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By Richard Farmer, Product Development Manager ATG Airports

Now that I am back in the UK following the Photonics KTN mission to China, I have had a chance to reflect on my various visits to LED companies in the Shenzhen region.

Everywhere the mission visited we were treated with enthusiasm and openness and we felt that we were witnessing a fast moving and vibrant manufacturing community.

However, what was also clear was that the initial impressions perhaps gained from the exhibition, literature and the one-to-one interviews did not always match the experience from the site visits.

At the exhibition, some of the LED companies gave a good impression from their literature, products on display and also in the one-to-one interviews and when the relationships were explored further with a site visit, in the majority of instances, we were often pleased to find well organised and progressive companies. However on the odd occasion, some of the organisations we visited did not always match our expectations completely. Some companies where in a state of re-organisation and for these, a future visit would have been important to gain a true in-sight into their capabilities.

In gathering information about organisations, it was clear that at least one site visit would be essential to determine the suitability of a potential future relationship. Therefore to make a success of 'doing business' in these territories you will always need commitment, a vigilance and a dedication of resource.

My experience of the exhibition combined with site visits presented opposing views, a committed commercial relationship may present even further challenges.

I think that all those on the mission would agree that we expected something, but not what we saw. I look forward to returning to the area in the near future and seeing the result of their growth.

My experience of Shenzhen will always stay with me and would like to thank Alistair Wilson, Glenn Barrowman, Photonics KTN, Vince Chinye UK Trade & Investment and all those supporting our Chinese adventure.

Contact: Tel: +44 (0) 1788 566 203

Email: Richard.farmer@atgairports.com

By Richard Farmer, Product Development Manager ATG Airports

Richard Farmer of ATG Airports in a one to one meeting with John D'albragio of McGeoch Technology and LED manufacturers

During the CIOE exhibition, I had several one-to-discussions, which progressed to site visits.

The first of these visits was to a young company situated on the outskirts of Shenzhen, which occupied a complete building with four separate floors in a dedicated, industrial complex. The company had the advantage that in addition to producing discrete LEDs, it was also integrating them into finished products, mainly for traffic signal and lighting applications.

The visit started with a demonstration of the two types of luminaires used for internal illumination of a 10 x 15 m room. The General Manager demonstrated that these products could produce either cool or warm white.

In the next room, the group was shown a comprehensive array of traffic-type products from conventional traffic control signals to a pedestrian indicator, which consisted of a mass of LEDs that were programmed to give the effect of an 'running man'.

The General Manager explained that all of the products had been designed and developed in-house and were produced on the other floors of the building. The activities included individual manufacture of electronic modules and discrete LEDs that were then soldered by hand on the lower floors and subjected to life testing after final assembly. Finally, the LED packaging unit complete with clean room equipment was demonstrated.

All the LEDs and secondary optics had been designed and manufactured in-house. The manufacturing operation could produce up to 7000 units a day with a workforce capacity of 100 workers. The company seemed organized, though with little automation clearly relied on its workforce for most activities.

Richard Farmer of ATG Airports in the reception of Bang Bell

My next visit was to the "Research and Development" sector of Shenzhen. I was very excited about meeting this company and was looking forward to viewing a potential market leader of the future.

The recently constructed facility had an impressive foyer and polished product demonstration gallery. The area was surrounded by high-rise buildings, luxury cars and smart cafes - it could have Boston or Silicon Valley!

This company had a heritage that dated back 50 years and had an array of lighting, industrial and electronic entertainment goods. Their Managing Director was also a "party" member, whom they felt gave them considerable advantage in their home market.

Our discussions focused on their sales targets, soft loans, key blue-chip customers in the West, increased capitalization and their favourable company structure. However, the company's manufacturing unit had been damaged by the recent earthquake and it was in the process of relocating the unit to the new premises in Shenzhen.

Product development however had a more pioneering spirit with two rooms dedicated to the construction of prototypes and another to works-type R&D for the development of chips.

The rest of the floor which the LED department occupied was in limbo. Desks were being constructed and the Marketing Director explained that they were waiting for funds to be released to complete the work.

The company was in a state of flux and subjecting itself to ambitious targets for the future. We left hoping that it would overcome its current difficulties and meet its ambitious objectives for the future.

I had lost several hours in my schedule but after some phone calls and the now familiar battle with the rush hour traffic, I arrived at a medium-sized multi-floor manufacturing unit in a more robust area of Shenzhen just outside the Economic Zone check points.

Although most of the staff had left for the evening some had stayed behind for our tour. I was treated to a comprehensive demonstration of an organized and clean unit that had fully embraced modern quality control issues and contemporary manufacturing disciplines.

I was shown every process from the careful handling of raw materials to the final photometric inspection and sorting of the final products. All processes were completed in a clean environment with machines purchased from Japan and Taiwan.

Although the product scope of supply was perhaps narrower than the other companies we had seen, they had decided to concentrate and excel in one particular area rather than dilute their efforts across many different activities. In conclusion, I was impressed with the scope and expertise that I had seen.

Contact: Tel: +44 (0) 1788 566 203

Email: Richard.farmer@atgairports.com

By Glenn Barrowman, Aston Science Park

Glenn Barrowman and Richard Farmer of ATG Airports at Bang Bell

On the morning of our final day in Shenzhen the mission group headed off to see the LED manufacturing facility of Shenzhen Bang Bell Electronics Co Ltd. Here we were given a tour of the showcase demonstration area mocked up as a street to display the highway luminaries and peripheral signage.

We were then invited to full inspect the final products, and see the production and electronic packaging areas.

Finally, we went to the office of Mr Li Jian, Vice General Manager to explore whether there were areas for collaboration between McGeoch Technology, ATG Airports, the Photonics KTN, euroLED Conference and Exhibition and the Carbon Trust.

John D'albragio of McGeoch Technology making a close inspection

The Carbon Trust was delighted to be able to piggy-back on this visit as it is in China to source major LED manufacturers for specifying to UK industry and to secure the adoption of LED and other green technology solutions. It will be interesting to see whether Bang Bell will form part of its recommendations.

The production process at Bang Bell is labour intensive with over 1000 employees operating from this facility on full production. It was interesting to see an almost segregation of employees by sex with the intricate circuit board forming being done almost exclusively by the female staff.

The factory temperature became hotter with each floor. The reception was fully air-conditioned and, whilst the principal production areas were not oppressive, they serviced by fan only.

The products produced were certainly of interest and detailed confidential discussions on supplying lighting units continued with two of the mission companies. Shenzhen Bang Bell Electronics Co Ltd will explore attending and exhibiting in Europe at euroLED 2009 on June 2-4 in addition to Light and Build in Frankfurt, Germany.

The female workforce at Bang Bell

So off to Beijing for one last night and then a leisurely departure for the airport. Its been interesting to see that the costs of everything have been increasing as we progress from Chongqing to Shenzhen and then finally to Beijing, each a magnitude higher. But tonight we probably had our finest meal out - no external clients - and as we had eaten wonderfully, we were able to chose only our favourites and this came to just over £10 a head.

Several of the group will be back in Beijing for the aerospace B2B event 26-28 November. Until then, my mind is starting to think about the UK and I suppose Photonex 08 will be upon us all to soon.

This year I know that Photonics Cluster is hosting a community breakfast on the first morning before the exhibition and is delivering a Technology and Investment seminar programme. Have a look at www.photonex.org for precise info.

Until next time.

By Glenn Barrowman, Aston Science Park

Today Alistair Wilson, the Director of the UK Photonics KTN, attended the CEO Summit and we are delighted to bring you a few insights from the seminar. Fortunately this activity was in simultaneous translation.

Alistair thought that the importance of Asia-Pacific in the global optoelectronics market was emphasised at the CEO summit by a presentation from US company Finisar, one of the leading data networking equipment companies in the world with its headquarters in Northern California.

Mission party with translators on the way to one-to-one meetings at CIOE

Finisar, with greater than $600M per annum in revenue and 4500 employees worldwide, has 85% of its suppliers in the Asia-Pacific region and has located its International Purchasing Office (IPO) in Shenzhen, China. This location has enabled Finisar's purchasing personnel to be within 4 hours travelling time of 85% of its supply base.

Finisar believes that locating its IPO in China allows it to create a "real-time supply base" and enables the development of strategic long-term relationships with its suppliers, which in turns brings many benefits to for products.

Gas Sensing Solutions signing distribution agreement

UK companies on the Photonics KTN/UKTI mission are seeing first hand the benefits of having supply relationships in China and, within the short timescale of the mission, have identified a number of partnerships that should generate mutually beneficial relationships.

The Chinese government and its regional governments are very keen to do business with UK companies, as we have discovered this week. With the support and assistance of UK Trade & Investment and the influential China British Business Council, UK companies have a wealth of experience and know-how to draw upon in establishing these relationships.

Meanwhile, the UK mission was having one-to-one meetings with companies selected from their specific requirements. The good news is that the UK companies thought Kevin Leung did super background research in organising this and the young translators completed their task with enthusiasm and skill.

Tonight was fun, with an excellent dinner followed by a 10pm site visit to view highway luminaries in situ! Tomorrow are visiting an LED manufacturer, then checking-out of our hotel flying back to London via Beijing.

All that remains to say is thanks to all who have assisted us. There are way too many to mention, but I do know that the mission has been a resounding success.

By Glenn Barrowman, Aston Science Park

The CIOE exhibition has over 2000 exhibitors

We meet over breakfast in the hotel and handed out the exhibition passes secured in advance by UKTI. The China International Optoelectronics Expo exhibition and Conference (CIOE) did not disappoint with the companies all delighted to have taken the decision to visit. The show is massive in terms of exhibitors and visitors with over 2000 exhibitors and 85000 visitors.

I have just finished a really useful meeting with Mr Yang Xiancheng, Managing Director, and Nancy He, International Project Manager of the show organiser China International Optoelectronics Expo, and I will be exploring how to best support the internationalisation and non-Chinese representation in the coming months.

An invitation has been extended to Mr Yang and Nancy He to use euroLED 2009 as a springboard for securing non-Chinese participation in the China International Optoelectronics Expo event.

Zeeko at CIOE

From an exhibitor perspective, I spoke with Richard Freeman of Zeeko and his colleague Avni Sondagar. Both were delighted that they had taken the decision to exhibit in their own right following several years selling their products via distribution agreements.

Avni commented that the show was proving useful in securing clients within established markets and interestingly for generating completely new markets such as jewellery for their ultra precision polishing machines. Certainly when I visited their stand the booth was full of potential customers.

Tonight we will meet as a group and tomorrow with our own individual interpreters we are back at the exhibition with the group having dedicated one to one meetings with carefully selected Chinese companies based on matching their respective requirements.

By Glenn Barrowman, Aston Science Park

The mission will visit the massive CIOE exhibition being held in Shenzhen

Well, the group survived a long last day in Chongqing visiting one research establishment and two companies before heading to the airport and catching a delayed internal flight to Shenzhen.

There was a little scare for both myself and Des Gibson when we arrived at the check-in to find that Des wasn't booked on this flight. Fortunately there were seats available and at price of only £65 so all worked out fine.

We arrived at just before midnight in the Marco Polo Hotel. The room rate here was almost double the Hilton in Chongqing but still only £75 per night. You do get complementary internet and we all got upgraded rooms at no extra cost.

We are joined in Shenzhen by McGeoch Technology, LED UK, ATG Airports, Zeeko and BJR Systems.

By Glenn Barrowman, Aston Science Park

Chongqing skyline by night

The mission is being welcomed in Chongqing by all manner of regional officials and companies. All the free-time built into the programme by me to relax, chat to the client companies, and even file copy for this blog has been absolutely exhausted with invitations.

This welcoming nature of the Chongqing district is something to behold and I am becoming their number one fan. I am already a willing ambassador for the benefits of doing business in this region on my return.

We have just been treated to the sights sounds and aroma of Chongqing at night from the highest surrounding point. The smell of jasmine coupled with native Chinese flowers provides an intoxicating combination surpassed only by stunning views of Chongqing at night. Our hosts for this experience were from the Nan'an District and thanks to Liao Yanying for her delightful company and for her persistence in ensuring that I tasted every local delicacy.

Chongqing Changjiang Industrial Zone is planning on a grand scale

Before sunset, we traveled to the Chongqing Changjiang Industrial Zone. This is master planning on a grand scale, covering 21 square kilometres, effectively creating a new business district location with retail, offices, residential, business space and recreational facilities. The concept is all about sustainable living combined with business opportunities.

The highly desirable residential accommodation can be purchased off plan for circa £25000 for an 80 square metre 2 bedroom apartment. Interesting for European investors, even this is expensive in Chongqing terms with it equating to a premium of about 40% on local Chongqing residential costs for areas not part of such a major master planning and infrastructure project.

We are leaving Chongqing pretty sure that we will come back. So now its time pack up and leave the Chonqing Hilton and head for Shenzhen. I'll continue to bring you up to speed with the PKTN and UKTI mission over the coming days.

By Glenn Barrowman, Aston Science Park

Around 100 representatives from the Chongqing optoelectronics and lighting community attended

This seminar was opened by Mr Nick Whittingham Consul General who thanked the UK delegation for returning to China following the successful China mission to the UK in June earlier this year, and particularly its 2 day visit to euroLED held in Coventry.

Today's seminar was held in the superb venue of the Ballroom of the Hilton Chongqing. There was a full house with almost 100 representatives from the Chongqing optoelectronics and lighting community attending. With simultaneous translation, the UK party was welcomed and Professor Chen Weimin from the Chongqing LED Alliance described the Chongqing areas of expertise in Photonics. Alistair Wilson Director of the Photonics KTN then outlined UK capabilities.

Glenn Barrowman invited attendees to visit euroLED 2009

I gave a presentation on the euroLED conference and exhibition, providing the audience with an invitation to explore their active participation in euroLED 2009.

EuroLED 2009 is held over three days 2-4 June 2009.

The feedback from attendees to last year's event, such as Chongqing Tianhai Medical Equipment Co Ltd and Longstar, was excellent and they confirmed that they will definitely be taking exhibition stands again next year.

The UK companies then made excellent presentations outlining their specific technology offerings. Specifically Isocom, Applied Multilayers, Gas Sensing Solutions and Fiber Logix. Following these presentations all were inundated with requests for one-to-one meetings in addition to the 20 pre-arranged by the China British Business Council and UK Trade & Investment. There were even invitations to visit the manufacturing capabilities of their potential Chinese partners.

With the tremendous support of UK Trade & Investment, Esther Zhao has revised the schedule to allows these additional invitations to be seamlessly incorporated into the programme, only at the expense of lunch.

After today successes, tonight we are off to see Chongqing by night.

By Glenn Barrowman, Aston Science Park

Opportunities for UK business

The publicity surrounding the mission is growing in intensity here in Chongqing with a film crew following the group as they visited a local photonics company this morning. Chongqing Huichang Opto Electro Co Ltd is involved in vision systems and optics especially for binoculars. This was a step back in time for Photonics KTN Director Alistair Wilson given his days in Barr & Stroud.

The group was back at the Chongqing Hilton by just after 13.00. This allowed Deputy British Consulate General Steven Smith to brief the party on Chongqing District. Amazingly, it is the fastest growing city in the world with over 13 million people in the conurbation and 31 million in the wider areas.

The key point I felt was the position of "number one preferred business partner" applied to the UK. This is a growing city with massive construction environmental and ICT needs and so to be the preferred partner is an opportunity the UK can grasp.

The UK Trade & Investment team was also able to brief the mission on logistics and expectations for the following day. "Showtime" as Esther exclaimed! Here the companies get the opportunity to present their operation in simultaneous Chinese/English to an invited audience of up to 70 optoelectronics great and the good. This is followed up by one-to-one meetings which have been arranged in advance by the local inward investment agency COFTEC.

Dinner with Steven Smith, Deputy British Consulate General, and Dr Johnson Lee, Director of COFTEC

We are just back from a superb dinner hosted by COFTEC Director Dr Johnson Lee and Deputy British Consulate General Steven Smith in which we were wonderfully received and, although we have only just arrived, were invited to attend again.

Fortunately it does not take 8000 km to meet the UK Trade & Investment ICT overseas advisors as they make regular visits to the UK for ICT clinics. The next one is only a few weeks away as on 17th September at Faraday Wharf Aston Science Park, Birmingham. Optics.org readers can still register for this UKTI opportunity on www.astonsciencepark.co.uk under events.

The mission managed to find time after their return to the hotel to pop out to the bar area of Chongqing. Here it became apparent that even the most basic English was not common. Fortunately, pointing to other drinkers and smiling whilst catching the Sampdoria versus Inter football match worked effectively.

Early start tomorrow so hopefully my body clock will forget it is 6pm!

By Glenn Barrowman, Aston Science Park

It took the group 22 hours and two flights to reach Chongqing

Well, it has just turned 3rd September here in China. The group from the UKTI & Photonics KTN mission arrived safely in Chongqing after an average individual travel time of 22 hours from a variety of departing regions throughout the UK (Scotland, NE, Midlands and London). Our journey has involved two Air China flights and the various trains, planes and automobiles that took the individuals to Heathrow before heading east as a group.

At the moment, we are 5 in number with mission initiators UK Trade & Investment and Photonics Knowledge Transfer represented alongside Isocom and Fiber Logix. Tomorrow we are joined by Applied Multilayers and Gas Sensing Solutions.

After checking in to our hotel, the number one priority was to find out if the internet worked - and it does in the superb Hilton Chongqing at about £7 per 24 hour access. Reasonable enough, except that the mission rate for this 4-star hotel room is an exceptional £40 per night.

After that much needed shower and freshen up, we met up for beer in the lounge before heading for dinner in the hotel. This is where I think I fell into the Chinese "yes" really should mean "no" trap. When I asked if they were open, I got a cordial "yes" but after almost an hour the first dish appeared and the others followed in 10 minute intervals until we were all served. The first two diners had finished before the final one had even started.

Made it to Chongqing

As always on outward missions the informal chat between the group throws up great opportunities. I mentioned in passing to Shafiq of Fiber Logix that he had the opportunity of coming back to China for an aerospace and space supplier B2B event known as Sidereus and facilitated by Hertfordshire Business Incubation Centre. This event is over 3 days with over 300 companies attending 26-28 November in Beijing.

"That's a yes - count me in," said Shafiq. How many phone calls or emails would normally be required to secure a definite yes?

One local tip suggested by the companies was to secure local SIM cards to make local appointments. This seems sensible and easy to do.

Keeping up to date with news back at the base, I also got an invitation to meet up with Arden Photonics this week. David Robinson the MD wanted to introduce me to his new sales executive. This recruitment comes shortly after Arden took up larger facilities at its Aston Science Park base.