Due to the coronavirus-related postponement, LASER World of PHOTONICS took place without the parallel congress; the industry will meet again next year in Munich with the usual format. Dr. Reinhard Pfeiffer, Deputy CEO of Messe München, sums up: “The response has clearly exceeded our expectations: More than 15,000 trade fair visitors traveled to Munich. That's a good 80 percent of the level of trade show attendees at the 2019 pre-event, an outstanding result for a trade fair in the time of coronavirus. 39 percent of visitors came from abroad, with the U.S. and Israel leading the way. We are also very pleased with the successful premiere of the World of QUANTUM, a platform for a future technology that is largely based on photonics and expected to be at least as promising.”
“LASER is alive and well again!” says Dr. Wilhelm Kaenders, Chairman of the Exhibitor Board and CEO of TOPTICA Photonics AG. “After three years and having successfully found its way through various crises, the industry can once again show its full innovative capacity. The quantum topic is an opportunity to reopen an old gateway for the future of photonics.”
The show was an important milestone for an industry on the upswing. Over 900 exhibitors from more than 30 countries made an appearance (2019: 1,325 exhibitors from more than 40 countries), including 15 national and international joint stands. After Germany, the top ten exhibitor countries were U.S., France, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Switzerland, China, Lithuania, Netherlands, Canada, Finland and Japan. The top ten visiting countries from abroad included Switzerland, Italy, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Israel, France, U.S., Czech Republic, Austria, Netherlands and Spain.
“There is immense growth potential for photonics,” explains Jörg Mayer, Managing Director of the industry association SPECTARIS. “For the German photonics industry alone, experts in 2020 forecast average annual growth of more than six percent and total sales of almost 60 billion euros by 2025. I am confident that this target will be met, if not exceeded, despite the current global challenges.”
“After a forced break of more than three years, the trade fair is even more valuable for establishing and maintaining contacts with our customers. The positive response at our booth is clear proof of this,” explains Markus Spanner, CEO Physik Instrumente. Dr. Thomas Fehn, Chief Sales Officer at TRUMPF Laser Technology, says: “LASER World of PHOTONICS is one of the central platforms for presenting our newest ideas and sharing technical information with our international customers.” Jürgen Niederhofer, General Manager MKS Instruments says, “Our expectations with regard to the number of visitors and customer inquiries have been exceeded. The quality of leads is very good and we have had interesting talks.” Benjamin Rudolph, Co-founder of SI Stuttgart Instruments, was a first-time exhibitor with his start-up: "The trade fair is an excellent place to meet and network, and to build new partnerships. What’s more, we have exciting leads to take back to Stuttgart with us. We are especially delighted to be honored with 1st place in the Innovation Award.”