THORLABS, a vertically integrated photonics products manufacturer, was founded in 1989 to serve the laser and electro-optics research market. As that market has spawned a multitude of technical innovations, Thorlabs has extended its core competencies in an effort to play an ever-increasing role to serve the Photonics Industry at the research end, as well as the industrial, life science, medical, and defense segments.
The organization’s highly integrated and diverse manufacturing assets include semiconductor fabrication of Fabry-Perot, DFB, and VCSEL lasers; fiber towers for drawing both silica and fluoride glass optical fibers; MBE/MOCVD epitaxial wafer growth reactors; extensive glass and metal fabrication facilities; advanced thin film deposition capabilities; and optomechanical and optoelectronic shops.
Thorlabs extends the goal of customer centricity to our product lines as well. Our product designers are encouraged to live the experience of our customers by participating in projects that have them using many of our catalog offerings. We have developed methods that capture the entire customer experience from identifying and sourcing the product, to removing the product from the packaging, to using it in an experiment, and to dismantling and storing it when the experiment is complete. Living the experience of a customer is an integral part of the design process at Thorlabs.
We have developed a culture at Thorlabs that constantly seeks your input. Thousands of our products are a direct result of your suggestions. Of our roughly 20,000 products, Thorlabs manufactures well in excess of 90% of the items that we ship.
Using information technology tools, we are able to weld several wholly owned design and manufacturing entities together into a cohesive enterprise. In all, Thorlabs has 15 substantial design and production facilities located in 10 countries throughout the world. Each location provides a local presence within the community it serves. These local operations allow for customer dialogues that better inform our understanding of regional needs and how they fit within the worldwide picture.
Visit the website of Thorlabs here to get more information.
We welcome Thorlabs as exhibitor of the 25th ECIO edition.