The production capacity of Formosa Epitaxy Inc. (FOREPI) has been currently laden with orders, thanks to the recommendations of its Japanese shareholder Mitsui & Co., Ltd to the mainland China’s buyers, according to FOREPI’s Chairman F.R. Chien.
 
FOREPIwill ship LED devices to LCD TVs and lighting supplied by mainland Chinese manufacturers via Mitsui in the third quarter. And the orders will keep the company’s production lines busy throughout the first quarter in 2013.
 
Chien pointed out that in the second half of 2012, the mainland’s economic stimulus packages and subsidization project for rural consumers of LCD TVs would give a boost to the mainland market for LEDs, which are built into the TVs as backlights.  To cater for strong demands from the mainland’s LCD TV makers, the company is vigorously boosting output.
 
In addition, the company will add 18 to 20 MOCVD chambers by the end of 2012 to its production lines. As part of its expansion plan, the company’s production lines of 4-inch epitaxy wafers will come on stream in the third quarter to supply TV makers the chips.
 
Mitsui is also helping it tap markets outside the Chinese mainland. FOREPI has rolled out 210 lumen-watt chips with the aim of making the chips available in TVs and lamps.