Commenting on this year’s fair, Ms Lucia Wong, Deputy General Manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd said: “As the industry steps into the new era of lighting, new technologies and business models will need to be discovered to meet the changing demands of consumers. That’s why GILE is such a key industry platform, helping the lighting market to develop more rapidly. I would therefore like to thank the industry for their incredible support in continuing to stand behind the show. The high number of exchanges that took place across the show floor this year proves that face-to-face interaction is in high demand.”
She continued: “The industry is constantly evolving, with smart technologies, as well as more human-centric and low carbon approaches driving the development of new lighting products. While lighting design is moving towards “smart and healthy lighting”, the current trend is to use innovative ways of thinking to create more energy efficient lighting products. This year, GILE created more opportunities for business exchange. In addition, the fair’s fringe events explored the challenges faced by the industry, and the opportunities brought by technological change, which garnered much positive feedback from participants.”
New era, new opportunity
Under the theme “New era, new opportunity”, the show aimed to encourage industry players to find new applications for lighting technology. This year’s fair was organised under nine key themes, discussing how new technologies can change people's lives, and how industry players can use this to create new business opportunities. Key topics included:
• Smart-health crossover demonstration pavilion 2.0
• Lighting control technologies – LED drivers and power supplies
• Light art – The 2nd light art exhibition
• Culture & night tourism – Cultural & night tourism pavilion
• Dual Carbon – Carbon neutrality forum
• Light and quality of life – Light and quality of life pavilion
• Horticultural lighting – Horticultural lighting demonstration zone
• Smart city and urban planning
• Residential and commercial lighting
Connecting the smart lighting and building ecosystems
GILE and GEBT gathered 1,288 leading companies from 13 countries and regions, to showcase their products and technologies. The opportunities for cooperation provided by GILE for exhibitors received unanimous praise from exhibitors and visitors alike.
Exhibitors’ comments
“While I have personally visited the fair many times in the past, for Warom Lighting this is our first time attending GILE and the first time exhibiting at a trade fair. By participating, we hope to expand the influence of our brand within the lighting industry alongside our regional partners. Overall, I am satisfied with the flow of people this year and will continue to participate at the fair next year.”
Mr Leo Kong, Vice President, Warom Lighting Co Ltd
“GILE is a professional and highly influential trade fair for the lighting industry and it allows us to showcase our latest products. By coming to the show, we are able to meet our target customers and promote our brand. Despite the dynamic movement of the pandemic, I didn’t witness a big disruption in participation.”
Ms He Qiling, Head of Branding, Marketing and Product Development Department, Foshan Electrical And Lighting Co Ltd
“Our goal at GILE is to connect with domestic lighting developers and manufacturers. Overall, we are very pleased with the number of visitors this year. With the increasing demand for smart lighting, our development focus is on connectivity. Our block terminals and connections are all Zhaga compliant and we believe the standard will be gradually introduced into China in the future. GILE has always been one of the most influential business platforms for the lighting industry within the region and with that said, we will return next year.”
Mr Keith Hsieh, President, BJB (Hong Kong) Ltd
“Our team decided to take part in the fair to improve brand awareness, network with peers and exchange market insights. We are happy to report that we have connected with a number of buyers who showed strong interest in our products. With further digitalisation and growing market demand, the smart lighting industry is set to boom, with the increasing use of smart street lighting being a good example of this trend in action. ”
Mr Zhou Xunsheng, General Manager, Zhejiang Dayun IoT Technology Co Ltd
“GILE has always been a must-attend annual event for lighting industry players as it brings all industry segments under one roof. Reducing emissions has become the national concern of many countries, particularly for China. This is also one of our main focuses as we have multiple product lines focusing on energy saving solutions. I am pleased to report that our booth received much interest from visitors.”
Mr Walbin Li, Chief Product Officer, SH Smart Lighting Design Department, Delta Electronics (Shanghai) Co Ltd
Visitors’ comments
“I have been visiting GILE for many years and during this time I have witnessed the continuous innovation and development of the fair. This year, even on the first morning I have already connected with a number of exhibitors and I will further follow up with them afterwards. Every year at GILE, I learn more about marketing trends and the latest industry advancements, which helps me to generate more ideas and determine the strategy for our business. That’s why I keep coming back, and I look forward to the show getting better and better.”
Mr Yang Hewei, Quality Assurance Manager, Foshan Nanhai Grand Lighting Co Ltd
“This is my second visit to GILE. As I see it, the fair is an annual meeting point for the lighting industry. By participating, we get to witness how much progress companies have made, which affirms the future of the industry. So far, I have already met a number of good quality suppliers and I will closely follow up with each and every one of them afterwards.”
Ms Tang Tengteng, Sourcing Officer, Onike Optoelectronic S&T Co Ltd
The “2022 Light art exhibition” also took place at GILE, running with the theme of “Meeting with Light”. It invited numerous renowned lighting brands, designers and artists from across the country to form a cross-industry team to co-create and display a series of visually striking light art works.
Fringe programme highlights
As one of the key features of GILE, this year’s fringe programme once again offered a variety of forums, seminars and other events, covering the most ground-breaking areas of lighting technology, marketing strategy, design and application.
Kick-starting the day, the opening ceremony invited industry players from all over the world to explore the future of lighting.
Mr Lin Liangqi, CEO of NVC Lighting said that internet-related solutions are set to play an increasingly important role in lighting. The Internet initially benefited consumer industries in the past, but this market has become relatively saturated. Today, there is a gradual shift to applying internet technologies to manufacturing to increase firms’ industrial output.
Mr Tang Guoqing, Managing Director of MLS Co Ltd suggested that lighting brands need to adapt quickly to create new products to keep up with changes in demand.
Mr Qi Xiaoming, Director and General Manager of Yankon Lighting said that all firms need to think about how to apply lighting technologies to different scenarios, and to adapt their products to reach more customers.
The fair was also honoured to invite Mr Cai Hongbo, an industry expert and the Founder of Dazhaoming portal to lead an industry-wide conversation with some of the participating brands during the opening ceremony. The participants included:
Mr Steven Sun, Chairman and Chief Designer of Guangdong Comely Lighting and Electrical Appliances Co Ltd who shared his thoughts about the trends surrounding smart home. He believes that smart home technology will continue to grow in popularity over the next five to twenty years, where lighting products such as spotlighting and light strips will play an important role across the entire home. This will directly impact the experience of everyday life for users across various living spaces. In addition, investment into lighting products will continue to be a major part of the implementation of smart home. Interior designers should plan the application of smart lighting technology from the initial planning of the project.
Mr Liang Chao, representative of Guangdong PAK Corp Co Ltd believes that adapting lighting technology to fit with the human mood is the future of lighting, and expects IoT technology to play a key part in this.
Ms Stephanie Ho, Brand Director of OML Lighting shared her views on the design, functions and applications of lighting. She said that lighting should not be thought of as a tool that simply illuminates a space, but should instead be used to solve users’ problems.
Mr Liu Kun, CEO of Leaguer MicroElectronics Corp said that one of the biggest challenges of smart home technology is network coverage. As a rapidly developing communication method, he expects PLC technology to be part of the solution.
Mr Fang Ning, Vice President of Sales, Asia Pacific, Luminus Devices, Inc discussed the different applications of light, including its ability to attack airborne bacteria using high-power UV light, as seen during the pandemic.
Mr Richard Long, General Manager of Shenzhen Tong Yifang Optoelectronic Technology Co Ltd shared his views about the future of the lighting industry. Smart lighting is becoming more environmentally-friendly, energy-efficient and human-centric. For example, lighting products can now change colour temperature automatically in response to different situations. This will be of increasing benefit to users’ well-being both physically and emotionally. On the other hand, horticultural lighting solutions will allow agriculture to work in an industrialised environment. This will help us to reduce the human impact on wildlife and natural habitats.
The Vice President of Hangzhou Qunhe Technology Co Ltd, Mr Jerry Chan said there is a strong demand for mainless lighting at the moment. Mainless lighting plays an important role to better design spaces to use light in a more human-centric manner. This not only improves users’ experience of lighting, but also demonstrates professionalism in the lighting industry.
Dr William Su, Chairman of the CSA Member Group China explained the new IP protocol for smart devices known as “Matter”, which was jointly developed by Amazon, Apple, Google and Zigbee. The protocol unites the communication standard between mutiple smart devices, bringing a higher level of usabililty and compatability. This also makes product development easier for device manufacturerers.
Audiences’ comments
“I visit GILE annually. This year I have attended various conferences and forums, and the market trends highlighted by the speakers were extremely helpful. Furthermore, interactive discussion led by industry experts helps to stimulate our minds by providing different perspectives. Overall I am very pleased with the fair and the concurrent programme and I will definitely return again next year.”
Mr Li Chenglong, Vice President, Zhejiang Chang Xin Optotech Co Ltd
“I am here at GILE to find suppliers, and also to attend the show’s concurrent seminars. After my visit, I can already conclude that I have achieved most of my goals. I found the seminars to be of very high quality, and I was especially impressed by professors Wang Yufu and He Dongxian, whose points they raised in the China horticultural lighting discussion forum were very practical and thought-provoking.”
Mr Dan Xie, General Manager, King-Meter Technology Co Ltd
The next editions of Guangzhou International Lighting Exhibition and Guangzhou Electrical Building Technology will be held from 9 – 12 June 2023. Both shows are part of Messe Frankfurt’s Light + Building Technology fairs headed by the biennial Light + Building event. The next edition will be held from 2 – 6 October 2022 in Frankfurt, Germany.
Messe Frankfurt organises several trade fairs for the light and building technology sectors in Asia, including Shanghai Intelligent Building Technology, Shanghai Smart Home Technology, Parking China, Thailand Building Fair, and Thailand Lighting Fair. The company’s lighting and building technology trade fairs also cover the markets in Argentina, India, Thailand and the UAE.
For more information on Light + Building shows worldwide, please visit http://www.brand.light-building.com. For more information regarding the lighting shows in China, please visit http://www.light.messefrankfurt.com.cn or email light@china.messefrankfurt.com.
Background information on Messe Frankfurt
The Messe Frankfurt Group is one of the world’s leading trade fair, congress and event organisers with their own exhibition grounds. With a workforce of some 2,200 people at its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main and in 28 subsidiaries, it organises events around the world. As in the previous year, annual sales for 2021 were significantly lower owing to the COVID-19 pandemic: approximately €154 million compared with Group sales as high as €736 million in pre-pandemic 2019. We serve our customers’ business interests efficiently within the framework of our Fairs & Events, Locations and Services business fields. Sustainable business practices are a central pillar of our corporate strategy and strike a healthy balance between ecological and economic interests, social responsibility and diversity. Another of Messe Frankfurt’s strengths is its powerful and closely knit global sales network, which covers around 180 countries in all regions of the world. Our comprehensive range of services – both onsite and online – ensures that customers worldwide enjoy consistently high quality and flexibility when planning, organising and running their events. We are using our digital expertise to develop new business models. The wide range of services includes renting exhibition grounds, trade fair construction and marketing, personnel and food services. With its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main, the company is owned by the City of Frankfurt (60 percent) and the State of Hesse (40 percent).
For more information, please visit our website at: www.messefrankfurt.com
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