The solid state lighting market, due to the rapid increase in LED efficiency and
power, has been seeing exponential growth since 2002. This growth has brought in
new players to the lighting world, and has made traditional companies in lighting
adjust to the LED reality and make some dramatic changes. One of the most dramatic
actions in the lighting industry was taken by European lighting giant Philips as
they have spent approximately $2B acquiring Agilent’s share in Lumileds, Color Kinetics,
TIR Systems, and Lumec.
Many companies have also seen tremendous growth on the LED manufacturing and packaging
sides of the business, such as Cree, Nichia, and many companies in Taiwan who are
leveraging economies of scale to make cheaper LEDs, and finally enabling the general
lighting applications from a cost perspective.
Another major driver for the SSL market is the CleanTech/GreenTech push that has
gained momentum world wide and has captured the imagination of VC’s and governments
at all levels. The Restriction for Hazardous Substances (RoHS) rules in Europe were
an initial step towards CleanTech in lighting and California lighting efficiency
laws would soon mushroom in various states around the country where energy is scarce.
Global fuel pricing is also another major driver of CleanTech applications.
Companies in the SSL market have very specific needs that need to take the natures
of their new semiconductor components into account. LEDs come in various color bins,
Forward Voltages, Intensities, sizes packages, etc. and distributors, manufacturers
and users of LEDs need to have systems that can accommodate these aspects. SSL companies
also need to keep their distributors reps and sales teams globally up to date on
the latest datasheets, designs and presentations. Having a global, secure data sharing
mechanism is absolutely essential. The Customer Relationship Management systems
also need to be tailored towards the nature of the LEDs and the requirements of
the clients.
Xenatus Global’s team has many years of experience in the SSL market from a distribution,
manufacturing and applications perspective. The team is very sensitive to the needs
of the SSL customers from a requirements and usability perspectives and are backed
by an arsenal of SSL compatible applications and IT teams to integrate and customize
them to suit the SSL client’s needs.
