Companies have to change in order to continue flourishing. The best example of change is LASER COMPONENTS: Bold investments have led to the expansion of the company. At the same time, LC has remained true to its roots as a family-run enterprise.
LASER COMPONENTS is growing – more than could have been expected just one year ago – in every area. Production facilities are expanding domestically and abroad, new sales partners and product lines are being brought on board, the number of employees is increasing, and the headquarters in Olching is constantly expanding.
Boldness is the most important feature of this type of development. Not just knowledge of the industry is required to master such projects, but the courage to change existing structures and introduce new levels of management.
Mr. Paul, which new production technologies were included in the portfolio?
PP: Well, the most current example is the expansion of optics production that has taken place in Olching. With new materials, we are now able to coat laser optics in the UV range with the highest damage threshold and lowest drift using the ion beam sputtering (IBS) unit. This is a major advancement. We are particularly proud to have Mr. Uwe Schallenberg, an expert in the area of optical coatings, in our team.
Are there other examples?
PP: Yes, in Tempe, Arizona, we are manufacturing a completely new product line: InGaAs PIN diodes up to 2.6 µm cut-off and IR emitters. Larry Johnson, known to many as a specialist in IR components, has been a part of our team since autumn of last year and is expanding this production line more and more. Both here and at the production facility in Canada, we are reaching the capacity limit and will be expanding soon.
Has this expansion led to an increase in sales personnel?
PP: Yes, we have more and more product engineers to ensure that our customers are quickly and professionally equipped with the information they require. Developments according to customer specifications make up more than 90% of our business. We work together with not only our own production facilities but with those of our suppliers. New product developments require time and highly-qualified personnel – the exchange of information between partners is extremely important here. To allocate more time to communication, we created a sales director position. This position has been filled internally by Sven Schreiber, our export manager for many years.
Expanding personnel is one of the largest cost factors. How do you deal with that?
PP: We take advantage of the synergistic effects. Last year our personnel expanded by 15%. At the same time, we risked entry into a completely new market segment: fiber optic network technology fits well with our existing know-how. Our product portfolio and in-house production profit more from this than the cost of personnel increases. Market observation is important in order to be equipped for the future.
