align="justify">Abacus has teamed up with LED lighting specialist Osram to create a distribution business division to address the solid state lighting market.

Called AbacusLED, the venture will market the Osram range of discrete LEDs and LED lighting systems together with electronic driver and thermal management technologies.

It will carry other distribution lines including Everlight, Texas Instruments, National Semiconductor, ST Microelectronics, Power Integrations, 3M and Aavid Thermalloy.

According to Abacus Group semiconductor marketing director Glenn Jarrett: "With concerns surrounding the efficiency, lifetime, handling and environmental impact of incandescent and long-life light-bulb technology, we believe that LEDs will provide the lighting solutions of the future."

According to Mike Hall, Abacus Group LED business development specialist, the pace of change in the LED market is dramatic. "Over the last four years, the efficiency of LED lights has quadrupled, so that they now match the performance of fluorescent lights, and exceed that of halogen," said Hall.

"Many customers can see the benefits that adoption would bring, but need support not only in selecting the right lighting product, but also implementing the right driver and thermal management solutions around it to get the longest operating life and the highest efficiency," said Hall.