CVI agrees to acquire Melles Griot
CVI (Albuquerque, NM) signed an agreement with Barloworld Scientific to acquire Melles Griot (Carlsbad, CA). The acquisition brings together two leaders in optical and laser technology.
“The Melles Griot acquisition is a significant component of CVI’s plan to expand our capabilities and manufacturing capacity to meet worldwide demand,” said Stuart Schoenmann, CEO of CVI.
“CVI has a strong worldwide brand, manufacturing, distribution network and access to capital,” said Blake Fennell, CEO of Melles Griot. “This is a great opportunity for the Melles Griot team to focus on photonic technologies within a company dedicated to the industry.”
Queen’s Award goes to Rofin-Sinar U.K.
Rofin-Sinar U.K. (Hull, England) has won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise: Innovation. The Queen’s Award is one of the U.K.’s most prestigious awards for business performance and recognizes companies that have demonstrated commercial success through innovative products or services.
The award was made in recognition of Rofin-Sinar’s successful development of the ROFIN SCx60-the highest power commercially available RF-excited diffusion-cooled CO2 laser.
IMRA donates to OSA
The Optical Society of America (OSA) Foundation (Washington, D.C.) received its largest corporate donation ever from fiber-laser manufacturer IMRA America (Ann Arbor, MI). The company’s $10,000 gift will be used to support the foundation’s programs and initiatives designed to advance youth science education, support optics and photonics education in developing nations, provide education and resources to underserved populations, and support OSA’s Awards and Honors program. More than $153,000 was raised as part of the Foundation’s annual campaign; OSA matched that amount bringing the total raised in 2006 to more than $325,000.
LBO, Displaytech partner on laser projectors
Light Blue Optics (LBO; Cambridge, England), developer of miniature holographic laser projection systems, announced an exclusive development partnership with microdisplay manufacturers Displaytech (Longmont, CO). Displaytech will develop and manufacture a compact, efficient, low-cost, fast-switching ferroelectric liquid-crystal-on-silicon microdisplay device exclusively for LBO.
High-power laser maker acquired by Coherent
Coherent acquired privately held Nuvonyx (St. Louis, MO), a manufacturer of high-power (in excess of 1 kW) laser-diode components, arrays, and industrial laser systems for materials-processing and defense applications. According to Coherent, this acquisition represents a vertically integrated and more cost-effective approach than fiber lasers for certain applications.
“The addition of Nuvonyx marks Coherent’s entry into the high-power materials processing market,” said John Ambroseo, president and CEO of Coherent. “Nuvonyx’s product and technical capabilities are an excellent enhancement to our arrays and components product lines, and provide the ability to pump our lasers at increasingly higher powers.”
Newport ships fiber-laser system
The Fiber Laser Business Group of Newport (Irvine, CA) shipped the first units of a new laser system based on its fiber technology platform to select international customers. The laser system operates in the ultraviolet wavelength range. “Newport has a unique position as one of the industry’s only vertically integrated laser suppliers, with expertise in diode lasers and high-precision optics and coatings, and industry-leading capabilities in high-efficiency frequency conversion,” said Robert G. Deuster, Newport chairman and CEO.
Also in the news . . .
SemiNex (Middleton, MA), a provider of laser diodes for the medical, military, and communications markets, completed funding for its first round of expansion financing. . . . Universal Laser Systems (ULS; Scottsdale, AZ), a designer and manufacturer of CO2 lasers and laser systems, doubled the size of its U.S.-based headquarters by expanding into a second building. . . . Ondax (Monrovia, CA) appointed Photonic Products (Hatfield Broad Oak, England) as authorized European distributor for its wavelength-stabilized laser diodes. . . . Fiber-laser manufacturer IPG Photonics (Oxford, MA) opened an office in Beijing, China, to provide local support and service for its fiber lasers and amplifiers. . . . Ionatron (Tucson, AZ) is establishing a new organization in St. Louis, MO, that will focus on the development of specialty lasers for defense customers. . . . Onefive (Zurich, Switzerland), a supplier of ultrafast and tunable narrow-linewidth laser modules, appointed M Square (Tokyo, Japan) as its distributor in Japan and Market Tech (Scotts Valley, CA) as its distributor in North America.