markets.

Take Vietnam for example, there are a large number of mills in Vietnam and neighboring Cambodia. Many of these factories have demand of purchasing energy-efficient LED light sources, including LED downlights, LED tube lights. Other than this, Thailand has more demand in logistics illumination. EVERLIGHT needs to meet the needs of each region market, providing tailored made light sources.

Despite the fact that LED bulbs market prices are extremely low, the penetration rate of Southeast market is still not as high as that of Indian market. As the amount of LED bulbs are too not as high as that of Indian market, Southeast Asian market still have potential to grow. EVERLIGHT values quality over low pricing, therefore the company tend to focus on producing high-efficiency and high quality products rather than manufacturing low-end ones. Currently, Thailand’s highly efficient LED tube light market has seen growing demand and have more clients than that of Vietnam and Malaysia.

As for LED streetlights market, the demand in Southeast Asian market has not rose as there are only pilot projects and small scale projects. Still the market have a promising outlook in the future.

Cautious Selection of Distribution Partners in Southeast Market Smooths Expansion

Take the Vietnamese LED lighting market for instance, applications include horticultural LED can be rapidly boosted with the incentives and subsidies of local government. Meanwhile, as Vietnam’s fishing industry prospers, the use of high voltage COB products for LED fishing lights, fishing ships lighting is also a potential market. Other than that, some Singapore-based clients export horticultural lighting, commercial and office lighting to south America.

Currently, LED streetlights, LED displays and UV LEDs account the largest percentage of Thai LED lighting market. As for Malaysian market, the orders mainly come from electronics manufacturing service (EMS) factories. UV LEDs can be used in mosquito trap’s market in the region. The variations mentioned above are all related to local market ecosystem. EVERLIGHT strives to meet varied needs by remaining good communications with internal and external departments and provide products to varied clients.

Collaborating with distributors and appropriately using local resource is keys to manage such a vast region market. However, it’s crucial to cautiously select partners as the pace of breaking into the market and risks of deals are all connected to distributors. Distributors are able to inform clients about information like financial status, payment terms and other variations of their buyers.

The difficulties and challenges for market expansion in Southeast Asian market are the intensive locations and variations comparing to Northeast Asian, European and U.S. markets. Countries include Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia and India are the main areas for market expansion. The variation in demands require larger extent of customization by countries, appropriate applications and understanding to key demands of local markets.

Though it’s difficult in breaking into a new market, but the earlier a manufacturer enters a new region market, the greater potential it has when the demand starts to boost. This is also one of the reasons that attracts manufacturers to break into Southeast Asian market.