News Release2010

November 24, 2010
Panasonic Electric Works Establishes New Company in Republic of Serbia to ManufactureEnergy-efficient Electronic Devices for Lighting Fixtures
- Enhancing lighting device business in lighting market in Europe, where energy efficiency improvement efforts are well under way

In November 2010, Panasonic Electric Works Co., Ltd. (head office: Kadoma, Osaka, President: Shusaku Nagae) established a new company in Svilajnac, the Republic of Serbia, to manufacture energy-efficient electronic devices (ballasts) for lighting fixtures. The new company is named Panasonic Electric Works Vossloh-Schwabe Serbia d.o.o.The capital expenditure  in FY2011 ending March 31, 2011 is approx. JPY 70 million (EUR 580,000). Volume production will commence in January 2011, to enhance lighting device business in Europe, where energy efficiency improvement efforts are well under way.
 The new company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Panasonic Electric Works Vossloh-Schwabe GmbH (PEWVS, head office: Lüdenscheid, Germany) that manufactures and sells lighting devices.
 Panasonic Electric Works acquired PEWVS to make the company a subsidiary in 2002.
The capital is approx. JPY 120 million (EUR 1 million). Establishment of the new company is intended to enhance production capabilities and reduce costs by switching electronic ballast production from outsourcing to in-house production in the Republic of Serbia. This is the first time the Panasonic Group has launched a manufacturing facility in the Republic of Serbia.

Future development of the lighting device business in Europe

The Panasonic Groups lighting businesses comprise the light source business by Panasonic Corporation and lighting fixtures and lighting device businesses by Panasonic Electric Works. The lighting fixtures business has been developed in Japan and other Asian countries, including China. The lighting device business, which serves lighting fixtures manufacturers, has been developed under a tripolar framework: Japan, the US (ULT), and Europe (PEWVS). In Europe, EUs Energy Efficiency Directive is expected to drive the shift in demand from incandescent lamps to fluorescent lamps and LEDs, thereby increasingly requiring electronic control of lighting devices. Panasonic Electric Works will give priority to upgrading electronic ballast production capabilities, with a view to developing its business in LED devices, in an effort to further expand the energy-efficient lighting devices business in Europe.