Royal Philips Electronics announced this week the official opening of its first Luxeon high-power LED production facility outside of California. The Singapore-based plant has a work force of 150, which will grow to 900 when the facility is operating at full capacity, Philips said. The new plant doubles the production capacity of its Luxeon power LEDs, used in outdoor lighting, LCD displays, cell phone camera flashes and automotive applications, among others, in the fast-growing power LED market. Globally, that market is expected to reach $9.2 billion in 2009. "Singapore is the destination of choice for Philips' first wafer fab facility outside Silicon Valley. The country's well-established industry infrastructure offered us a necessary talent pool and supplier support network which enabled the smooth and quick setup of our facility," said Paul Peeters, chairman and CEO of Philips Electronics Singapore. Philips said its Luxeon power LEDs match the brightness of conventional light sources and make it possible to replace incandescent, halogen and fluorescent bulbs in many products with smaller, longer-lasting and more energy-efficient LEDs.