Taiwan International Lighting Show Posts Good Turnout

Organizers predict the event may grow even bigger in 2012

The Taiwan International Lighting Show (TILS), organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and Taiwan Lighting Fixture Export Association (TLFEA) and held the second time this year, saw both exhibitor and booth numbers up over 50%, with the organizers predicting the show to likely expand even more next year judging from the long list of exhibitors on the waiting list.

TILS 2011, held March 18-21 at the Taiwan World Trade Center (TWTC), saw 266 exhibitors spread across 634 booths compared to 170 exhibitors and 400 booths posted last year, with the promising growth in such figures reflecting faith held by many operators in the robust lighting industry in Taiwan.

Driven by Taiwan's wide-ranging industrial bases where integrated supply chains exist in many industries, the TILS has huge potential to become a global trading platform for the lighting market, said Yuen-Chuan Chao, president and CEO of TAITRA, who estimates that around 80% of the exhibitors produce LED lighting products.

Chao believes that Taiwan, with a solid industrial foundation, has been expanding its influence on the global LED market, one valued at US$8.25 billion last year and projected to grow to US$15.4 billion in 2011.

LED Development
Taiwan is aggressively pushing the development of its LED capabilities, with the coordinated effort among academia, industry and government, to hold its lead in LED manufacturing, said Chao.

Chao attributes the high buyer turnout at this year's show to the solid industrial base in Taiwan, which attracts global buyers scouting for innovative, eco-friendly lighting products that are competitively priced to create excellent business potential. TAITRA arranged approximately 200 one-on-one procurement meetings between foreign buyers and local suppliers to streamline doing business.

Many foreign buyers represented major names in the lighting sector, including Brazil's Lampadas Golden and Intral S. A. Industria de Materials Electricos, Hong Kong's Home retail group (ASIA) and LG Sourcing and Warsaw AB S.A.

Lampadas Golden is the largest home lighting trader in Brazil and has been purchasing lighting products from Taiwan for years. “We find it necessary to come to the show to see new products, and gather as much information as possible on the newly developing LED lighting category to promote to consumers,” said Alexandre Cricci, procurement director.

Marira Kamau, who worked with Adia Lights in Kenya, was a first-timer at the TILS and said: “Taiwan has introduced many new lighting sources, which may be relatively more expensive initially but are very durable, energy-saving. They are economical solutions for the long-term.”

The TILS definitely works for Taiwan's lighting industry, especially as a globally-reputable venue that is popular among overseas lighting operators to help Taiwan's lighting suppliers build profile and showcase innovative products, said TLFEA chairman David Chang, conceding that the event was held annually but then suspended for seven years after most of the major lighting fixture makers moved offshore. Without an international showcase at home, local lighting companies had to travel long distances overseas to attend trade shows. Fortunately the TILS was resurrected last year and has been very successful so far.

Complete Line
Chang said that the TILS doesn't only showcase innovations and technologies in Taiwan's lighting industry, but also turns on modern lighting to reshape lives. The 266 companies, some of which the brightest names in office, outdoor, industrial and even LED lighting, showed innovations to over 14,000 attendees, who saw first-hand products and services offered by Taiwan's lighting industry, one of the strongest on the island. Reports are that Taiwan is a major supplier of LED lighting worldwide.

Over 80% of the products displayed at the TILS were LED lighting, most of which being internationally certified as the American ETL for outdoor lighting, the EC and RoHS of Europe, the BSMI of Taiwan, GS for emergency lights and wall lamps of Germany.

The great market potential of LED lighting is creating opportunities for downstream suppliers, attracting makers of LED packaging, power supply, heat-dispersion module, as well as traditional lighting fixtures.

Taiwan also has a considerable sector of makers of induction lighting and CCFL, both new-generation lighting. “An induction lamp is basically a fluorescent lamp with electromagnets wrapped around a part of the tube, or inserted inside the lamp,” described AMKO SOLARA Lighting, a leading maker of the item.

External inductor lamps, according to AMKO SOLARA, has a powerful magnet created by high frequency energy sent via electronic ballast or coil around the ferrite inductor. Induction lighting has many advantages as long life, energy efficiency, high lumen retention, efficiency and color rendering, flexible voltage range, and many more.

Cold cathode fluorescent lamps or CCFLs is a colder-burning fluorescent lamp that are directly installed on traditional fixtures. The Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) says Taiwan leads in CCFL production, and set up the CCFL Alliance with 30-plus companies to tap synergy in the sector. The Alliance set up a CCFL pavilion at the TILS, where the Darfon Lighting Corp. is one of the three winners of the Innovative Product Award presented by the show organizers.

Everlasting Growth
Despite many newcomers having joined the new-generation lighting sector, many veterans remain to show steady growth. Cindi Enterprise Co., set up over 30 years ago, is one such firm that has grown with Taiwan's lighting industry and launches new eco-friendly products annually, using the TILS as a major showcase.

With its predecessor dating back to 1954, Taiwan Light Co. is a major force in the sector that manufactures lighting for households, hospitals, schools and outdoors, able to supply a wide range of products. Dedicated to production of green lighting, the maker has been pushing the development of LED lights. The maker has a line of LED lights for commercial spaces, street-lighting and households that are superior to existing products.

Taiwan Light designs MR bulbs with patented technology to achieve better cooling but still excellent brightness and energy efficiency, merits that are especially important for outdoor lighting for they need to work with minimal maintenance.

Fly Dragon Lighting Co., a pioneer maker of crystal chandeliers in Taiwan, displayed a variety of its forte this year, successfully attracting ample attention among buyers.

The maker has even caught up with the green trend, replacing incandescent bulbs in crystal chandeliers with LEDs, offering not only more choices in color but also improved longevity, energy-efficiency.