Laserline acquires majority stake in WBC Photonics
By securing a seventy-percent stake in the Boston-based laser specialist, Laserline is expanding its solution portfolio to include blue industrial diode lasers with particularly high beam quality.
Through this strategic acquisition, the German diode laser manufacturer is expanding its solution portfolio to include blue laser systems with particularly very high beam qualities of better than 4 mm mrad. This positions Laserline as a full-service provider for diode lasers in the blue wavelength range and covers a broad product spectrum from systems with high focusability to power levels in the multi-kW range.
WBC Photonics was founded through a management buyout of the former Panasonic subsidiary TeraDiode and produces high-power diode lasers in the NIR and blue wavelength spectrum. The high beam quality of the laser systems is achieved through emitter-based wavelength beam combining. The acquisition opens up new target markets for Laserline. The high focusability is important for applications in the field of additive manufacturing, welding, or cutting for example.
“The acquisition of WBC Photonics is a significant step on our path toward becoming the world's leading supplier of blue diode lasers. It enables us to offer even more powerful and versatile solutions in the field of blue industrial diode lasers to our customers - from exceptionally high beam qualities to unmatched high-power classes worldwide,” says Laserline managing director Dr Christoph Ullmann.
“Our new partnership with Laserline enables access to markets worldwide for high brightness blue lasers,” said WBC Photonics CEO Michael Deutsch. “Together, we will become the world leader in blue diode laser technology.”
