Post-pandemic, AET LED Display Limited, based in China, is expanding to India, planning to tailor its products for the market. CEO Su Piow Ko discusses their strategy with EFY’s Yashasvini Razdan.
Q. Could you give me a brief background on AET Displays?
A. Before the pandemic in 2019, we were looking to start our operations in India. At that time, we were trying to understand the market by visiting several times to assess the potential for our business. We met with distributors and partners and secured some projects. However, due to the pandemic, we had to pause our plans. We relaunched after the pandemic and shifted from Bengaluru to Chennai to start our business operations, considering the favourable government policies.
Now, we are looking to expand our business in India and have around 60 people working across three different offices in the North, West, and South regions, including warehouses and manufacturing units. Over the next three to five years, we plan to intensify our growth efforts in the Indian market by aligning with government policies and investing heavily in employee training and development. We intend to expand into sectors like command-and-control centres, education, commercial spaces, and home theatre systems. We are also exploring opportunities for local design and manufacturing in India.
Q. What do you mean by ‘exploring opportunities for local design’?
A. We must ensure that our design process occurs in India. This means we need to partner with individuals or companies in mechanical, electronics, or systems based in India. They should first understand the basic infrastructure of their products and eventually take on the design work. This in-house design capability is crucial.
By doing so, we can leverage the existing ecosystem in India—whether it is software, hardware, or other resources—and integrate these elements into our products.
Q. Is your design team in India, in-house or outsourced?
A. While we prefer to keep most design work in-house, there are some parts we may choose to outsource to other partners, particularly in areas such as software, where India has substantial expertise. We have our own product design and development team that designs products based on industry challenges and requirements. This allows us to have a team that understands the Indian market and plans products accordingly. We also have a team dedicated to designing products based on specific requirements.
Q. Why did you decide to keep the design team in-house?
A. We need to design products for the local market in India. The first step is to have someone in India who understands the basic infrastructure of the product, whether in mechanical, electronics, or systems. They can then design the product to fit the Indian market and utilise the existing ecosystem. This involves combining software and hardware to tailor the product for our market.
Q. How do you technologically differentiate yourself from other foreign competitors in India?
A. We allocate roughly 6-7% of our overall revenue to R&D efforts that span several areas, including materials, systems, and software. We recently launched a 0.6mm MIP (micro-LED integrated pixel) technology on our 55-inch panel. We have developed a unique architecture that standardises the display, making installation and design more manageable for customers. This technology is rare in today’s market. We have a 0.6mm fine pixel pitch, meaning just 0.6mm between each LED. Achieving this level of precision requires sophisticated, high-speed mass transfer equipment. We utilise MIP technology, which involves small packaging measuring just 0.4mm by 0.4mm on the PCB board. This sets us apart from competitors. Another innovation is our QCOB technology, distinct due to our DCP technology. This allows for calibration at 100% brightness or as low as 48 nits, which is particularly useful for cinema screens. While cinemas traditionally use projectors, we offer an LED cinema screen that can also be used for home theatres, which is DCI-P3 certified.
Q. Interactive screens are up and coming; do you have any offerings in that regard?
A. Ours is an ‘all-in-one’ technology that combines audio, video, and software into a single screen, primarily designed for educational purposes or conference rooms, where users can interact by touching the screen and writing on it.
We are now advancing this technology further by developing a 21:9 aspect ratio, particularly suited for team applications. With the increasing use of conference systems like Microsoft Teams, the 21:9 ratio is becoming a standard. Additionally, we are enhancing interactivity to ensure compatibility with platforms such as Microsoft, Android, and others.
Q. How are you navigating through the Indian market with the on-going anti-China sentiment?
A. We are focused on localising our operations and establishing strong partnerships with Indian companies involved in cable manufacturing, cabinets, mechanical materials, and electrical materials. We are also investing in enhancing the skills and knowledge of our local employees in India. We are targeting double-digit growth rates in India annually, with an ambitious goal of achieving more than 50% yearly growth. We have three experience centres in India and plan to open more in cities like Hyderabad and Bengaluru to allow potential customers to interact with our products firsthand. We believe this will help attract more business and demonstrate our commitment to the Indian market. Investing in local operations, training, and customer experience will allow us to navigate any anti-China sentiment and build strong, long-lasting relationships in India.
Q. How do you intend to increase your local manufacturing input? Are you looking for any partners or vendors to aid you in this endeavour?
A. Our LED display business, like the mobile phone industry, is a combination of various parts. While we manage the design, we aim to have these components manufactured in India. Our approach is to start with the backend, such as mechanical parts and cables, before moving to the frontend, which includes electronics and semiconductors. We have connected with several companies in the cable and packaging sectors and are exploring partnerships with mechanical companies that produce cabinets, which are important in our business to house the LED modules.
Q. How do you plan to navigate through supply chain complexities when manufacturing in India?
A. The more complex aspects of our supply chain will be managed in Asia. When we transfer these processes, we do so on an insert basis, such as with specific components like SGD. We will handle less complicated tasks, such as cables, mechanical parts, and simpler electronics, in India. Gradually, we will move towards more complex electronic components, such as modules, which are more challenging. To manage them, we will use our internal IT systems, including ERP and other support systems capable of handling the complexities of component-level management.
Q. What challenges do you foresee in staying competitive and relevant in the Indian market?
A. The first set of challenges comes from external factors, such as market competition and human resource availability. India, being a large market, naturally attracts many competitors, making it highly competitive. Competitive bidding becomes essential as we aim to establish a strong presence in India. This country is well-known for its expertise in software engineering and development, but finding the right talent for mechanical, electronics, and system design is more challenging. Moreover, long-term cooperation between the staff and the company is vital to ensure product continuity.
Q. When selecting vendors, do you have any set criteria that they should meet your quality standards?
A. These are standard procedures that we must follow in any supplier selection. We have supplier selection criteria that we adhere to, whether we are working at home or in the field. For any new supplier, they must meet our criteria. If they do not meet the criteria, we will give them the opportunity to help us meet the requirements. We are not saying that they cannot do it, but we will train them to ensure they can support our business. We have found that there are not many suppliers in India, so it is essential to train them to supply the right products to us. Therefore, supplier training is very important.
Q. What is your focus concerning R&D?
A. Initially, we will focus on tasks that can be designed by local talent, starting with projects of medium complexity. The key focus at the beginning will be on mechanical design and components, with an emphasis on aesthetic innovations and related aspects. We will start with this and eventually transition to electronic design. It is important to note that India presents unique challenges, such as varying power requirements, different terrains, and temperature fluctuations. For us, durability is crucial, given these diverse conditions in which our products will be deployed. For instance, in Noida, we use certain chemical materials in metal cabinets.
Q. Where are your current production operations based?
A. We have an assembly and manufacturing factory for fine-pitch LED displays, COB, and micro-LED displays in China, where we produce and assemble our products. Additionally, we have assembled some products in India and South Korea. Our goal is to increase the production process in India, so we are actively planning to do that.
Q. Does testing of the products happen in India or outside India?
A. It is essential for us to test 100% of our LED displays to ensure their reliability and quality before delivering them to customers. Additionally, we also conduct product reliability testing. Currently, about 80% of the testing is done in China, while the remaining 20% is conducted in India due to the availability of certain facilities. We have set up a reliability lab in India, making it easier to conduct the tests there. This is advantageous because there are three facilities available at certain levels.
