Philips completes largest LED lighting campus

In order to meet market demand in western regions, Philips completed China's largest light-emitting diode professional lighting campus in the Chengdu High-tech Industrial Zone on Dec 20.

The campus includes a manufacturing base and a lighting application center, which occupies about 40,000 square meters, and Philips plans to invest over 25 million euros ($34 million) into the park between 2011 and 2015.

The campus will be Philips' most important production base in China and the company also will bring its most advanced produce and design capability into the base.

"Following the latest macro economic and market trends, we are developing the 2017 strategy that establishes a new blueprint for the next five years to ensure the sustainable development of Philips China and the go-west strategy will occupy a more important position," said Patrick Kung, CEO of Philips Greater China.

The LED lighting campus also will promote the wide usage of advanced and efficient LED lighting in China and the world at large, said Tommy Leong, president of Philips Lighting Greater China.

LED lights have some advantages compared to ordinary lights, including energy saving, long service life and lower maintenance costs.

But a higher price is the main obstacle for LED lights becoming popular among Chinese residents.

"It cost too much to install LED lights in my apartment," said Wang Lin, a 31-year old woman living in Beijing, who just bought a new apartment.

The expense can be covered by the LED lights' energy saving advantage, some business insiders said.

"I changed all the lights in my home into LED," said Zhang Xiaofei, president of Shenzhen Gaogong Industry Research Co Ltd.

The electricity cost of almost seven LED lights is equal to one ordinary light, he added.

China's LED market developed at an incredible speed in 2013 and the market will continue growing fast in 2014, said Dou Linping, Secretary general of China Illuminating Engineering Society (CIES).

As the LED technology matures and prices drop, the acceptance of LED lights is rising, he added.

Sales are expected to hit 515.9 billion yuan ($840 million) by 2017, as it maintains a 10 percent annual rise from 2013, according to Qianzhan Research Institute.

Intellectual property rights are the international manufacturers' advantages and main way to keep market shares, said Gao Xiaoshi, senior analyst from Qianzhan Research.

The international LED manufacturers with advanced technology and good brand imagines are very competitive in the market, she said.