Laser 2019

••• 11 ••• Messewelten Industrial meeting for optical technologies Optatec 2020 trade fair is scheduled A s the leading trade fair for optical technologies, optical components, optomechanics, fi- bre optics and laser components, the Optatec international trade fair for optical technologies, com- ponents and systems will be on the agenda once again in May 2020 and is already drawing the attention of expert visitors. Optatec 2018 was promoted suc- cessfully and became even more international once again with 540 exhibitors from 32 nations and 5,803 visitors from 45 coun- tries. The industry event unveiled worldwide offerings for products as well as stand-alone and system solutions, and applications from the broad-based field of optical technologies at the three-day trade fair. The 15th Optatec is now in queue – the international trade fair for optical technologies, com- ponents and systems will once again present itself as the indus- try’s number one meeting place in trade fair metropolis Frankfurt where it will represent the com- prehensive optics market from 12 to 14 May 2020. According to the SPECTARIS in- dustry association, more than 1,000 German companies in the optical industry increased their sales by 6.7 per cent to over 37.1 billion euros in 2018. The success of this industry is also reflected in the number of employees which increased by more than five per cent to approximately 138,000 employees. The strong growth in the industry is the result of dy- namic foreign business: last year, foreign sales increased by almost 7.1 per cent to 26.6 billion euros. Most exports went to the coun- tries of the European Union, fol- lowed by Asia and North America. The trade fair is held once every two years and focuses attention on the issues of optical compo- nents, materials, coatings, opto- mechanical components, fibre optics, laser components and photonics, as well as systems for additive manufacturing, industrial image processing and optical me- trology. With regard to thematic alignment and the internation- alism of the exhibitors and the trade fair visitors, there’s no com- parable event anywhere in the world – Optatec is a world-class, exclusive platform for technol- ogy transfer and the exchange of knowledge. For trade fair visitors, it bridges the gap between scien- tific findings, new technologies and practical applicability. Invest- ment decisions can be taken more securely and in a more targeted fashion as a result. The positive mood amongst ex- hibitors and visitors alike in 2018 will also prevail at the next Op- tatec: practical transfer of knowl- edge, new partnerships and col- laborations, concrete applications for modern optical technologies and, not least of all, successful order taking underscore the ben- efits for exhibitors and expert visitors. The promoters are cur- rently further developing the sup- plementary programme including the exhibitor forum, workshops and a technology park. Save May 2020 for optatec! Photo: P. E. Schall GmbH & Co. KG Photonics is a key technology Chinese market responded very positively to Laser World show For the first time in the show’s history, La- ser World of Photonics China welcomed more than 1,000 exhibitors: a total of 1,177 companies from 26 countries and regions on an exhibition area of 60,750 square me- tres. Not only the number of exhibitors was record-breaking, the number of visitors al- so reached a new peak. A total of 65,705 professional visitors attended the exhibi- tion, 17.6 per cent more than last year. Falk Senger, Managing Director of Messe München, on the success of the trade show which took place in March 2019: “Laser World of Photonics impressively proved that photonics is a key technology in China. Three days of innovations, solutions and full halls once again made it Asia’s leading trade show for lasers and photonics.” Smart manufacturing The five major exhibition areas cover the whole value chain of smart manufacturing with lasers: Lasers and Optoelectronics; Optics and Manufacturing Technology for Optics; Lasers and Laser Systems for Pro- duction Engineering; Imaging and Machine Vision; and Optical Metrology and Qual- ity Control including Infrared Technology and Applications. The transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry have made new requirements on produc- tion processes so that an increase in the application of photonics technology is fore- seeable. Along with the flourishing devel- opment of China’s manufacturing industry, the exhibition also featured eight national pavilions from Germany, Japan, Lithuania, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, China and the United States as well as high-tech enterprises from 26 countries. In 2019, La- ser World of Photonics China again put on a complete display of the important inno- vations in the industry. Nearly 1,200 new products were released in areas such as new energy vehicles, LiDAR, biophotonics, 5G, foldable screens and smart processing. Laser World of Photonics China was a huge success. Photo: Messe München Neuer Innovation Award Laser World vergibt 2019 zwei Auszeichnungen Auf der Weltleitmesse Laser World of Photonics, die vom 24. bis 27. Juni in München stattfin- det, werden dieses Jahr gleich zwei Awards vergeben: Der erst- mals ausgeschriebene Innovation Award zeichnet die besten Pro- duktpremieren der Aussteller aus und die bereits dritte Ausgabe des Start-Up Award richtet sich an Jungunternehmer mit innovativen Lösungen. Beide Awards sind mit je 5 000 Euro dotiert und werden in Kooperation mit einem briti- schen Verlagshaus vergeben. Eine Sensorik, die berührungslos über 20 Vitalwerte von Patienten messen kann – mit dieser Lösung holte sich ein israelisch-spanisch- amerikanisches Team den Start- Up Award bei der Laser World of Photonics 2017. „Die Start-Up-Award-Teilnehmer sind ein lebendiger Beweis da- für, wie viele innovative Ideen die Photonik hervorbringt. Da- rum wird auf der Laser World of Photonics 2019 nicht nur der be- währte Start-Up Award, sondern zusätzlich auch der Innovation Award ausgeschrieben. So kön- nen wir dem Thema Innovationen eine noch größere Bühne geben“, schildert Katja Stolle, Projektleite- rin der Messe. Die Bewerbungskategorien für den Start-Up Award sowie den In- novation Award sind: Laser & Op- toelektronik / Beleuchtung und Energie; Optik; Laser & Lasersys- teme für die Fertigung; Biopho- tonik & Medizintechnik; Imaging / Sensorik, Mess- und Prüftech- nik und Optische Mess-Systeme; Fertigungstechnik für Optiken; Optische Information und Kom- munikation; Sicherheit. Aus den eingereichten Innovationen prä- miert eine jeweils hochkarätig be- setzte Jury die Finalisten für den Start-Up Award sowie den Inno- vation Award. Die Bekanntgabe der Gewinner sowie die Preisver- leihungen finden auf der Laser World of Photonics statt. Die Jury der Awards besteht unter ande- rem aus Vertretern des Fraunho- fer Instituts für Optik und Feinme- chanik und der TU Delft.