Optogan Opens Largest LED Production in Eastern Europe
Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Ivanov today unveiled Optogan’s new manufacturing plant in St. Petersburg. With an overall investment of 3.35 billion rubles (80 million euros) it is the largest LED component and module factory in Eastern Europe & CIS. The factory, which will employ up to 800 people, covers 15,000 m2 of floor space 5,000 m2 of which is taken up by a clean room environment. The first production line has an annual production capacity of 360 million LEDs and further capacity extensions are scheduled.
The ceremony was attended by the Sergey Ivanov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation; Valentina Matvienko, Governor of St. Petersburg; Yegor Borisov, President of Russia’s Sakha Republic (Yakutiya); Anatoliy Chubais, General Director, Rusnanotech; Mikhail Prokhorov, President, ONEXIM Group and a large audience of well known representatives from the world of politics, research and industry.
The three founders of Optogan and entrepreneurs Maxim Odnoblyudov, Vladislav Bougrov and Alexey Kovsh introduced the production facilities to the ceremony’s guests. They also demonstrated Optogan’s highly efficient LED lamps and explained about energy savings and the avoidance of hazardous substances.
Maxim Odnoblyudov, President of Optogan Group, noted that the launch of the factory is a major step in the company’s development. Vladislav Bougrov, General Director of the newly opened factory, said that only the first production line had actually been opened today with a production volume of 30 million LEDs a month. “At the end of next year, we will grow the production volume due to the high demand for our products,” he added. “LEDs produced in St. Petersburg will be sold in Russia and abroad. We’ve already signed our first major contracts. Also, part of the LED shipments will be sent to our partner companies all over Russia to produce luminaries,” added Alexey Kovsh, Executive Vice President of Optogan. Optogan established a unique business model to supply LED core technology for luminaires and support to an extensive network of partners within Russia. In future the luminaire business partner approach will be extended to global level.
Against the trend to establish new LED production facilities solely in the Far East, Optogan has found a suitable legislative and infrastructural environment to establish high tech manufacturing in Russia to enabling high volume LED output at competitive costs. RUSNANO, the fund to provide investment for technology projects in the Russian Federation has provided support for the company and is one of the major shareholders. “The key goal of RUSNANO is to develop modern production facilities based on leading international scientific knowledge, ensuring they can compete globally. The opening of Optogan’s factory is one of the major synergies of science and business. Technology based on the work of Nobel prize winner Zhores Alferov has been transformed into mass production, making this a first step in the development of a new energy efficient economy and development of the lighting industry in Russia,” said General Director of Rusnano, Anatoly Chubais.
According to Mikhail Prokorov, President of the main shareholder ONEXIM Group, “ONEXIM’s strategy is to invest in these types of innovative companies, which can produce quality products and win a major market share in Russia, as well as the potential to grow globally. We are sure that thanks to this type of production our country has all the opportunities to develop on the global markets.”
The opening of this new high-tech factory in Russia marks another step forward in the modernisation and globalisation of the Russian economy.
About Optogan Group:
The Optogan Group is one of the technology leaders in the manufacturing of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). With proven innovative and cost-efficient solutions in the fields of high brightness chips, LED components, LED lamps and LED luminaires the company focuses on the needs of its customers. Optogan was founded in 2004 by three Russian scientists and entrepreneurs in Helsinki (Finland). Since 2005 Optogan GmbH has been developing chip technologies in Dortmund (Germany) and chip production in Landshut (Germany) and is currently ramping up its new production facility in St. Petersburg (Russia). The Optogan Group has sites at Landshut (Germany), Dortmund (Germany), Helsinki (Finland) and St. Petersburg (Russia).
