Lextar Electronics Corp says that its official merger with Wellypower Optronics Co Ltd - both of Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan and LED subsidiaries of Taiwan-based display panel maker AU Optronics (AUO) - is set to take place on 1 February. The merger was agreed last September. Lextar chairman Dr David Su is chairman & CEO of the merged company, while Wellypower chairman Allen Huang becomes president.
Founded in May 2008, Lextar specializes in manufacturing high-brightness LED epiwafers, chips and packages, as well as energy-saving and smart lighting products. Applications include LCD backlighting, LED light modules, LED light sources and luminaires. After acquiring LightHouse Technology Inc in March 2010, boosting staffing to more than 2500 at manufacturing plants in the Hsinchu Science Park, Hukou Industrial Park and Chunan Science Park in Taiwan, and an assembly plant in Suzhou, China. Revenue grew from US$255m in 2010 to US$309m in 2011 then US$339.5m in 2012.
With a factory in Zhunan, Mao-Li County, Taiwan as well as Hsinchu, Wellypower has experience in LED packaging as well as in lighting product manufacturing and sales.
Upon the merger with Wellypower, Lextar will have nearly 4000 staff and capital valued at NT$5bn (US$169m), as well as a more vertically integrated business model. The firm says the merger also further expands its LED lighting and backlighting product lines and customer base.
Lextar says that in the past its backlighting products were used mostly for monitor and TV applications, but as a result of the merger they will now also be used in notebook and smartphone applications. In addition, apart from developing solid-state lighting products such as lamps and board lights, the merger gives Lextar a line of products that includes T5 tube and CCFL lighting applications along with LED bulbs and fixtures.
The expanded customer portfolio also gives Lextar OEM business in the USA and Japan. Lextar says it will continue to expand its reach in addition to supplying its own Industrial Design team to provide more value-added services. On the supply-chain side, Lextar says it is enlarging its economies of scale, increasing its access to materials and resources while improving cost competition.
Su notes that the product lines, system platforms and personnel of Lextar and Wellypower have already merged to form a team that is more well-versed in lighting operations.
