2006 'boom' year for Praezisionsoptik

15 Jan 2007

Praezisionsoptik enjoys its best ever trading year with rising turnover and new investment.

Präzisionsoptik Gera (POG), Germany, achieved a turnover of around $8.5 million over its 2006 financial year, an increase of more than 25% on 2005. "2006 has been the most successful in 15 years of trading," said managing director Manfred Schuhbach.

Good POG

Above all, POG's sales abroad performed notably well, growing by 50%. Export sales now make up nearly half of the firm's total sales volume. POG has important partner companies in Italy, Norway, Switzerland and the US.

Nearly one-third of the turnover and a significant part of the growth were made in the key areas of complex optical systems for applications in machine vision and metrology in the semiconductor, aerospace and defense industries. POG's market share in the field of optical microstructures could be extended with further customers in the fields of microscopy and medical technology.

As a result of the company's growth, six new employees were hired during 2006, two of them directly into R&D projects. POG now has a total staff of 90 employees. "In 2007 we intend to continue our growth," added Schuhbach. "We have commenced new investment of around $1.7 million to modernize and expand our lens and prism manufacturing. This will also provide the basis for future demanding projects in the custom optical systems market."