business profile Flourishing with fibre
SPI Lasers has emerged from troubled beginnings in telecoms to become a major player in fibre lasers, as Warren clark discovers
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PI Lasers began life as Southampton Photonics Incorporated (hence SPI) back in 2000. It was a spin-
out from Southampton University, led by David Payne, director of its renowned Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC).
The company was initially set up to develop fibre Bragg gratings to groom signals used in ultra-long haul optical telecommunications. With a large amount of venture capital investment, Southampton Photonics developed some basic technology and infrastructure, but before the company was able to trade, the telecom bubble burst. It left the company stranded, along with hundreds of other telecom start-ups. By 2003, the investors undertook a strategic review of the remains of the company to see if there was a way to exploit the intellectual property of the business. David Parker, who had known Payne for several years and had worked for Agilent and Marconi (in the latter, specifically for the business unit that is now Oclaro), was brought in to lead this review.
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of having a laser in one’s production line to a point where customers can fit more lasers into a cleanroom.’ Other products soon followed, including a series of nanosecond pulsed lasers, which are used in a range of applications, from simple marking to micromachining, and in markets such as consumer electronics and computing. Following a couple of years of
spi has become a force in fibre lasers
‘We looked at the core competencies of the existing business,’ says Parker, now CEO. ‘We looked at various options, such as telecoms and sensors, but decided to target the nascent fibre laser market, which was virtually non- existent at the time. It was effectively a restart for the business.’ With the 35 employees that the company comprised at the time, Parker led a technology feasibility review, resulting in its first prototype fibre laser delivery system, achieving 18.5W of power. ‘We were very proud of ourselves,’ observes Parker wryly, given that the company has recently produced a kilowatt laser. With limited marketing
resources available, SPI identified the key performance attributes of its fibre laser technology, and began approaching lead customers to work with them and develop a product that met their specific needs. ‘This is a business model that continues to this day,’ says Parker. ‘We like to see
electro optics l december 2011/january 2012
the environment in which the laser will be working, design it into the process and test its performance in the application area in question.’ The first product emerged in 2005, a CW laser operating at around 100W. ‘Our first commercial success was in supplying that product to a major medical stent manufacturer,’ says Parker. ‘The fibre laser works particularly well in this application, because of the small spot size and high-intensity beam it creates.’ SPI’s products
quickly gained traction, because the fibre laser provided customers with numerous benefits. ‘For our first customer, these included a significant increase in quality and a reduction in yield loss, thanks to the high beam quality of the fibre laser,’ says Parker. ‘Another factor is the small and compact nature of the fibre laser. It improved the footprint
product development, SPI Lasers floated on AIM (a ‘junior’ stock market in London) as a means of raising further funds. It remained listed until its acquisition by Trumpf in 2008. ‘Trumpf was not the only bidder for SPI at the time,’ says Parker. ‘Ultimately, the sale to Trumpf was the most beneficial to both parties. Trumpf acquired SPI as it wanted access to advanced-level fibre laser technology,’ says Parker. ‘It wanted to incorporate fibre lasers into its own laser systems. ‘From an SPI perspective, we
were doing pretty well as a small company. It was obvious to us that, if we ever wanted to be a major player, then the investment profile was
from an spi perspective,
we were doing pretty well as a small company
just beyond our means at the time. So, being part of a bigger parent company would allow us access to that investment ahead of the curve – in a small company, you’re always making a buck then spending a buck or making continuous calls for investment capital. Neither is ideal in a fast-moving environment with a large competitor.’
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