HUIZHOU, China - (Business Wire) Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), a market leader in LED lighting, announces an agreement to purchase a 592,000 square foot facility in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China. The facility will be Cree’s first chip production facility outside of North America and is targeted to also house future components manufacturing expansion. “This investment enables us to expand our presence in China and demonstrates our commitment to serving the growing demands of both our local and global LED customers,” said Chuck Swoboda, Cree chairman and CEO. “We are building on a solid foundation in Huizhou with a strong local management team and a history of manufacturing excellence. We look forward to continued success in China as we drive the LED lighting revolution.”
More than half of Cree’s employees work in China, mostly at the current Huizhou factory. Cree recognizes the support of Party Secretary YeBin Huang and Mayor RuQiu Li during the site selection process.
“We are very excited to have Cree’s investment in our city. Solid state lighting is a key strategic green industry for China. From the government’s perspective, we will do our best to support Cree through government projects as well as government policies. We believe this investment will be a win-win project for Cree and China’s SSL industry,” said Mr. YeBin Huang, Huizhou’s Party Secretary.
Cree also announced that Huizhou is joining the Cree LED City® program, an international initiative aimed at promoting the deployment of energy-efficient LED lighting. Huizhou has completed several LED streetlight trials and is in the process of deploying LED streetlights in the ZhongKai Hightech Industrial Zone.
“We are very proud to be the first city in southern China to join the Cree LED City program. Energy saving and emission reduction are our city’s priorities for sustainable development; we will continue to drive the adoption of the SSL products through government initiatives,” said Huizhou Mayor RuQiu Li.
About Cree
Cree is leading the LED lighting revolution and setting the stage to obsolete the incandescent light bulb through the use of energy-efficient, environmentally friendly LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting, and semiconductor solutions for wireless and power applications.
Cree’s product families include LED fixtures and bulbs, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and radio-frequency/wireless devices. Cree solutions are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, backlighting, electronic signs and signals, variable-speed motors, and wireless communications.
For additional product and company information, please refer to www.cree.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors, including customer acceptance of LED products; the rapid development of new technology and competing products that may impair demand or render Cree’s products obsolete; and other factors discussed in Cree’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 28, 2009, and subsequent filings.
Cree and LED City are registered trademarks of Cree, Inc.
Cree, Inc.
Michelle Murray, 919-313-5505
Corporate Communications
michelle_murray@cree.com
