NASHUA, NH - With revenue projections for fiber lasers estimated to reach $300 million annually by 2008, manufacturers are moving ahead with expansion and capitalization plans. As anticipated, on October 26 SPI Lasers (Southampton, England) floated stock on the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange at 144p/share, raising £25.5 million (US$46 million)-more than double the amount the firm had hoped to raise when it announced the flotation last month. The company believes its platform technology enables scalable high-power continuous-wave fiber lasers up to 10 kW and beyond, which could open the door to new market opportunities, particularly in defense.
The growing acceptance of high-power fiber lasers for industrial applications and emerging opportunities for lower-power fiber lasers in medicine and the graphic arts will be a key topic of discussion at the annual Laser and Photonics Marketplace Seminar, to be held January 23, 2006, at the Fairmont Hotel (San Jose, CA) in conjunction with Photonics West.
In addition to detailed analyses of sales and technology trends in the semiconductor, industrial, and medical markets and a keynote address on value-added manufacturing in the laser industry by Phillip Meredith of JDS Uniphase, the seminar will debut the first Fiber Laser Markets Forum. Representatives from SPI, IPG Photonics, and other fiber-laser firms will discuss the future of this technology-both high and low power-and the growing number of markets it appears to be suited for.
For more information or to register, go to www.marketplaceseminar.com.