Faurecia acquires Scottish backlighting tech major DesignLED

Faurecia has, earlier this month, acquired DesignLED. Based in Scotland, DesignLED specialises in advanced backlighting technologies.

DesignLED has developed advanced, flexible technology uniquely suited to a growing range of automotive lighting and human machine interface (HMI) applications. The acquisition will help strengthen Faurecia's display technologies and immersive experiences offered for its ‘Cockpit of the Future’.

Formed in 2004, designLED is an innovative LED lighting technology company with expertise in designing, developing, prototyping and scaling thin and flexible LED lighting and HMI products for the automotive industry.

Based near Edinburgh in Scotland, the design centre supports international automotive OEMs and their supply chains with solutions to complex optical, HMI and lighting integration challenges.

With a focus on the emotional and functional use of lighting, while addressing key challenges of space, cost and integration, designLED has cutting-edge technology platforms supported by over 68 patents world-wide enabling the visions of the international car industry to be realised.

“The advanced technologies of DesignLED and its teams enrich the display technology ecosystem of Faurecia Clarion Electronics. Immersive experiences are becoming a determining factor in mobility, and through the acquisition of DesignLED, we intend to strengthen our unique positioning for new customer experiences within the cockpit,” said Edward da Silva,

Finalising the deal, DesignLED CEO, Stuart Bain, commented: “This is a hugely important and exciting milestone in the evolution of DesignLED. In recent years, we have established the company as a leader in automotive lighting and HMI innovation, building a reputation based not only on an extensive technology and intellectual property portfolio, but also the highly skilled and energetic team, which is already delivering ground-breaking lighting solutions to international OEM and Tier 1 customers.”

He continued, “Looking to the future, the designLED team will be able to utilise Faurecia’s global reach, international customer base and world-class engineering and manufacturing skills to accelerate adoption of our differentiated display and back-lighting technology. The management team and employees are excited to move forward at pace under this new ownership.”

The entire designLED team will transfer to Faurecia and will continue to develop its technology from its base in Livingston.