Big turnout for Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition

The Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition (GILE), the region's premier convergent lighting fair, has welcomed a record number of visitors

The 22nd edition of the GILE, held between June 9-12 at China Import and Export Fair Complexas part of Messe Frankfurt's Light and Building Technology fairs worldwide, welcomed 156,898 visitors from 134 countries and regions – a hefty 8 per cent rise on last year's figure. Hong Kong, India, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore were particularly well represented by visitors. More than 2,400 exhibitors filled 17 halls totalling 180,000 sq-m – further consolidating the fair's position within the lighting industry.

Visitors were treated to innovative, state-of-the-art products and more than 100 seminars featuring experts from the lighting community; on display were linear lights and hidden lighting, as well as advanced concepts such as programmable smart-control lighting, and anti-glare and frameless designs.

Entitled "THINKLIGHT: The Convergent Future", the fair was divided into three sections – production, technology and applications – with the aim of promoting global dialogue while exploring the future of the industry.

Also on display were assembly solutions such as conformal coatings, encapsulants, silicone adhesives, gap fillers and thermal interface materials, as well as Chip Scale Package (CSP) technology. Visitors were also able to view high CRI (Colour Rendering Index) LED packages as well as the application of a wide variety of packaged LEDs, including filament LEDs, IR LEDs, LED backlights and displays.

In line with the growth of the IoT (Internet of Things), the exhibition also included a rise in the number of smart home-lighting systems, speciality lighting and embedded lighting; exhibitors such as Foxconn Technology Group / Champ Tech Optical (Foshan Corporation) showcased their latest smart products. City and museum lighting was another topic at the event.

Tjaco Middel, Head of R&D, Tridonic (Shenzhen) Co Ltd was a guest speaker at the fair. "I think the future belongs to IoT and connectivity," he said. "To make your devices connected is the key to success."

The fair's sister event, the biennial Light + Building, will take place in Frankfurt from March 18 to 23, 2018.