Epistar, LED chipmaker based in Taiwan, has scheduled to boost productivity at its factories in Xiamen, China and Taiwan in 2012. The company plans to release the new capacities online in 2014.
 
Epistar posted a net loss of NT$515 million (US$17.17 million) in the first quarter of 2012 as its capacity utilization rate dropped to 50% due to seasonal factors.
 
However, Lee said that the company's capacity utilization has since rebounded to full capacity and has even lagged demand by 20-30%.
 
The new expansion in China will focus on LED back-end processes, which will enter volume production in the first half of 2014, while the new production lines in Taiwan, which require a capital input of NT$3-4 billion (US$100-133.38 million), will complete in the second half of 2014, Lee indicated.
 
Epistar currently has a total of 220 MOCVD machines, the company revealed.