LASER WoP 2021 will be ‘milestone’ on the way out of Covid-19 crisis

01 Jun 2020

Photonics industry is experiencing one of its worst declines in revenue in decades, say Spectaris and Optecnet associations.

Messe München, the host and organizer of LASER World of Photonics, has announced that next year’s event “will be opening its doors from June 21 to 24, 2021; the world’s leading photonics trade fair will once again be presenting innovations from the industry– this time under special circumstances due to the coronavirus crisis.”

This week’s statement adds, “After the economic slump, exhibitors and the Spectaris trade association see an excellent opportunity for LASER 2021 to provide impetus for economic recovery. Exhibitors can register now.”

The LASER World of Photonics project team said there has already been a “good start to the registration phase for exhibitors; the exhibition space already booked [as of June 1, 2020] is at the level as it was at the same point for the last very successful LASER World of Photonics – considering that the companies are currently dealing with the massive impact of the crisis triggered by the coronavirus.”

'Worst decline in revenue in decades'

The photonics industry is experiencing in 2020 one of its worst declines in revenue in decades, according to a survey by the German industry associations Spectaris and Optecnet.

“A a decline in revenue of 20 percent on average over the previous year is expected for medium-sized German photonics companies,” said Spectaris Managing Director Jörg Mayer. “Since photonics continues, however, to be a key element in almost all areas of manufacturing, dynamic growth in photonics is expected again as the economy rebounds. LASER World of Photonics trade fair is the ideal meeting place for our member companies to step up their business relationships along the value chain.”

Thomas Fehn, Head of Sales & Service at Trumpf Lasertechnik added his support to next year’s LASER expo: “Even though it’s 60 years since the laser was invented, its significance for developing new technologies and innovations is as great as ever. Trumpf is also ideally positioned for the time after the coronavirus crisis.

“Anyone who wants to shape the future shouldn’t shrink from investing in innovative products. That’s especially true for industries such as electromobility, semiconductors or medical technology. LASER offers us an ideal opportunity to demonstrate our innovative strength to a wide international audience.”

Prof. Constantin Häfner, Head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, added, “Photonics is one of the key technologies for tackling industrial and social challenges. The Fraunhofer ILT has been using LASER trade fair for several decades to present our latest developments and findings to the international audience of experts.”

Reinhard Pfeiffer, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Management of Messe München, concluded, “Companies and institutions are pinning their hopes on an economic recovery along with LASER 2021. We will do everything we can to once again give our customers a unique trade fair experience, no matter what the conditions are in June 2021."