The two-year-old marketing tie-up between Hong Kong-based Megaman, a world leader in light-emitting diode (LED) technology used in a range of lighting products, and Bajaj Electricals Ltd, has now been extended to technology transfer. Bajaj Electricals at its Nashik facility will start manufacturing LED products in 2013, a company official said on Tuesday.
Bajaj Electricals, which launched its new range of “futuristic” LED products, under the brand name of iLED, in Kerala in March, is currently manufacturing compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) at Nashik. The demand for eco-friendly LED lighting products is increasing, particularly in hospitality industry and home lighting, said CGS Mani, Executive President (Lighting) here.
Bajaj has already launched 25 LED products so far, and is set to introduce another 45 this year. The products range comprises of panel lights, down lighters and tube lights.
India’s current lighting industry is worth Rs 9,500 crore, which includes Rs 3,000 crore worth of CFL segment, introduced about a decade ago. The LED segment, which picked up about three years ago, is already pegged at Rs 500 crore in the organized market and expected to be about Rs 3,000 crore by 2014-15. According to a McKinsey report, 70 per cent of users will go in for LED products by 2020 in the country which is replacing traditional products “very fast”, at 57 per cent growth.
Bajaj Electricals’ R&D centre in Mumbai, set up with an investment of about Rs 50 crore, is expected to start working in 2014. The company is looking at Rs 60 crore business in LED segment in the current financial year with its product range.
The existing price range of Bajaj’s LED products varies from Rs 50 to Rs 6,000, he said.
Mani said the traditional bulbs emit 90 per cent heat and only 10 per cent light while CFL products emit 45 per cent heat and 55 per cent light. In contrast, LED products emit 80 per cent light and 20 per cent heat. So, LED products, which do not use mercury unlike CFL, are eco-friendly, more efficient, and have a longer lifespan of 30,000 to 50,000 hours, he said.
Compared to CFL, LED products also save 50 per cent more power; compared to traditional lighting products, these save as high as 90 per cent of electricity.
Bajaj Electricals is aiming for Rs 620 crore turnover this year with a growth of 21 per cent and CAGR of 25 per cent.