The Lighting Industry Under the Impact of a New Round of the Pandemic

Recently, the epidemic in China has resurged and spread widely, affecting an expanding range of areas. It has swept across 28 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, including Jilin, Guangdong, Hebei, Shandong, Fujian, Jiangsu, Yunnan, Gansu, Heilongjiang, Shanghai, Beijing, and others. According to the latest briefing from the National Health Commission, from 0:00 to 24:00 on March 16, 31 provinces (autonomous regions, and municipalities) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps reported 1,226 new locally confirmed cases and 1,206 new local asymptomatic infections. In addition, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has accumulated a total of 270,133 confirmed cases.

Many industries, including lighting, are once again facing related disruptions.

In Shenzhen, one of the key hubs of the national LED Industry, Tongyifang recently issued a "Notice on Full Suspension of Operations from March 14 to 20," stating that in accordance with the policy requirements of the Shenzhen Municipal Command Center for Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Prevention and Control, and to effectively manage the risk of epidemic spread, its Shenzhen headquarters and Qianhai Marketing Center will suspend operations from March 14 to 20. Tongyifang stated that during the suspension, its relevant technical teams, support service teams, and sales teams will adopt a work-from-home model to continue providing services and technical solutions normally. The company will closely monitor the latest government epidemic prevention and control policy requirements and resume production and operations as soon as possible based on the latest epidemic situation.

Other companies/subsidiaries that have announced temporary work stoppages or work-from-home arrangements include Changfang Group Kangmingsheng, LED manufacturer Rontek, and LED driver IC manufacturer Macroblock.

Unilumin stated that the epidemic has not yet had a significant impact on the company's production and operations. The company is reasonably arranging production in accordance with the relevant requirements announced by the municipal epidemic prevention and control command to ensure customer order delivery. In response to the current epidemic situation, the company immediately activated its emergency plan, made reasonable arrangements and scheduling for personnel, and current production and operations are normal. Additionally, Unilumin has joined the fight against the epidemic by announcing free LED display repair services for public service enterprises in Shenzhen involved in livelihood and basic urban operations.

The spread of the epidemic has led to reduced shipment volumes for some merchants and difficulties in transporting completed orders. If manufacturers maintain sufficient inventory and have dispersed production sites, they can flexibly adjust operations, thereby avoiding any immediate significant impact.

Exhibitions are venues with high concentrations of people. Under the pandemic, exhibition schedules have been continuously adjusted and plans disrupted, which has to some extent affected companies' operational plans. On March 11, after a person who tested positive for nucleic acid was found to have entered the venue at the China Import and Export Fair in Guangzhou, the ongoing Beauty Expo and other types of exhibitions were urgently closed. On the same day, Guangzhou issued an emergency notice suspending all upcoming exhibition activities. Subsequently, exhibitions such as the China International Furniture Fair, Smart Home Expo, Guzhen Expo, Shenzhen Fashion Home Design Week, and CBD Shanghai announced postponements one after another.

In addition, recent pandemic lockdowns may place further strain on already stretched supply chains, increasing the risk of partial trade disruptions. It is reported that ports such as Shanghai Port, Shenzhen Port, Lianyungang Port, Qingdao Port, and Jiaxing Port have successively upgraded epidemic prevention and control measures, with business adjustments made by warehouses, yards, container trucking companies, and shipping lines. As a major trading nation, countless manufacturing supply chains are linked to China, resulting in significant impact.

Shipping containers are also a "vector" for the global spread of viruses. After the pandemic, many containers at domestic ports tested positive, especially cold-chain containers. Local epidemic prevention and control departments are urging relevant enterprises and units to implement "simultaneous prevention for people and goods," strengthen preventive disinfection of imported cold-chain food and high-risk non-cold-chain containerized cargo, while UV disinfection equipment can help safeguard epidemic prevention and control efforts.

It is reported that, in support of Hong Kong's epidemic prevention and control efforts, Guangmingyuan, in collaboration with the Heshan Federation of Industry and Commerce (General Chamber of Commerce), recently donated one SafeGlo™ UV surface disinfection unit and 15 UV table lamps to the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The equipment adopts high-intensity UVC sterilization technology, achieving a 99.9% sterilization rate in just 5 seconds under high-intensity irradiation.

Shenzhen Zhongdian Lighting Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Electronics Corporation, also donated a batch of epidemic prevention and disinfection equipment worth RMB 305,500 to the Shenzhen Red Cross Society to support Shenzhen's fight against the epidemic. In addition, more than 1,000 units of in-stock vehicle-mounted disinfection equipment were allocated and donated to Hong Kong's public transportation system.

Despite numerous challenges, many lighting companies continue to spread positive energy in the fight against the epidemic with great love.

Bull Group urgently established an internal "Support Hong Kong" task force and decided to add new production lines to supply anti-epidemic materials to Hong Kong. Within two days, the company produced 8,000 British Standard adapters and shipped them to Hong Kong in two batches via a special green channel for anti-epidemic supplies. Meanwhile, it committed to donating 9,000 British Standard adapters to the Materials Department of China State Construction Engineering (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd., and simultaneously coordinated with the Ningbo Red Cross Society to donate British Standard adapters to Hong Kong's makeshift hospitals. It is reported that Bull Group donated a total of 23,000 products free of charge, providing strong support for the construction of Hong Kong's makeshift hospitals and its anti-epidemic efforts.

All employees of Wanhe Group worked overnight to urgently produce high-power floodlights to support the construction of isolation cabin hospitals in Jilin City, Jilin Province, illuminating the path forward in the local fight against the epidemic. They also donated 200,000 yuan to the Baishan Red Cross Society as anti-epidemic funds, supporting pandemic prevention and control in Baishan and across the country.

Recently, in view of the epidemic prevention pressure on elderly communities caused by scattered local COVID-19 cases in Shanghai, the Shanghai Pudong Smart Lighting Federation donated epidemic prevention supplies to Nanyuan Nursing Home in Nanmatou Road Subdistrict, safeguarding the well-being of the elderly with heartwarming actions.

Zhejiang Geek Bridge Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. kept all personnel supporting Hong Kong on 24-hour standby, using drones with excellent lighting effects to illuminate the construction sites of community isolation and treatment facilities built by mainland China in Hong Kong.

The fight against the epidemic is a protracted battle. Facing a new wave of outbreaks, "we must not lose our rhythm or our confidence." Lighting industry professionals should strengthen their confidence and actively respond to current challenges, while also seeking and seizing the opportunities brought by the crisis. As long as we endure these difficult days ahead, we will surely see the industry's spring!