Look through the cabinet in your kitchen and you are sure to find a torch, to be used whenever emergency arises. While this torch may not always come in handy, its quality and reliability should not be taken lightly. It could make a critical difference or even a life-and-death matter during emergency situations.

The one torch-maker not taking its products for granted is Favour Light Enterprises Limited. For 12 years, the Hong Kong-based lighting specialist has been making lighting products to cater for every need and every occasion imaginable: special torches for mountaineers reaching new heights, bicycle lights for passionate cyclists, keychains that come with flashlights for promotional purposes...you name it, and Favour Light has got it all.

“Currently we are capable of running a production capacity of 1,200,000 units per month,” said Camellia Shiu, Sales and Marketing Director of Favour Light. “And this production capacity is broadly made up of 70 percent of plastic products and 30 percent of aluminum products. Such a ratio is explained by the fact that aluminum products usually require a longer production time than the plastic ones which cost less to produce, making the latter a bit more marketable.”

With a decade of full-fledged operation, Favour Light has gained robust experience in producing lighting items, which in result has strengthened the company’s expertise and product range. Favour Light currently has a factory in Dongguan, China as well as an office in Hong Kong. Staffed by 33 professionals, the Hong Kong operation is responsible for product design, sales and marketing, purchasing, sourcing and accounting. The China factory serves as the production base at the size of 259,000 sqm with over 1,500 workers.

“We roll out about 30 new general-purpose models each year and they are always well-received in the market, with 45 percent of buyers coming from the U.S. and 28 percent from European countries. We are also looking to explore the new market in the Middle-East right now...Dubai has such abounding potentials...,” Camellia told MegAsia of her customer base.

Favour Light’s remarkable milestone came along in 2000 when the company launched its debut collection of LED-based lights, keychains and clip-on lights. The advanced development of LED has guaranteed all lighting products a much longer lifetime, making them more power-efficient than their incandescent counterparts. “Here at Favour Light we use only LED that is made in the U.S. and Japan and nowhere else, so that the top quality of all related products is always guaranteed. We are proud of this landmark collection as it has further strengthened our reputation as an adventurous and innovative lighting specialist,” Camellia proudly shared Favour Light’s market position.

In addition to broadening its product range, Favour Light is also keen on widening its business horizons, especially when it comes to reaching new markets and new customers. As Camellia Shiu explained, “Building strong brand awareness has always been one of the top priorities for Favour Light...we are an active trade show participant and have always been so for many years. Trade shows definitely help us expand our customer base and keep in touch with many of our existing customers. Then, we can maximise the market exposure for our products by advertising in a number of leading trade magazines, while we are distributing thousands of our own new product catalogs to customers every year.”

It all seems rather easy for Favour Light to keep its business up and running...or is it? Camellia admits the increasing competition coming from its peers in the industry. “It would be impossible to do without competition in today’s highly open and globalised market. After all, you will gain from all the lessons you have learned,” she continued. “Just like many other industries, we constantly find ourselves competing with those who make products so similar to ours to the point where customers would have a hard time differentiating them. The greatest competition is now from manufacturers coming from Taiwan and China.”

The fierce competition is leading to a major struggle between maintaining product quality and drawing up competitive pricing – the very thing customers care about most nowadays. To combat copycats in the market while making itself standing out as a leader in the lighting industry, Favour Light fights back with its very own strategy. The LED technology is a relatively specialised one. The company has gathered enough experience to work its way around it to produce products of the highest quality using their advanced and highly reliable production facilities, such as molding machines and electricity and so forth.

Favour Light is now capable of reaching both mainstream and niche markets with its diverse range of lighting products that cover almost every need. “I suppose this is one of the edges we have as an experienced manufacturer – our resources and expertise allow us to explore new products while fine-tuning the existing ones, so that customers can always rely on us. They can always find exactly what they are looking for because we carry such a wide range of products,” Camellia said proudly.

Looking ahead, Favour Light is upbeat about its future as it plans on launching a series of new products that will exceed every customer’s expectation. As Camellia revealed, “We are thrilled to be entering the bicycle lights market this year with the introduction of our brand new bike lights, which feature a 1-W Luxeon that will capture the attention of very devoted cyclists.”

As for the mass market, the “Auro Light Series” featuring Nichia 0.5W Rigel will also be introduced to the market in 2006. This line is suitable for both household and recreational purposes. Those who are adventurous at heart, on the other hand, will be happy to know that Favour Light, in the near future, will be bringing a collection of camping lanterns that will withstand harsh weather conditions, but is also safe to use.

“With our high quality and reasonable prices, coupled with our cutting-edge technologies and passion for ingenious design, I see that Favour Light is sailing into a bright future – one that is possibly lighter than all of our lighting products combined,” Camellia said.

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