ANALYSIS AND OPINION UNITING EUROPE
European photonics ‘needs to unite to compete globally’
The European Photonics Industry Consortium (EPIC) recently surpassed 300 members. Matthew Dale speaks to the association’s director general, Carlos Lee, about the milestone and the implications it has on the current state of the European photonics industry
F
ourteen years after its founding, the European Photonics
Industry Consortium (EPIC) is recognised as a valued entity within the industry, and has more than 300 companies, universities, research organisations, service providers and photonics clusters as members. Launched in 2003, before Photonics21 or a photonics unit existed at the European Commission, the association was set up with the aim of bringing together the European photonics industry and promoting the sustainable development of organisations working in the field. ‘We’ve been growing
tremendously over the past five years; last year we gained 74 new members in a single year,’ commented Carlos Lee, director general of EPIC. ‘We now have 305 members across 30 countries.’ According to Lee, the growth
of the association is not only due to its strict focus on membership value, but also the maturing of the photonics industry. ‘I certainly think that there is a link between companies becoming a member and the maturity of the industry,’ he confirmed. ‘When you become a member of an association you need to have both time and money to attend its meetings and
12 Electro Optics May 2017 EPIC works to connect its members with foreign markets, with recent trips to Singapore (above) and Israel
conferences, so when a company is still very young, it can be hard for them to join an association, and this was maybe the case 10 years ago.’ Now, however, with
an increasing number of photonics entities signing up to the organisation each year, it appears industry members are in a better financial position to engage with industry consortia. ‘Overall, we sense a lot of momentum in photonics,’ remarked Lee. ‘Despite companies being very busy, we see them investing more
resources into business development – companies see the value of having access to valuable resources such as our market reports, and the immense benefit of engaging with end-users to understand their requirements and develop new products. Individuals increasingly experience the value of being part of a truly active network of photonics experts and leaders.’ Lee believes consortiums such as EPIC are vital for the European photonics industry to remain globally competitive, especially considering the
growing competition from Asian photonics markets. ‘China has photonics companies that are constantly being created and are rapidly growing by 100 to 200 per cent, and that is what we should see as the challenge,’ he said. ‘There is only one way for
Europe to remain competitive, and that is by everyone working together. By bringing companies and people together, we can build the perfect team and have a better chance of meeting the global competition,’ added Lee,
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