Tatung to Ramp Up LED Lighting Operation

Taipei, April 23, 2012 (CENS)--Tatung Corp., a leading Taiwanese maker of household appliances, will launch over 20 models of LED lamps on April 26 in association with its subsidiaries, including sapphire-wafer maker San Chih Semiconductor Co., Ltd. and LED packager Forward Electronics Co., Ltd., as well as independent LED makers Formosa Epitaxy Inc. and Unity Opto Co., Ltd.

Tatung will contract Unity to make the lamps and slap its brand names on them. In the teamwork, San Chih is designated to supply sapphire as carrier substrate, on which Formosa will use to grow LED epitaxy layers.

Tatung will make all these lamps available at 240 wholly owned retail shops in Taiwan, vying for the island's consumers at a time when electricity rate hikes have become a dominant issue of people's life here.

Tatung is Taiwan's another business conglomerate involved in LED lighting business, after the Formosa Plastics Group (FPG). The only difference is Tatung has in-house distribution channel while FPG, whose Nanya Photonics Inc. plays the major part in LED lighting operation, has to count on contracted distributors.

While selling LED lamps, Tatung's retail shops also provide services as offered by local electrical shops. Tatung executives pointed out that the company may promote its LED lights by making them freebies to the company's large household appliances as TVs.

The company expects its retail advantage to bring in LED revenue of approximately NT$1 billion (US$34 million at US$1:NT$29) in the first year of the operation enlargement.

In addition to pitching LED lamps at consumers, the company has begun replacing all traditional lights at its office and factory buildings throughout the island and overseas outlets with LED lamps.