Lighting Science Group and Dixon Technologies Announce Sub-$15 60 Watt Equivalent LED Bulb
At a press conference held in India, Lighting Science Group, the world's premier maker of LED lighting solutions, and Dixon Technologies India Pvt. Ltd, a world-class electronics products manufacturer in India, unveiled one of their first joint products: a high-performance, sub-$15 omnidirectional 60-watt equivalent A19 LED bulb that will be available in India by the end of the year and will be sold worldwide by Lighting Science Group early next year. Utilizing Lighting Science Group's revolutionary technical design, the bulb is the first in a series of products being jointly manufactured and distributed by the two companies. The full line of products will include street lights, outdoor and industrial light fixtures and replacement bulbs that will set a new standard for lighting product performance, producing more light for less energy than any similar products currently available in India.
The Indian market for LED lighting is expected to grow to $400 million by 2015 (53% per annum), making it one of the fastest-growing sectors of one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. According to India's Ministry of Power, the country plans to build 80 new coal-fired power plants to keep up with rising electricity demand over the next 5 years, and the potential savings from simply changing light bulbs to the new LED technology can significantly reduce they county's electricity demand by as much as 40%.
"With India's peak load electricity deficit expected to increase upwards of 15% in the near-term, the adoption of energy efficient technologies will prove critical in meeting India's infrastructure needs and demands of continued economic growth. Our partnership with Lighting Science Group will make LED technology available for large scale implementation in the Indian market and we expect to be the market's leading seller of LED lighting within two years," said Sunil Vachani, chairman and managing director of Dixon Technologies.
Consistent availability of good quality electricity can be a constraining factor on economic growth, and moving to LED lighting is the low lying fruit of efficiency initiatives without polluting the environment: easy to implement with rapid repayment of the investment from power savings. The newly announced Lighting Science Definity® bulb fits perfectly into existing screw-in light sockets and creates a clean, bright light level equivalent to a conventional 60-watt incandescent bulb using 85% less electricity and is designed to handle the variable quality of power in India and other emerging economies. Even compared with relatively efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), the new bulb uses 35% less electricity and, unlike all fluorescent lights, contains no toxic mercury. At a retail price that is below $15, the payback from electricity savings versus traditional incandescent light bulbs is 8 months and the LED bulb has an expected life of approximately 8 years.
"With 800,000,000 incandescent light bulbs and 300,000,000 CFLs sold in India each year, the market is ripe for these highly efficient, long lasting and nontoxic products," said Atul Lall, deputy managing director of Dixon Technologies. "The economic and environmental implications of this partnership are significant: old-style light bulbs use 60 billion units of electricity each year, 7% of India's total, and our Lighting Science Group Definity® lamps could save over 70% of that, equivalent to 32 coal fired plants with 500MW capacity."
With its high efficiency, long life and high quality light, LED technology is transforming the $100 billion global lighting industry. That is why the Indian government is targeting LED lighting as a sector of excellence and as a driver of the future Indian economy.
"As India undergoes an infrastructure transformation in the next few years, the country has an unprecedented opportunity to leapfrog the rest of the world by becoming an early, large-scale adopter of LED technology," said Jim Haworth, chairman and chief executive officer of Lighting Science Group. "Augmenting our production capabilities by utilizing Dixon Technologies' manufacturing facilities in Noida, we'll be able meet the expected strong demand from individuals, businesses and government in India and I expect that our LED lighting products—particularly the new 60-watt equivalent bulb—will quickly become some of the best selling lighting products in the world."
About Dixon Technologies:
Headquartered in Noida, India, Dixon is a leading Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) provider focused on delivering high quality, cost effective solutions for consumer electronics, lighting, set top boxes and home appliances for the domestic (India) and international markets. With fiscal year 2009-2010 revenues of USD $200 million (Rs.1000 Crores), Dixon provides its customers with world-class electronics products through a network of manufacturing facilities spread across India. Dixon is ISO 9000 & 14001 certified.
All of Dixon's facilities are audited and approved by Multinational Customers, as per their global standards. This ensures that customers are able to optimize their operations by lowering their costs, providing reliable and safe products to their customers and reducing their time to market.
About Lighting Science Group:
Lighting Science Group Corporation designs, develops, manufactures and markets LED lighting solutions that are environmentally friendlier and more energy efficient than traditional lighting products. Lighting Science Group offers retrofit LED lamps in form factors that match those of traditional lamps or bulbs and LED luminaires for a range of applications including public and private infrastructure for both indoor and outdoor applications. Lighting Science Group's Advanced Projects Group business unit designs, develops and manufactures custom LED lighting solutions for architectural and artistic projects. Lighting Science Group is headquartered in Satellite Beach, Florida; the Company's European operations are based in Middelburg, The Netherlands; the Company has a sales office in Sydney, Australia; and it has a manufacturing facility in Monterrey, Mexico. Lighting Science Group employs approximately 600 workers building lighting products from domestic and imported parts. Lighting Science Group is a Pegasus Capital Advisors portfolio company. More information about Lighting Science Group is available at www.lsgc.com.
