Distributors focus on optoelectronics
By James Carbone -- Purchasing, 11/15/2007 7:00:00 AM
Electronics buyers can expect distributors to offer more optoelectronic products over the next five years as light emitting diodes (LEDs) and liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are used in more electronics equipment.
The worldwide LCD market will grow from about $50 billion in 2006 to $87.5 billion in 2010, according to researcher iSuppli. Meanwhile, the global high-brightness LED market will more than double from $4.2 billion to $9.4 billion, says Strategies Unlimited, another market research firm.
Many electronics distributors are trying to capitalize on that growth and are offering more products and services. In fact, some distributors say optoelectronics is the fastest growing segment of their businesses. Some have set up business divisions for optoelectronics products and offer value-added services and design expertise.
Buyers can expect distributors to not only stock parts and panels, but peripheral components such as IC drivers for displays.
"We put together the entire box for our customer-specific LCDs," says Chuck Kostalnick, vice president OEM division for Bell Microproducts in San Jose, Calif. "We do touchscreen applications. We put an LCD together with a single board computer. We do full pack out for the customer. In fact, we will ship it to our customer's customer."
He says Bell provides a lot of design services. "Our customers are OEMs that need some level of customization—a customized design around a product." Often it is single board computers or a product that is embedded into a larger system. In addition many OEMs lack that type of expertise because they have fewer hardware engineers than in the past.
Kostalnick says Bell stocks primarily active matrix LCD products from NEC, DUO and LG. "We buy the raw glass and raw LCD panels from them and get price protection from them," he says. LCD pricing can be volatile. If Bell buys $10 million of LCDs from a manufacturer over two quarters and the price drops during that time, Bell's price drops as well.
Avnet's Lightspeed business unit focuses on LEDs. "High-brightness LEDs is the fastest growing segment that we have," says Cary Eskow, director of the division.
He says the push by the Department of Energy and other governmental bodies to use green technologies and energy efficiency is driving LED use. LEDs are much more energy efficient than incandescent or fluorescent lighting. "A typical LED used for illumination is three to five times more energy efficient than a regular incandescent bulb and it lasts 25-50 times longer," he says.
Eskow notes that LEDs are replacing incandescents in everything from flashlights and traffic lights to general purpose illumination. Medical equipment is a growth area. For instance, LEDs are being used in "billy lights" to treat infants born with jaundice as well as in examination rooms and in endoscopes.
Avnet, based in Phoenix, provides design expertise to customers who are not familiar with the technology. "Say an appliance manufacturer comes to us looking for an LED solution," says Eskow. "We look at their specifications; government regulations involved and work with them more or less as a consultant. We select the appropriate LED, the right optics and the driver with the right efficiency for the LED," he says.
Arrow Electronics, based in Melville, N.Y., also sees great growth in LEDs. Signage is a strong growth segment for LEDs, as is transportation.
"But the Holy Grail is commercial and architectural lighting," says Bob Sagebiel director of Arrow Lighting. "It has the greatest growth opportunity."
As the cost of LEDs drops, they will be used in more applications, but many lighting companies have used incandescents and fluorescents for years and are unfamiliar with LED technology.
"Many lighting companies have been in business for over 100 years. Cost is a big issue, but so is the ability to use the technology," says Sagebiel.
LEDs have to be put into a module, an array or subassembly for a lighting fixture. "The fixture guys need someone who can help them put controllers, optics and thermal management parts and LEDs into a module or subassembly. We act as a bridge for all of those different parts," he says.
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