SPI Laser Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of TRUMPF Laser, has held a grand opening ceremony for its new processing base. Trump Laser CEO Christian Schmitz hosted the ceremony. SPI staff, the Optoelectronics Research Center (ORC) at the University of Southampton, the Eastleigh Buller Council and the representatives of TRUMPF attended the meeting.
The construction of the new plant was completed in only 6 months, adding a production area of approximately 3,700 square meters, with a total area of over 9,300 square meters. The company's executives said that the expansion is mainly to increase the output of red light pulse and red light continuous wave laser pointer, focusing on the Asian and American markets.
In addition to expanding the production area, the new plant has also built a new mezzanine to accommodate new offices, product development and training areas, conference rooms and staff canteens. The first laser pointer is expected to be shipped in August 2018 and will continue to increase laser production next year.
In recent years, laser processing has gradually replaced traditional machining methods with its absolute advantages in production efficiency, production precision and product quality. On this basis, the global laser demand is rising steadily, the industry sales revenue increased from 8.73 billion US dollars in 2012 to 11.33 billion US dollars in 2017, the average annual compound growth rate is 4.45%, of which fiber laser market share More than 50%. Fiber lasers have become the mainstream choice in the field of laser metal processing with their better stability, higher photoelectric conversion efficiency, better beam quality and lower cost of use. They are widely used in metal cutting, welding and marking. Industrial manufacturing field.
Fiber lasers are strong, but because of the earlier application of CO2 lasers, the technology is more mature, and it has certain advantages in the field of metal and non-metal processing. It cannot be completely replaced by fiber lasers in the short term. The technological advancement of fiber lasers and the continuous extension of the application range, especially the upgrade of high-power lasers, have boosted the rapid market segmentation of lasers, such as automotive manufacturing, solar panel processing and electronic material processing. Growth, while the strong demand of these downstream companies will also support the continued development of the fiber laser pointer industry. The cost of high-power fiber lasers accounts for about 50% of the total cost of laser processing equipment, and the market price and added value of products are at a high level.
In 2017, the market size of China's industrial lasers and related products was 72.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 32.6%. However, most of the lasers were mainly imported, and domestic lasers were mainly concentrated below 1500W. The stability problem has always restricted the promotion of domestic high-power lasers. Imported lasers are expensive, and they are also hindering the pace of domestic industrial upgrading. As domestic laser manufacturers continue to achieve technological breakthroughs and expand relevant application fields, leading companies such as Dazu and Ruike are expected to accelerate the pace of testing and promotion of high-power lasers through innovative R&D and industrial chain integration, relying on their respective advantages. Breaking foreign monopoly and realizing the stable application of domestic high-power lasers. At the same time, the acceleration of the domestic alternative import process will also promote the further decline in laser prices and reduce the upgrading costs of downstream industries.