Strong Jena power at the "LASER World of Photonics 2023"

32 Jena photonics companies present themselves at leading European trade fair

Concentrated optical power from Jena is a guest at Europe's most important laser and photonics trade fair, the LASER World of Photonics, in Munich. Thirty-two companies and institutions from Jena, the city of light, will be exhibiting there.

"It is remarkable how much bundled expertise from Jena in the field of optics and photonics is present at the leading trade fair in Munich," says Wilfried Röpke, Managing Director of the Jena Economic Development Agency. "The 32 exhibitors are important ambassadors for Jena as a technology location, both nationally and internationally."

According to Röpke, the local optics and photonics industry remains one of the most important growth drivers for Jena. The trade fair also demonstrated the central role that photonics plays in medical technology, electromobility and industrial manufacturing, for example.

Nevertheless, the current challenges should not be underestimated, says Anke Siegmeier, Managing Director of the photonics network OptoNet e.V. The network manager is on site with the cluster and is getting in the mood for a successful trade fair this evening with the member companies at the "Photonics and Pretzels" get-together.

"Around three quarters of optics and photonics companies rate their current business situation as good or very good. Nevertheless, it takes courage and creativity to deal with supply bottlenecks, raw material shortages and energy prices." According to Siegmeier, the local and regional economy also needs the support and trust of politicians. "The biggest problem, however, is the issue of skilled workers, as our surveys for this year's Photonics Report show. We need more commitment to good STEM education in schools and joint efforts to attract international specialists."

In addition to the large Jena-based companies such as ZEISS and JENOPTIK, numerous small and medium-sized companies will be exhibiting in Munich. These include HERACLE, OPTIKRON and GRINTECH, for example. Innovative start-ups such as SPACEOPTIX, Quantum Optics Jena and Gitterwerk are also taking part, as are scientific institutions such as the Jena Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering (IOF) and the Open Photonics light workshop.

In total, around 900 companies from more than 30 countries will be showcasing their products at LASER World of Photonics until June 30, 2023. Last year it attracted over 15,000 guests.

Exhibitors

The 32 exhibitors from Jena at LASER World of PHOTONICS are

• Active Fiber Systems GmbH
• Ams Sensors Germany GmbH
• asphericon GmbH
• BATOP GmbH
• Carl Zeiss AG
• DeepEn (in foundation)
• FAKT KOMMUNIKATION - Thuringian precision and know-how
• Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Optics and Precision Engineering IOF
• Gitterwerk GmbH
• Grintech GmbH
• Hellma Materials GmbH
• heracle GmbH
• Jenaer Antriebstechnik GmbH
• JENOPTIK AG
• JETI Technical Instruments GmbH
• LASOS Laser Technology GmbH
• Leibniz Health Technologies
• Power Electronics JENA GmbH
• Light Workshop Open Photonics Makerspace
• LightTrans International GmbH
• Matthias Wetzel Industrial Labeling GmbH
• OPTIKRON GmbH
• OptoNet e.V.
• Photonics Precision Engineering GmbH
• piezosystem jena GmbH
• Prior Scientific Instruments GmbH
• Quantum Optics Jena GmbH
• ROBUST AO GmbH
• SPACEOPTIX GmbH
• Speck Sensorsysteme GmbH
• VITRON Spezialwerkstoffe GmbH
• VM-TIM GmbH