Jenoptik has announced the expansion of two separate distribution partnerships, one in Japan and the other in North America. In both cases Jenoptik has broadened the range of its products that it makes available through its distribution partners.
For the Japanese market, Jenoptik has expanded its collaboration with Kantum Electronics, a Japanese importer and distributor of lasers and optical instruments. In 2005 the two partners formed a joint venture, Jenoptik Laserdiode Japan, in which Jenoptik held just over one third of the shares. In diversifying sales to include other Jenoptik products the company has also increased its shareholding to two thirds of the joint venture, which has been renamed as Jenoptik Japan.
'We are following the model that we have successfully developed in Korea and India over the last two years and taking another important step forward in our process of internationalisation in the growth market of Asia' said Jenoptik chairman Michael Mertin. 'It is important to have direct access to the market. We are simultaneously extremely pleased and proud of the fact that we are continuing the successful, long-standing collaboration with Kantum Electronics.'
At the beginning of this year Jenoptik had already added solid state lasers and laser processing systems to the product range of the Lasers & Material Processing division in Japan, and expanded relevant local service capacities. In addition to the increase in the sales team, the customer centre for diode and solid state lasers is currently also being expanded. This will enable Japanese customers to be supplied quickly and reliably with samples or demo equipment on a local basis. The company adds that its Optical Systems division also plans to expand its activities in Japan in the coming year.
In North America, Laser and Materials Processing division of Jenoptik has broadened the products it offers through its US-based partner RPMC Lasers to include solid-state lasers, in addition to the high-power laser diodes and semiconductor materials that RPMC has been distributing for three years. Under this arrangement, Jenoptik will be able to supply North American customers with its entire technology chain of laser sources.
