Philips and Optogan sign up to cooperate in LED road lighting solutions in Russia

Royal Philips Electronics and Optogan, a leading Russian manufacturer of LED products today announced the signing of a joint venture agreement to become a strong player in the fast growing LED road lighting market in Russia. The new company will be 51% owned by Philips and 49% by Optogan. Financial details of the joint venture were not disclosed
The joint venture will combine Philips’ latest LED road lighting solutions and international quality standards with Optogan’s LED knowledge, innovative solutions and understanding of local market requirements in this field. Products developed and manufactured by the joint venture will be sold in the Russian Federation and within its customs union with Kazakhstan and Belarus.
The Philips-Optogan partnership will focus on developing a local LED industry, supporting the energy efficiency (EE) initiatives by the Russian Government. Switching to LED street and road lighting can reduce energy consumption by up to 80% and lead to significant savings in service and maintenance costs. The enhanced visibility created by the bright light can also contribute to an enhanced feeling of security and can help improve road safety.
Road lighting in Russia is an attractive market segment as it is anticipated to become one of the leading growth segments for LED. The Russian road lighting market is expected to double over the next four years to EUR 100 million by 2015.This growth is mainly driven by government energy efficiency programs for modernization of road lighting. It is expected that due to this also the share of LED will reach 50% as early as 2015.