After decades of development, laser technology has moved from the laboratory to people's daily lives. It can be seen in various aspects of public life, including food, clothing, housing, transportation, industrial processing and manufacturing, and medical beauty. The development of a country's laser industry reflects, to some extent, the general level of industrial production.
However, this year, the growth rate of the laser industry has slowed, with some companies experiencing high growth, while others face a decline in performance or even losses.
Based on the revenue scale and market share of laser companies in a year, we selected the 10 companies that have the greatest impact on the laser industry.
Top Influential Laser Companies
1. Trumpf Group
The Trumpf Group was founded in 1923 and is one of the market and technical leaders in the field of industrial production machine tools and lasers in the world.
Over its more than 90 years of development, Trumpf has grown from a small machinery manufacturing workshop to a giant company in the laser industry, with laser-related products now accounting for almost 80% of its revenue.
In 2019, Trumpf made several important moves in the industry, including:
Complete the acquisition of the Philips Photonics business and establish a new business unit called TRUMPF Optical Components.
Signing of an agreement with GFT to transfer its axoom industrial internet platform to GFT, maintaining brand ownership of axoom and smart factory manufacturing solutions.
Complete the signing ceremony with Shanghai Jiaotong University to establish the Sino-German Joint Laser Application Center.
Signing a strategic cooperation agreement with Jinan Gweike to promote complementary resources and achieve win-win cooperation.
Achieve an important milestone in its cooperative relationship with Italy's France Semiconductor, a sensor manufacturer, by completing the delivery of its 1 billionth vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL).
2. Coherent
Coherent was founded in 1966 with a prominent advantage in CO2 lasers.
Over the years, it has evolved into one of the world's leading photonics manufacturers and innovators. Its offerings span CO2 lasers, fiber lasers, ultrafast lasers, semiconductor lasers, excimer lasers and more, serving diverse industries such as scientific research, medical treatment and industrial processing. In 2016, Coherent acquired Rofin laser for approximately US$942 million, solidifying its position as a major player in the laser machine tool space.
Coherent subsidiary Nufern supplies optical fibers to fiber laser companies around the world, with a focus on the Chinese market.
3. IPG
IPG was founded by physicist Dr. Valentin P. Gapontsev in Russia in 1991. Global headquarters were established in the United States in 1998 and were listed on NASDAQ in 2006.
Today, IPG is a leader in the development and manufacture of high-performance fiber lasers and amplifiers, with a market share far ahead of its competitors. Its low, medium and high power lasers and amplifiers are widely used in various advanced applications such as materials processing, communications, entertainment, medical treatment, biotechnology, science and technology.
In January 2019, IPG announced the acquisition of Padtec's subsea networks division, with the aim of expanding the subsea network systems market with its core pump laser and fiber amplifier technology, profiting from the growing deployment of cable networks underwater optics around the world.
In August of the same year, IPG formed a strategic partnership with Brose North America to develop straight seam measurement technology for automobile seat guide rails. The two sides will work together to analyze performance data generated by ICI, covering penetration measurement, weld surface formation, weld tracking and technical equipment availability.
In September, IPG debuted its 30,000-watt fiber laser cutting solution (including a 30,000-watt fiber laser and a 30,000-watt fiber laser cutting head) at the Shanghai Industry Expo, offering more options for ultra-high power laser.
4. Han's Laser
Han's Laser, founded in 1996, has become the leading manufacturer of industrial laser processing equipment in Asia and the world. Its main products include laser marking, laser welding, laser cutting, demonstration series equipment, PCB drilling series, industrial robots and more than 200 other industrial laser equipment and intelligent solution offerings.
In 2019, Han's Laser signed cooperation agreements with companies such as Huichuan Technology, Wittenstein, Tencent, Huazhi Intelligence, Tanaka and China Unicom. In addition, the company has established joint laboratories or talent exchange platforms with universities such as Jinan University, South China Normal University, Shenzhen University of Technology, Tsinghua Institute of Flexible Electronics and a senior vocational college.
Han's Laser has also made significant contributions to the laser industry chain by launching innovative products such as a 20 kW ultra-high-power fiber laser cutting machine, an intelligent welding line for automobile welding, and a 10,000 watts with independent intellectual property rights.
5. II-VI
II-VI Incorporated was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Saxony, Pennsylvania. At first, the company only focused on producing high-quality materials for high-power CO2 laser industrial optical elements. Today, II-VI has evolved to become the world's leading manufacturer of engineering materials and optoelectronic components, offering a vertically integrated manufacturing experience.
In March 2019, II-VI established a laser processing head service center in Suzhou, China to provide strong technical support and fast spare parts turn-around time for its Chinese customers. In September, the company entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with Guangbao Technology in Lidar. The two companies will jointly commercialize portfolios of laser products, from near-infrared to short-wave infrared, utilizing their mass semiconductor laser and optoelectronic packaging manufacturing platforms. This will help in the mass production and commercialization of semiconductor lasers for packaging lidar systems, meeting the growing demand in commercial and industrial applications.
In September, II-VI successfully acquired Finisar and became the world's largest manufacturer of optical devices and subsystems. In December, the company signed a multi-year agreement worth more than $100 million to supply silicon carbide (SIC) substrates for gallium nitride (GAN) RF power amplifiers deployed in 5G wireless base stations, the largest order in the company's history.
In 2019, II-VI launched several new products, including a pump light module, a commercial laser cutting head with zoom optical elements, a high-power semiconductor laser and semiconductor architecture lamination, a high power for blue laser beams and an RLSK remote laser processing head, among others. These new offerings provide broad support for II-VI's competitive market advantage. The company also launched the first aspherical sapphire lens for high-power industrial lasers.
6. Lumento
Lumentum was spun off from JDSU in 2015. JDSU was created by the merger of jDS Fitel and Uniphase in 1999.
Lumentum is a world-renowned provider of optical communications products serving the consumer and industrial laser markets.
Headquartered in San Jose, California, Lumentum operates R&D, manufacturing and sales offices throughout the world.
Lumentum is dedicated to providing cutting-edge optoelectronic solutions and advancing the scope and speed of cloud computing, the Internet, advanced manufacturing and 3D sensing applications.
7. HGTECH
HGTECH was founded in July 1999 and listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in June 2000. It became the first university-educated publicly traded high-tech company in Central China.
In September 2000, Huagong Technology successfully acquired Farley and Laserlab, well-known companies specializing in laser and plasma cutting systems in Australia.
In July 2004, the first batch of high-performance laser cutting machines produced by Huagong Laser passed inspection in Wuhan, marking the birth of China's first domestic high-performance laser cutting machine.
8. Bystronic
Founded in 1964, the Swiss Bystronic Group joined the Swiss holding company Conzzeta in 1994 and has since become one of the most renowned business groups in Switzerland. In 1983, Bystronic produced its first CO2 laser cutting machine, marking its entry into the laser industry.
In June 2019, Bystronic established a crucial sheet metal processing center in Johannesburg, South Africa, and began direct sales and after-sales services for the South African market. In December of the same year, Bystronic partnered with Spanish software specialist Kurago to accelerate the development of a smart factory.
9. Raico
Founded by Dr. Yan Dapeng in 2007, Raycus Laser is a national high-tech enterprise with independent innovation and intellectual property rights, specializing in the research and development, production and sales of fiber lasers and their key devices and materials. The company mainly focuses on continuous wave and pulsed wave fiber lasers, but also covers research and development and sales of quasi-continuous fiber lasers, semiconductor lasers, special lasers and components, special fibers, laser control software and other products.
10. CASTECH
Castech was founded on July 8, 1988 by the Fujian Institute of Material Structure of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The company is mainly engaged in the research and development, production and sales of crystals, optical components and laser devices.
Its products are widely used in the fields of laser and optical communication, with Castech located at the forefront of the laser industry chain. The company's nonlinear crystals, laser crystals and magneto-optical crystals continue to rank first in global sales, with a market share of more than 80%.
In recent years, Castech has developed acousto-optical Q-switch and holographic grating products that have been well received by customers in the ultraviolet laser, fiber laser, ultrafast laser and optical communication industries, and have entered mass production and supply. Furthermore, the company's independently developed magneto-optical isolator products have a dominant presence in the Chinese market.
