[LED Engineering News text / reporter Evolution of Bank] October 28, photovoltaic GCL Xuzhou sapphire substrate project was officially put into operation, marking the GCL photo already has an annual production capacity of sapphire substrate 10 million. The total investment of the first phase of the project is 300 million US dollars, and the monthly production of sapphire substrates can reach 1.2 million. According to the company's previous planning, the base will become the industrial chain with the largest output, the strongest processing capacity and the most complete facilities in China. Uvc Bulb,T8 Uvc Bulb,T8 Uvc Tube,T8 Uvc Light Changxing leboom lighting product CO.Ltd. , https://www.leboomuv.com
In 2010, the explosive news of the upstream of the LED industry chain, which was dominated by GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Golly GCLâ€), which is mainly engaged in photovoltaics and electricity, triggered the shock wave of the industry. Compared with the sapphire substrate project, what is more shocking in the industry is the capacity planning of its 500 MOCVD projects.
According to the reporter, as of the first half of 2011, the Group's total revenue was 15.173 billion Hong Kong dollars, and net profit reached 3.55 billion Hong Kong dollars. In the photovoltaic industry, Poly GCL has undoubtedly taken the top spot in the domestic PV industry.
Compared with the current scale of domestic LED companies, GCL-ion parent company can say that it is not bad at all. But at the same time, GCL is a new recruit. The so-called newborn calf is not afraid of tigers. In the face of the sapphire substrate investment heat, overcapacity and price devaluation since last year, GCL is not very concerned. According to an executive director of GCL-Poly, the Group will focus on the upstream of the LED industry in the future, and is confident that the cost of this link will be controlled within the most competitive range, striving to become the leader of the global LED upstream materials market. By.
Entering the LED industry, GCL-Poly intends to replicate the successful model of the polysilicon industry “starting from zero and establishing a global leading position in four yearsâ€.
Aiming at large size substrates
For sapphire substrates, good times are always too short.
Since the beginning of this year, the news of the sapphire substrate (2 inches) price drop is endless. After all, the highest price of a 2-inch sapphire substrate has been sold for $38 or even $40 per piece, but today it is $15/piece, $12/piece, $10/piece. This market volatility has caused many sapphire substrate manufacturers to shout. "I can't afford to hurt."
The GCL Group, which entered the sapphire substrate field in the first place, may have considered the risk of future product price downturns, but it is estimated that the price has fallen so badly within a few months. Although Zhu Lishan, chairman of Poly GCL, said, "The price of sapphire substrate is now falling, but I don't think it is enough." However, as the pioneer of LED to enter the LED, the sapphire substrate project is self-owned. Investing, the project officially put into production but encountered the freezing point of the market, Zhu Bo, who had not tasted the sweetness and was poured cold water, probably only used these words to cheer for himself.
According to Xu Jun, chief engineer of GCL, the total cost of each 2-inch sapphire substrate is about 9-10 US dollars, including growth cost, raw material, water, electricity, equipment depreciation, processing cost, marketing expenditure, Management fees, etc. If the average price of the next 2-inch sapphire substrate falls below $10/piece, most sapphire substrate manufacturers will face losses unless individual companies can reduce the cost to less than $10.
Of course, GCL-Poly has the ability to withstand the wave of the photovoltaic industry in the giants, and may not be afraid of the current market storm of sapphire substrates. According to the reporter's understanding, GCL-Poly has been firmly in the position of polysilicon in the field of polysilicon, and its successful mode is to quickly monopolize the upstream of the industrial chain at low cost. Entering the upstream of the LED industry chain, Poly Vision's ambition to occupy the hegemonic position in the same way is evident.
According to the reporter, GCL has set up sapphire substrate production bases in Suining and Xuzhou, Jiangsu. The first phase of the project will have a total investment of 300 million US dollars. By the end of this year, there will be more than 300 crystal growth furnaces with growth methods such as soaking method and heat exchange method, as well as cutting, grinding and polishing processes imported from Switzerland, the United States and Japan. And hundreds of testing equipment, monthly production of sapphire substrates up to 1.2 million, will form an annual production capacity of 10 million at the end of 2012.
“The first phase of the project will be the largest in China, and the second phase will be the largest in the world.†Li Zhixiang, deputy general manager of Xuzhou GCL Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. told Gao Gong LED reporter.
According to the monitoring data of the High-tech LED Industry Research Institute (GLII), as of the third quarter of this year, the planned investment amount of the domestic sapphire substrate project has reached 34.765 billion yuan, which is 1.53 times of the planned investment amount of the sapphire substrate project last year. . At the same time, the planned production capacity has far exceeded the actual demand of the market. The next two years will be the real release period of production capacity. If the market demand still falls short of expectations, the sapphire substrate market will inevitably become a red sea.
In this regard, Zhu Gongshan bluntly said: "The experience of manufacturing industry for 20 years tells me that all manufacturing industries are overcapacity. However, the industry that has never closed is only the door-to-door enterprise!"
For the current price decline of 2-inch sapphire substrates, GCL has also prepared its own countermeasures – research and development and production of large-size sapphire substrates of 4 inches and above. "Now the profit margin of 2 inches can be maintained at 15%-20%, the profit margin of 4 inches can be 50%-60%, and the 6-inch can even achieve 200%", Xuzhou Xiexin Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. General Manager Zhu Guomin revealed the mystery to the Gaogong LED reporter.
According to the reporter's understanding, most of the domestic epitaxial plants are still based on 2-inch substrates, and there are only a handful of manufacturers capable of mass-producing 4-inch epitaxial wafers. GCL is targeting Sanan Optoelectronics and Dehao Runda. These two extension factories. According to Zhu Guomin, Sanan Optoelectronics and Dehao Runda will start producing 4-inch epitaxial wafers in April next year, when the amount of 4-inch sapphire substrate will reach about 100,000 pieces per month.
Zhu Guomin also pointed out that "the market demand is relatively slow now, and the product is relatively fast from input to output, which leads to the continuous decline of market prices. Some companies' profits are too high, and the price return to rationality is also appropriate. 20% The profit margin should be normal." 
