Photonics News No 88

Dear Reader,

The Corona virus has had a tight grip on our lives for a number of weeks. Things that I would not have thought possible at the beginning of the year have now almost become normal. However, they are things that I do not want to become normality, nor will I let them.

Now that the restrictions are gradually being eased up on, it is time to analyze the medium and long-term effects of the last few months.

First the good news: Despite isolated infections, our employees and their families have made it through the critical phase in good health. Thanks to last year’s digitization projects, we were able to switch almost seventy employees to home office from one day to the next. Our equipment and technology has been functioning very well. Also, I have even had the impression that communication has increased between some colleagues simply due to the necessity of regularly scheduled video conferences. In production and logistics, our hygiene concept was implemented quickly. This has made it possible for us to continue developing and manufacturing without major setbacks. I must extend a sincere thank you to the entire workforce at Laser Components: Everyone has really pulled together in these difficult times. We are determined to implement the positive experiences made by our employees in the structure of future worktime and workplace concepts and have already started an employee survey.

Due to our wide range of products, we witnessed the effects of both extremes of the crisis: While some markets came to a virtual standstill, the additional demand for medical applications made extra shifts necessary in some cases. In sum, the slumps and growth have offset one another; therefore, we continue to expect stable development.

Early on, however, we had to experience how hard the abrupt slump hit small businesses, restaurants, and hotel owners. In discussions with those affected, it quickly became clear that the loans envisaged by the government would not provide any relief, as many already have enough loans but currently lack the turnover to continue servicing them. Therefore, we decided at short notice to buy vouchers worth € 50,000 from regional retailers and service providers. We intend to distribute these vouchers to our employees over the course of the year.

With the restrictions placed on the general population, policy makers consistently pursued the goal of not overburdening the health system. For this reason, we are now on a positive track in Germany, and current figures give cause for optimism. However, the economic losses and the resulting damage in society will continue to weigh on us even when Corona is hopefully no longer an issue.

Yours,

Patrick Paul
Managing Director, Laser Components GmbH