New company to be called GELcore LLC
GE Lighting, EMCORE Corporation Form Company to Enter Global Lighting Market with 'White Light' LEDs
21 January 1999
GE Lighting and EMCORE Corporation today announced the formation of a new joint venture that targets the market for "white light" LEDs (light-emitting diodes) - the next-generation lighting technology expected to reach the $1 billion sales mark within the next decade. The new company, GELcore LLC, will develop and market LEDs as replacements for miniature automotive, compact fluorescent, halogen and traditional incandescent lighting. White light LEDs are seen as the greatest revolution in lighting since the development of the Edison bulb. The companies have targeted the second half of 1999 for the introduction of its first commercial white light products.
LEDs offer numerous advantages over conventional lighting, including a lifespan of more than 100,000 hours, enhanced durability, compact design, and dramatically reduced energy consumption. GELcore will produce proprietary LEDs by converting Gallium Nitride-based blue semiconductor devices to white light through the combination of phosphors and plastics. GELcore will develop a range of high-brightness white light and colored LEDs for automotive, traffic, flat panel display, and other specialty lighting applications. The current market for all LEDs is estimated to be $1.8 billion and is expected to grow at 15% annually.
The new joint venture combines GE's strong brand recognition and global distribution capability with EMCORE's expertise in production and materials technology for compound semiconductor blue and green LEDs.
"EMCORE is a leading equipment manufacturer for Gallium Nitride-based materials used in blue and green LEDs and is an excellent partner for GE Lighting as we carry the Edison tradition forward into the next century of lighting technology," said David Calhoun, GE Lighting President and CEO. "EMCORE's expertise in manufacturing processes and technology will play a key role in GELcore's rapid commercialization of new LED products."
"With its world-class phosphor technology and lighting leadership, brand recognition and global distribution capacity, GE Lighting has long been established as a driving force behind lighting innovation," said Reuben Richards, Jr., EMCORE's President and CEO. "We're very excited about having this opportunity to partner with a company that already has a long history of achievements in the development of lighting, electronics, packaging, and application engineering advances."
Under terms of the joint venture agreement, GE Lighting will hold a 51% interest in GELcore. The venture will be led by Michael B. Petras, Jr., a seven-year GE Lighting employee, as president. As part of the transaction, GE is also acquiring a capital position in EMCORE.
One of the General Electric Company's major businesses, GE Lighting, headquartered in Cleveland, is a leader in technology, lamp manufacturing and marketing in the global lighting industry, with operations in North America, South America, Europe and Asia.
EMCORE Corporation (Nasdaq: EMKR), based in Somerset, New Jersey, is a leading provider of integrated compound semiconductor solutions and among the world's largest suppliers of compound semiconductor epitaxy wafers. The company will produce LEDs at a facility in Tampa, Florida.
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