LED epitaxial wafer and chip maker Epistar, LED chip packaging house Unity Opto Technology and fellow maker Lextar Electronics have seen orders increase significantly in March, according to the companies.
Due to increased orders for LED chips for backlight units (BLUs) and LED lighting, Epistar said it expects its capacity utilization to rise from 60-70% in January-February 2013 to 80% in March. Capacity may be fully utilized in April, Epistar added.
As China-based LCD TV vendors have begun to procure TV panels in preparation for expected peak sales in early May, Unity Opto has landed BLU orders, the company said. In addition, Unity Opto has obtained orders for more than one million LED lighting items from Europe in the first quarter and is in the process of automating its LED lighting production lines to double capacity in the second quarter.
Lextar has seen increased BLU orders from vendors of smartphones and direct-type LED-backlit TVs and has developed BLUs for use in Ultra HD TVs.
