LightFair 2025 Insights: 3 Key Drivers for Non-China Die-Casting in Lighting
As geopolitical tensions escalate and new trade policies take effect, lighting brands across North America and Europe are rapidly reconfiguring their aluminum die-casting supply chains. At LightFair 2025, Teamsworld held in-depth discussions with senior procurement and product development leaders from Europe and North America. These conversations confirmed that identifying non-China die-casting alternatives is now a strategic priority for global lighting brands aiming to strengthen supply chain resilience and long-term sustainability. From LED fixture die-casting procurement specifications and die-casting mold development to lighting fixture process integration, market demand for diversified supply chains has significantly increased.
Geopolitical & Tariff Pressures Drive Non-China Die-Casting Demand
According to Futuresource Consulting's 2024 "Global LED Supply Chain Report," the lighting industry is entering a new phase of manufacturing geographical diversification. Corporate supply chain strengthening strategies no longer consider price as the sole factor, but regard geographic diversification and second sourcing as core elements. This encompasses multi-dimensional considerations including supply chain risk assessment, die-casting mold delivery control, and flexible production capabilities. The establishment of second sourcing is no longer limited to dispersing trade and transportation risks, but has become a critical strategy for brands to maintain uninterrupted production when facing surge demands or unexpected events. Hence, leading global brands typically establish 2-3 supply locations within their product portfolios to ensure quality consistency and enable flexible switching.
At LightFair 2025, European and American lighting brands demonstrated a heightened focus on supply chain risk management. Several senior procurement executives emphasized that “not putting all eggs in one basket” has become a core procurement principle. As a result, establishing secondary die-casting supply sources is no longer a strategic option—it is now a critical requirement to maintain business continuity and long-term competitiveness in an increasingly unpredictable global market.
Global Die-Casting Shifts from China-Centric to Regional Manufacturing
Although China remains a crucial hub for global metal die-casting manufacturing, its highly concentrated market characteristics and susceptibility to policy influences have prompted brands to actively seek alternatives such as Vietnam, Mexico, India, and Cambodia. According to Market Research Future reports, China's metal casting market reached $21.89 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow to $40.2 billion by 2035, at a CAGR of 4.96%. Among these, aluminum die-casting reached $4.024 billion in 2022 with a compound annual growth rate of 6.8%.
Additionally, according to 6WResearch reports, Vietnam's aluminum die-casting market will show gradual growth during 2025-2029. Vietnam’s aluminum die-casting market is projected to grow from 11.31% in 2025 to 13.57% by 2029, highlighting the country’s rising competitiveness in the non-China manufacturing ecosystem. Vietnam not only offers significant cost advantages but also demonstrates increasingly mature equipment upgrades and process quality.
RoAPAC Rises: Taiwan & Vietnam Lead New Die-Casting Hubs
Taiwan's die-casting contract manufacturers have successfully upgraded from traditional OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) roles to comprehensive ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) partners in recent years, possessing the following core capabilities:
Design for Manufacturability (DFM) Consultation
Early-stage design input to optimize product geometry, material selection, and manufacturability—ensuring reduced rework and shorter development cycles.Complete Mold Development Services
From mold flow simulation and tooling design to prototype validation, Teamsworld offers fully integrated mold engineering under a single point of contact.Rapid Prototyping for Small-Batch Orders
Capable of delivering functional prototypes and small-batch trial runs (fewer than 500 pieces) within compressed timelines, enabling faster design verification.Mass Production of Die-Cast Components
Scalable production capacity for complex aluminum housings, brackets, and structural parts tailored to the needs of commercial and industrial lighting products.Integrated Multi-Process Capabilities
Comprehensive in-house services including plastic injection molding, CNC precision machining, liquid silicone rubber (LSR) molding, and surface finishing—consolidated under one coordinated project scope.
Simultaneously, Vietnam, with its superior geographical location and competitive labor costs, is becoming an ideal choice for international lighting brands to establish secondary die-casting supply sources, successfully attracting European and American lighting brands to initiate trial production collaborations.
Teamsworld leverages its dual-location manufacturing advantages in the RoAPAC (Rest of Asia Pacific) region, successfully integrating Taiwan die-casting manufacturing with Vietnam die-casting facilities, combined with plastic injection molding and CNC precision machining capabilities, effectively supporting international clients in establishing robust dual-location manufacturing frameworks.
3 Key Supplier Criteria for Non-China Die-Casting in Lighting Manufacturing
With global manufacturing layout reorganization and increased demand for supply chain flexibility and technical participation in the North American lighting market, this year's LightFair 2025 exhibition reflected a clear trend: European and American lighting brands seeking non-China die-casting alternatives place greater emphasis on three key conditions: small-batch flexibility, mold transparency, and rapid project management.
1. Small-Batch Flexible Production Capability (Low MOQ)
Brands no longer focus solely on unit prices but prioritize suppliers' ability to rapidly provide 50-100 piece small-batch trial samples and support flexible conversion capabilities for future mass production scaling. These multi-variety, small-batch needs place greater demands on manufacturers’ equipment flexibility and operational management systems. Teamsworld maintains partner supply chains with small-batch trial production experience in both Taiwan and Vietnam, enabling immediate response to brand development and modification requirements.
2. Mold Development Transparency and DFM Capabilities
Many procurement managers explicitly stated they prioritize die-casting suppliers' depth of participation in early mold development stages. Mold flow analysis accuracy, DFM (Design for Manufacturability) recommendation capabilities, and mold delivery transparency have become decisive factors in brand supplier selection. One East Coast lighting brand noted on-site: "We now look beyond price and focus on whether we can receive samples within 2 weeks and track mold progress at any time." Another European buyer added: "We’re looking for suppliers who not only execute our designs but help optimize them."
3. Rapid Communication and Integrated Project Management
American customers particularly value suppliers' ability to conduct bilingual technical discussions across time zones and provide real-time tracking of sampling and mold development progress. Teamsworld possesses a project management team from Taiwan with extensive OEM experience, capable of synchronously integrating critical communications between design teams, factories, and brands, ensuring stable progression from sampling to mass production.
Regional Die-Casting Strategy Differences in US Lighting
Through Teamsworld's field interviews, we observed different expectations for die-casting manufacturing between East and West Coast brands, presenting two typical supplier selection mindsets:
East Coast Lighting Brands: Design-Oriented with Strong ODM Collaboration Awareness
East Coast lighting brands prefer collaborating with OEM partners who can participate early in design processes, emphasizing material consistency and brand image extension. Teamsworld's Taiwan engineering team can provide die-casting structural recommendations and surface treatment integration during early product development stages, assisting brands in creating optimal solutions from the ground zero.
West Coast Lighting Brands: Cost-Sensitive, Emphasizing Mass Production Efficiency
In contrast, West Coast buyers emphasize mold payback periods and unit cost optimization, preferring standardized components and large-batch manufacturing. Teamsworld's die-casting network in Vietnam not only offers competitively priced mold solutions but also supports integrated processing and coating capabilities for large lighting fixture structural components.
Partner with Teamsworld for Agile Lighting Supply Chains
In a time of global supply chain restructuring, lighting brands can secure competitive advantages by proactively building non-China die-casting networks. As a professional lighting fixture die-casting component manufacturing supplier, Teamsworld continues to support global lighting leaders from the United States, Canada, and Europe in establishing dual-region production frameworks across Taiwan and Vietnam, offering trusted partnerships and end-to-end die-casting supply chain solutions.