Strengthening material processing business, NKT Photonics to acquire Onefive (UPDATED)
NKT Photonics (Birkerød, Denmark), which supplies fiber lasers and photonic-crystal fibers, has entered into an agreement to acquire ultrafast laser maker Onefive (Regensdorf, Switzerland).
Onefive's ultrafast lasers portfolio, which includes femto- and picosecond systems, serves customers in the medical and life science segments, as well as in industrial material processing and scientific markets. The company employs 41 people at its Switzerland headquarters and in a smaller site in Berlin, Germany, under the name Advanced Laser Diode Systems.
NKT Photonics' increased activity level in the Material Processing segment will be an add-on to Onefive's strong presence in the medical market. Here, the company's ISO13485 certification is an important requirement, and supply and support to the medical market will continue and expand going forward.
The agreement is subject to certain customary closing conditions, and is expected to be closed in the beginning of September 2017.
Update: In addition to the acquisition, NKT Photonics has appointed Don Riddell as chief operating officer (COO), a role in which he will be responsible for managing the company's three manufacturing sites in Denmark, the UK, and Germany.
Riddell previously served as COO of SPI Lasers (Southampton, Hampshire, England), and brings extensive experience in laser manufacturing, automation, and supply chain management. His new appointment will become effective September 1, and he will relocate to NKT Photonics' headquarters in Denmark.
For more information, please visit www.nktphotonics.com and www.onefive.com.
David Belforte | Contributing Editor
David Belforte (1932-2023) was an internationally recognized authority on industrial laser materials processing and had been actively involved in this technology for more than 50 years. His consulting business, Belforte Associates, served clients interested in advanced manufacturing applications. David held degrees in Chemistry and Production Technology from Northeastern University (Boston, MA). As a researcher, he conducted basic studies in material synthesis for high-temperature applications and held increasingly important positions with companies involved with high-technology materials processing. He co-founded a company that introduced several firsts in advanced welding technology and equipment. David's career in lasers started with the commercialization of the first industrial solid-state laser and a compact CO2 laser for sheet-metal cutting. For several years, he led the development of very high power CO2 lasers for welding and surface treating applications. In addition to consulting, David was the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Industrial Laser Solutions magazine (1986-2022) and contributed to other laser publications, including Laser Focus World. He retired from Laser Focus World in late June 2022.