Issue 26

Did Günther Paul imagine the impact his decision thirty years ago would have now?

Probably not. Although he has demonstrated a certain amount of business acumen throughout his career, he could not have imagined thirty years ago that his company's current success was based on his decision to build a production facility for laser optics.

Thirty years ago, Laser Components' income was exclusively dependent on the sale of components. Over time, in-house production was painstakingly developed with many setbacks and significant investments. Today, in-house production is the backbone of the entire company and is what drives the sale of distribution products. Laser Components has always specialized in the sale of complex, customisable components. This is only possible thanks to our specialized, customer-oriented, experienced and well-trained staff. In the age of globalization and the internet, it would be increasingly difficult to maintain this level without having powerful products developed in-house. Nevertheless, we have managed to ensure the undisputed success of our production facilities, which are distributed all over the world, and we are now supplementing our range with selected products from third-party manufacturers. And it all started thirty years ago with dielectric coatings for laser optics.

At that time, we had the idea to transfer production to the German market. The first optical coating system arrived in Germany from the USA and went into production immediately. In the meantime, the department grew rapidly, introducing other coating methods. At Laser-Components we have also been manufacturing our own substrates since 2008. Our optics have been continuously improved and have made an important contribution to the development of existing laser applications.

The Laser Components Group has over 200 employees worldwide, more than half of whom are directly involved in the development and production of components or modules. More than 65% of our turnover comes from internal production. This is an opportunity to celebrate with us a double anniversary: the 30th anniversary of this founding event ... and the 10th anniversary of the French subsidiary (which we will discuss in the next edition).

Sincerely yours,

Christian Merry
Managing Director, Laser Components SAS