RLOD#39 (2020.06.28) 2017 Venture HIT250W/HOR/DU/4.5K

The demand for efficient and economical white-light HID sources grew so much during the 1990s that it forced Philips to reconsider its plan to phase out its medium-wattage HPI lamps, which were supposed to be replaced by a new generation of quartz metal halide lamps filled with rare earth additives. The low production cost of HPIs made them ideally suited to help secure a significant market share, so investments in the further development of the technology followed. This resulted in the HPI Plus platform released in the late 1990s, upgraded in 2005 with the last arc tube design (5th-gen platform) delivering improved performances and life. A new production line of medium-wattage quartz metal halide lamps and arc tubes was even opened in Shanghai around the mid-2000s in order to cater to the growing demand outside Europe. In order to support their business growth further, Philips eventually made the burners from this production available to competitors around the mid 2010s. It is at this point that some lamp makers, such as Venture, began selling medium-wattage metal halide lamps with the Philips gen-5.2 HPI Plus arc tube inside, as shown here for a 250 W model. Beside a reduction in overall production cost, those manufacturers benefited also from the latest development in quartz metal halide technology from Philips, which resulted in improved lamp characteristics (better flux maintenance, greater longevity, and the capacity for a dual mercury/sodium ballast operation). Such advantage motivated those competitors to drop their own medium-wattage metal halide arc tube production, which was beneficial to Philips in the long run.