Introduction: Taiwan's "Business Week" article published today, said Terry Gou, and KY Lee has opened up a LED battlefield, in order to consolidate the momentum of high growth industries, has launched two technology Titans confront offensive.
Following is the text of the article:
March 18, 2010, record group officially merged with Chi Mei Optoelectronics; is, this time from the start, Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou and AU Optronics chairman KY Lee, has opened up another battleground.
On this day, all groups create and CMO of the first-line supervisors gathered Innolux Chunan plant, general manager of the new section of line built leading Chi Mei, Chi Mei to open a new after the first military cadres into the meeting.
Meeting the end, with everyone shouting "Come on! Come on! Come on!" Even a few meters away in the hall could hear, on the future challenges, build straight line segment, said, "very excited! Do not feel tired!"
Both grab the key puzzle
Dispute panel leader, win the LED supply chain
However, we should keep the first panel factory in Taiwan the throne, the new CMO still missing piece of the puzzle.
Scene back a month ago, the Taipei Arena, Hon Hai's annual year-end banquet scene, seating arrangements is often interpreted that year group, the different business group the best indicator of performance can also be seen in Guo Ming mind, the pros and cons.
This year has been "appointed" president sitting beside Guo, guest of the first row in front of the stage, not the biggest sales of personal computers embedded business group, but the Japanese LED (light emitting diode) manufacturers Nichia (Nichia ).
Why need Gou Nichia?
According to Topology Research Institute predicts that next year's LED notebook panel backlight penetration will reach 95% penetration rate monitors will reach 8%, television penetration will be close to 10%. These figures represent, is as high as 180 million units LED notebook computers, monitors and TV panels and OEM business.
In other words, its launch TV assembly market, Hon Hai, and ready to kill the leading OEM TPV monitors the group boarded the record, if no more that a small, illuminated LED, like a sharpshooter in the hands of gun without bullets, no matter how God can not hit the target potential.
LED technology has a patented Nichia, Terry Gou was a guest as the most important, because this is the new CMO into the largest military supply chain gaps.
KY Lee plugging
Winkle talent first, then vertical integration and cost cutting
But the panel works the most important key puzzles, KY Lee Terry Gou earlier than step up for the Friends of the completed building.
Just three days before the formal merger of the new CMO, KY Lee as AUO LED Suppliers Group to create the formal and Kai Ting Lunda electronic technology merger. Lunda merged upstream electronics will have LED epitaxy with the downstream packaging capacity, the Taiwan LED industry into a small "plus 100 million crystal electric light."
KY Lee, AUO led army, as early as 2006 shares Kai-ting LED packaging factory, and the year before the establishment of epitaxial plant Lunda electronics, quietly cut into the LED field, to foster its own technology Corps.
Although the LED is a hot area, but because Taiwan started late, not much talent, KY Lee's approach is to lure them away from the crystal electricity to the UMC, TSMC, is the object of his hunters.
Other than Taiwan because the epitaxial crystal power plants are long established, so adjust the MOCVD (organic vapor deposition) machines are the most abundant accumulation of experience; the other hand, LED should spend semiconductor manufacturing fab, it sets TSMC, UMC, has become the object of LED plant to lure them away.
In the early days of Lunda, AUO was recruited from the crystal blue electric technical experts in Tang Mu, who was once one of the founders Epitaxy is also a small number of long-term investment in Taiwan High-Brightness LED R & D personnel.
In order to get people, not listed Lunda follow 10 years ago TSMC, UMC, "with the stock Laiza people," an epitaxial plant director admits, to join their experienced personnel willing to knife the main cause is Now an 10 yuan a share, after the listing of possible future potential of soaring twenty times can be said that those who want to be the last wave of opportunities for tech elite.
Build capacity last year, Lunda, now has to use the MOCVD epitaxial about 27 units. An industry point out that the next six months, every month a new machine Lunda stationed, to the end of this year have the opportunity to expand to 100 units, almost half of crystal electric capacity.
When the group announced the merger of the Chi Mei Chong, the KY Lee AUO's LED full speed and action, by the end of December last year to merge Lunda and Kai Ting, the same period, AUO resources to the development of perfusion in the Lunda.
As the LED's patented technology held by the United States, Japanese companies hand, Lunda grain production is still patent considerations, so the products Lunda draped with AUO's panel shipment, with the AUO panel in this world-class plant certification, Lunda better able to avoid the United States, Japan LED plant patent landmines.
AUO to supply chain vertical integration, control LED from epitaxy, packaging, backlight module to the downstream panel TV assembly, to reduce the cost of space to the limit, when the strengthening and competitiveness of Hon Hai loggerheads.
KY Lee duck in the water, now AUO LED's strength began to show. A local broker, the researchers said, "Before we all joked Lunda really good light, no results look good; results in January of this year, I was really scared."
Had almost no shipments Lunda, this year, with AU Optronics brand products in mainland China LED TV, January shipments of 40,000 units, 50,000 units in February, to March volume as high as 10 million, doubled.
Gou come from behind
Alliance on the first plant, and then propagated plant parts
However, the development of LED Gou moves slowly in fact better than KY Lee, Hon Hai was established nine years ago, first cut into the LED street lamp Foxsemicon market, LED packaging factory was involved in the development of advanced optoelectronic private. But the two investment Steps to the Plate, advanced electricity and Pei Xin not only a loss year after year, and finally even the revocation of the advanced electric Emerging Stock Market.
Their own investment Consequently, Hon Hai Gou resorted to the strategy best at the past - alliances and acquisitions, and his number one goal is to launch the Taiwan LED companies battle over patent infringement Nichia.
Has so far set up more than five years, Japan Asia, the development of the world's first blue LED, is the leading LED manufacturers and grain of the dominant mobile phone backlight.
Gou plan to switch from the Hon Hai investment in the development of advanced optical LED packaging factory, to help Nichia factory expansion. Agreement, Foxconn will provide a guarantee of purchases by Japan Asia, to Nichia because they can not lead their own capacity to improve LED grain oversupply, and Hon Hai can get enough raw materials to support.
Because of Nichia's support, group creative enough to get a large number of high-quality grain, and even offer the traditional cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) LCD display comparable to attract single-line brand, currently group record in the LED display foundry capacity, has gone beyond the TPV as the world's largest.
Here is Terry Gou and KY Lee war strategy in the LED on the differences. As the complexity of LED patents, once encountered infringement lawsuits, the assembly is likely to Hon Hai TV, display products will not ship, so the system plant origin, Terry Gou, the access LED LED sources than its own supply chain integration more important.
Therefore, even if Terry Gou bought CMO, Chi Mei Optoelectronics get the LED epitaxial plant reinvestment Kellett technology and LED packaging factory optical Kai Yiu, the two have not been as widely expected merger, consolidation took Lunda Electronics logic.
Kellett will focus on the future of epitaxy, Kai Yiu focused package, Kai Yiu, general manager of Dingjing Long stressed, "As LED packaging and end of the application of highly relevant, so will the future development of Kai Yiu multiple differentiated packaging technology to meet the more and more diverse product needs. "
Terry Gou is counting on the one hand, in group foster Kellett and Kai Yiu, to supply the future demand in the low-end products, LED; two years, the high-end products are used on the development of advanced optical sub coupled with the LED.
Flames of war spread to the stock market
Ability to affect future fund-raising talents and capacity for war
This LED Wars, KY Lee vertical integration of technology panel factory thinking on the key components Gou train manufacturing plant system thinking, two groups of LED dispute ended in the supply chain integration, it is now also hit the capital market .
Log in February Kai Yiu just emerging, Lunda then sent Emerging applications in March, the two sides extended the battlefield to the stock market. Because the stock on behalf of the fund-raising capacity, LED for the future expansion of production capacity and talent battle chips, but will affect Taiwan's LED industry.
Further reading: LED Group war broke out, rob 66 trillion lighting business
Last October, in the "Business Weekly" cover story "electric vehicles, LED century revolution", we have reported, LED will be off the main characters battle the next hundred years, and must move towards integration and large-scale war.
Hon Hai and observe the layout of AUO, the LED will indeed prove to "the bigger the" group fighting the trend, the next like a crystal electricity, 100 million light such independent epitaxy and packaging plants, is bound to adjust its business model themselves do not, through its own development of the supply chain group was marginalized. The Hon Hai with AUO, can not be overlooked new rivals such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's competitiveness, in fact, TSMC has been made even more than the former two are also more LED patent portfolio, strong strength.
The short term, LED backlight used in the market will be the first popular applications, but including Hon Hai, AU Optronics, TSMC and UMC and other major companies, the greater goal in mind, it is business as much as NT 60 6 trillion of "lighting market", with the governments to open up the timetable to ban incandescent bulbs, LED lighting market will follow to take off, then, the group battle between the LED before the official white-hot.
Further reading: Hon Hai parade of big - LED layout of the two groups
Items: raw materials (sapphire substrate)
Hon Hai Group: Xin Jing drilling, Zhao Jing
AUO Group: None
Project: upstream (epitaxy), middle (cut, picked)
Hon Hai Group: Nichia (alliance), Optical Kellett
AUO Group: Ronda
Project: downstream (package)
Hon Hai Group: Advanced development of optoelectronics, Kai Yiu
AUO Group: Ronda
Project: Assembly (backlight)
Hon Hai Group: Chi Lin
AUO Group: Fu Xiang, Kneip
Project: Terminal Application
Hon Hai Group: Hong accurate, Pei Xin, East Asia Optical
AUO Group: Wellypower, Qisda