Rio Olympics Shed Lights on Chinese Lighting Manufacturers Opportunities in South America

Olympic Games Rio 2016 propelled Chinese lighting manufacturers into the international sports arena with many lighting up Olympic venues and landmarks, and helped manufacturers break the OEM stereotype in the eyes of international clients, reported Chinese language media 21st Century Business Herald.

Chinese lighting manufacturers that participated in lighting up this year’s Olympic in Brazil, included NVC Lighting’s which provided the lighting service and solutions for the diving venue Maria Lenk Aquatic Center in Barra da Tijuca.Other Chinese LED manufacturers including Leyard and Unilumin provided LED displays for the Olympic sports association.

UL is a recognized third party safety consulting and certification party, and has been testing Chinese lighting manufacturers products for the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, so that these manufacturers exporting products can reach international standards. Boris Feng, VP and Managing Director of UL Greater China, spoke about the challenges and opportunities Chinese manufacturers faced in South America.

Chinese suppliers four major advantages

Chinese lighting manufacturers were able to enter the Olympics franchise this year because companies are starting to value R&D, and invest in intellectual property and patents, commented Feng.

Chinese companies deployment throughout the LED supply chain has given companies significant advantages, and the vertical integration has allowed companies to control the product from manufacturing process to end market sales. Chinese lighting companies are now valuing product safety, lifetime, and reliability.

The Chinese lighting enterprises are also meeting differentiation demands in the Brazil market, for instance lighting specifically designed for public spaces, indoor lighting, and special sports venues.

Lastly, Chinese companies still retain labor cost advantages over European and American competitors.

Chinese manufacturers branding strategies in Brazil

Among successful Chinese lighting bidders at this year’s Olympics, Unilumin is a strong contender in  the LED display market, and already obtained multiple large international contracts from hosts of major global sports events. For instance, the company’s large LED displays were installed in National Stadium Warsaw at the UEFA Euro 2012. NVC Lighting is also one of China’s leading lighting brands to provide sports venue lighting solutions, and acquired several venue lighting projects at the London 2012 Summer Olympics, an example that these Chinese lighting manufacturers have reached international standards in their respective lighting fields.

Responding to specific venue lighting requirements at Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, Feng noted luminaire performance standards can be very stringent and emphasize the products performance. Many of these requirements involve construction designs, for instance the swimming venue requires glare control. Lighting is also required underneath the diving board to prevent shadowing the pool, another important lighting was warm up pools. All these requirements point towards Olympic organizers recognize Chinese lighting manufacturers product quality and construction design.

The lighting industry is transforming in Brazil at a rapid pace, according to statics compiled by local lighting association Abilux. LED lighting sales exponentially grew 6 times in 2014 to 200,000, compared to 2011, said Feng. If LED lighting sales keep up at this pace, it is estimated within three years, LED lighting revenue will amount to more than 50% of lighting product sales nationwide. In other words, LEDs would replace traditional luminaires within a very short time period in Brazil and provides huge market potential. For instance the state of São Paulo has rolled out a streetlight project that will replace more than 580,000 streetlights.

Chinese manufacturers are quickly grabbing market shares in the South America market with their products. Brazil has become one of China’s largest LED export market, where more than 60% of LED lights are imported from China. Moreover, Brazil’s market demands for Chinese decorative lighting has gradually increased. Yet, objectively the Brazilian market is still mainly dominated by international brands such as Osram, Philips, GE, and local Brazilian brands such as FLC. Chinese manufacturers are still mostly OEMs, and have not established their own brands or distribution channels.

Asked how changes in Brazil lighting standards are affecting Chinese manufacturers entry in the market, Feng pointed out the South America’s market potential is attracting many Chinese companies. The first challenge they face is acquiring market qualification, and Brazil regulations require all LED lighting products must be certified by Inmetro from an authorized testing facility in Brazil.

In 2015, Brazil released mandatory LED bulb and LED tube light certification standards. Even though the country does not have any LED standards, current developments suggest an eventual standard will be released in the near future along with other new regulations. Brazil’s LED bulb and tube light standards integrated IEC and U.S. ENERGY STAR standards, which requires products to meet international safety standards and American energy efficiency standards.

Inmetro has been raising its lighting product safety and performance standard each year, and prior to June 13, 2016 it had mostly been monitoring the manufacturing process. It is estimated by mid-2018 the monitoring process will extend to retail as well, and form an even more comprehensive monitoring system. The higher standards present challenges and opportunities for lighting manufacturers, companies that are ahead of competitors will pay close attention to these changes and new technology. UL has also been encouraging companies to consider safety aspects of the products during early stages of the R&D process, acquire the key elements of the standards, which is essential to granting immediate market access.

UL has very high recognition in South America and is constructing a lab in Brazil, the company is also collaborating with other South American labs and product certification institutions. UL is one of the first companies to be granted certification by Brazil, and meet Inmetro wide product certification. The company’s global partnership structure has assisted Chinese manufacturers entry into South American markets, for instance Chinese manufacturers can test their products in UL labs in Guangzhou and Suzhou in China to acquire certification from Brazil. This reduces the need to send product samples abroad, and greatly reduces the needed time and costs.

Chinese LED companies targeting emerging markets

Data compiled from Chinese customs indicate developed markets, such as EU, U.S, Japan and Russia are still major destinations for Chinese LED lighting and traditional lighting exports, said Feng. Traditional lighting shipment has dropped, while LED lighting products has rose steadily, due to different countries and cities policies and changing infrastructures.

Developed countries have continued to raise the bar for imported luminaires, such as LED luminaires, and scaled up technology demands.  Chinese companies have to meet safety, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), energy efficiency, performance, lifetime, and other national standards for their products to be exported to international markets.

Under China’s “One belt, one road” policy, more Chinese LED lighting manufacturers are targeting emerging markets, such as South America, the Gulf region, India, and others. China’s annual LED lighting export value is about US $10.8 billion, in which Brazil and South America revenue share is approximately 10%.

Disclaimers of Warranties
1. The website does not warrant the following:
1.1 The services from the website meets your requirement;
1.2 The accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the service;
1.3 The accuracy, reliability of conclusions drawn from using the service;
1.4 The accuracy, completeness, or timeliness, or security of any information that you download from the website
2. The services provided by the website is intended for your reference only. The website shall be not be responsible for investment decisions, damages, or other losses resulting from use of the website or the information contained therein<
Proprietary Rights
You may not reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, display, perform, publish, distribute, disseminate, broadcast or circulate to any third party, any materials contained on the services without the express prior written consent of the website or its legal owner.

Tokushima, Japan - 6 March 2024: Nichia, the world's largest LED manufacturer and inventor of the high-brightness blue and white LED, has started mass production of the new UV-B (308nm) and UV-A (330nm) LEDs in its popular 434 Series packa... READ MORE

New XLamp® S Line LEDs enhance growth, last longer, lower energy costs Horticulture and other forms of agricultural lighting require application-tuned ratios of spectral content, high efficacy and long lifetimes. Whether you are interested... READ MORE