Lesotho to get light bulb plant

Philips South Africa has announced a partnership that will see the global electronics giant set up a plant to manufacture energy-efficient light bulbs in Lesotho.

State news agency BuaNews reported on Friday that the facility will be set up jointly with South Africa's Central Energy Fund (CEF) and Karebo Systems, a privately owned company specialising in demand-side management initiatives in the lighting and energy sectors.

Philips, which previously manufactured the bulbs in China, will hold a 40% stake in the new venture while Karebo and the CEF each hold a 30% interest in the joint venture.

"We are happy that this new facility will enable our region to manufacture energy-saving bulbs that will help to overcome energy shortages and combat global warming," said Luc Escoute, general manager of Philips SA lighting sector.

The joint venture will help to secure a sufficient supply of energy-efficient light bulbs to meet South Africa's ambitious targets in electricity reduction, especially in the residential sector.

Weekly trade journal Engineering News reported that construction of the facility has already begun in Maseru and the first bulbs are expected to be released to South African and other African markets in September.

It will take between six and 12 months to ramp up production to the fully operational output of some 15m compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) bulbs a year, but the facility is designed so that it could scale up production to between 30m and 50m bulbs a year should there be higher market demand.

The market for CFL bulbs is growing rapidly globally and is expected to accelerate in the South African region through the efforts of the national government to significantly reduce energy consumption.

Peter Kgame, managing director of Karebo Systems, said in the efforts to significantly reduce energy consumption in South Africa, switching to energy-efficient lighting was the quickest and easiest way to make a significant contribution.

The plant was expected to create between 400 and 500 direct jobs and additional work in South Africa associated with the transport, shipping, packaging and components production. – I-Net Bridge

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