Pre-pandemic demand returns for LED maker

Trucks from various regions of China lined the road toward Shanxi High-Tech Huaye Group's production plant in Changzhi city on Oct 18 to receive deliveries of LED products from the company.

"There is zero inventory in our warehouse. Buyers have to wait for products freshly rolling off the production line," said Zhao Kaibo, a sales manager of Shanxi High-Tech Huaye.

"In 2019, the company produced and sold 2.26 billion yuan ($340 million) in products. In the first three quarters of this year, the figure was 1.7 billion yuan, an increase of 10 percent from the same period last year," Zhao said.

The executive said the company's full-year revenue will surpass 3 billion yuan, as demand has made a strong recovery after the COVID-19 epidemic was brought under control in China.

"Sales rose 50 percent year-on-year in the third quarter and we have to work at full capacity to meet the demand from buyers,"Zhao said.

The company's current business boom represents a sharp contrast to where it was seven years ago.

Before 2013, it was a subsidiary of coal-mining company Nanye Industry based in Changzhi.

As Nanye planned to diversify its operations, Shanxi High-Tech Huaye was designated to develop in the LED industry.

After seven years, Shanxi High-Tech Huaye has grown into one of the major LED producers in the country.

According to Lu Jianhong, Party secretary of the company, "it was not easy for a coal mining enterprise to tap into an industry like LED".

"We started production by buying patents from others. The LED industry advanced so fast that we found our products had already become outdated before we could put the patented technologies into production," Lu said.

The executive said the company later decided to develop its own patents, which helped it to grow its own niche market.

To support its research and development, it attracted a number of high-caliber professionals from elsewhere in the country.

"With a strong force in R&D, we have expanded from a niche to the mainstream market, grabbing an increasing share," Lu said.

He said Shanxi High-Tech Huaye has been recognized by Shanxi's authorities as a role model in the province's pilot reform to reduce reliance on energy resources and diversify operations.