Business briefs

04 Mar 2004

Including news from Strategies Unlimited, Osram Opto Semiconductors, Rofin-Sinar and more.

•  The Asian region of Taiwan, South Korea and China is now the world’s largest volume producer of high-brightness LEDs, according to a report from Strategies Unlimited. Companies in this region produced 16.8 billion HB-LED chips in 2003, claims the market analyst. According to the report, 2003 saw a substantial ramping up of production capacity and sales in China, driven largely by demand for blue LED backlights in mobile phone keypads.

•  Osram Opto Semiconductors of Germany is supplying the LEDs for a head-up display (HUD) that will feature in BMW 5 series cars being launched this spring. The HUD is part of a driver information system that Siemens VDO Automotive is supplying to BMW. The LED light source, which acts as the backlight for a liquid-crystal display, contains 128 high-brightness red and green LED chips.

•  Osram has also granted Samsung Electro-Mechanics of Korea a royalty-bearing license to manufacture and sell white LEDs using Osram’s patented conversion technology. This deal marks the first time that Osram has entered into a licensing agreement with a Korean company.

•  Rofin-Sinar of Germany has acquired 90% of the common stock of Optoskand of Sweden in a cash transaction. Optoskand makes high-power, fiber-optic beam delivery systems and components and has annual sales of approximately $3million.

•  Mitsubishi Electric has agreed a multi-million EURO, four year contract with Alcatel Space. The deal will see Mitsubishi supply the solar array panels for Alcatel’s Spacebus family of telecommunications satellites. The panels will be made at Mitsubishi’s Sagami factory in Japan and installed at the Alcatel Space plant in Cannes, France.

•  Nanopositioning specialist PI (Physik Instrumente) has formed a US-based company called PI L.P. This company replaces Polytec PI, which was a US joint venture between Polytec and PI. “We have taken the strategic step of separating these two companies so that each can focus on their distinct markets,” said PI L.P’s president Brian Lula.