U-L-M Photonics was founded in participation with the SCHOTT Group in 2000. The scientific developments made by the research group of Professor Karl-Joachim Ebeling from Ulm were continued here.
U-L-M Photonics has grown substantially over the past few years. Today it is an established and sound company that sells VCSELs with an annual production volume in the millions. In the aftermath of a management buy-out in 2005, the SCHOTT Group pulled out of the company. Since the Summer of 2005 U-L-M Photonics has been a medium-sized company operated solely by the owner.
How has this company based in Ulm managed to shift its strategy initially geared toward the booming telecommunications market to an alternative market more smoothly than its competitors in the wake of the rupture of the telecom bubble? One possible answer is the product combination: Almost 50% of its turnover is made in the field of sensor technology, primarily with single-mode VCSELs. An additional 30% is made in the telecom/datacom fields. Almost 10% of its turnover is made in the automotive industry (MOST, distance measurement technology) and another 10% in the field of imaging (1-D and 2-D multi-mode arrays).
The variety of the product range matches that of the application range. That is to say, U-L-M Photonics has developed components to meet the demands of customers perfectly. Thus, its promoters have consistently proven that they have the right nose for business.
All signs indicate growth. Efforts have been made since 2005 to double all resources so as to attain a redundancy and increase capacity to over 25 million devices per year.