PennWell, ICS Convention Design, Inc., and Strategies Unlimited drew more than 5,300 total attendees to LED Japan Conference & Expo/Strategies in Light, the 2nd annual business conference and exhibition on high-brightness LEDs, held September 16-17, 2009 at the Pacifico Yokohama, Japan.
This year’s event nearly doubled the previous attendance total of 2,710 in 2008. In addition, the conference was supported by more than 60 sponsors and exhibitors, ranging from equipment and materials suppliers to LED and lighting fixture manufacturers to trade publications and industry associations.
Robert Steele, Strategies in Light Conference Chair, noted that “in spite of the gloomy overall economic environment, the record attendance, along with the enthusiasm displayed by both exhibitors and attendees, indicates that the interest in LED technology and markets remains undiminished. This is consistent with our view that the long-term fundamentals for the LED industry remain strong.”
Christine Shaw, PennWell’s LED & Lighting Media Group Senior Vice President and Group Publisher of LEDs Magazine and Strategies in Light Events, credited the event’s success to the outstanding conference program as well as the dynamic exhibitor, sponsor and attendee participation. “We expect this great momentum to continue and look forward to the next LED Japan/Strategies in Light event in Japan in September 2010 as well as the 11th annual Strategies in Light conference and expo being held February 10-12, 2010 in Santa Clara, CA USA.
“We were very pleased with the final attendance which nearly doubled last year’s total,” said Manami Konishi, Event Manager in Japan with ICS Convention Design, Inc., co-owner and co-producer of the Japan event.
LED Japan/Strategies in Light 2009 provided insight into the rapidly developing markets for LED lighting,backlights for LCD displays, and automotive headlamps, as well as other major trends in applications, industry structure, government policies, markets, products, and technologies that will affect the industry’s future.
Featured speakers for this year’s conference, “Planning for the Worldwide LED Market Recovery,” included: George Craford, Solid-State Lighting Fellow, Philips Lumileds Lighting; Jason Yorks, Marketing Director of Optoelectronics, Cree, Inc.; Osamu Yamanaka, Project General Manager, Optoelectronics Business Unit, Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd/JLEDS; Kou Masumoto, President TN EMC Ltd., a Taiyo Sanso Group Company. In addition, Robert Steele, Conference Chair and Director of Optoelectronics Programs, Strategies Unlimited, provided his annual update on the market for HB LEDs, along with a five-year forecast.
Other companies and organizations contributing to the conference program included Shin Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., TOWA, Toshiba Lighting and Technology Corporation/JLEDs, mSilica, Nuventix, Epistar Corporation, and Corelase Oy, a Rofin-Sinar Group Company.
Next year LED Japan/Strategies in Light will be held September 28-October 1, 2010 in Yokohama, Japan.