Business briefs

19 Dec 2008

Featuring news from Jenoptik, Osram, Hamamatsu, Sofradir and more.

• Jenoptik has received a contract worth €5 million from the German Aerospace Centre to develop a new generation of its METimage cameras. METimage is to be used on the Post-EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS) weather satellite, and can image a strip of land nearly 3000 km wide with a resolution of 500 m or better, compared to the resolution of 1100 m from instruments currently in orbit. The development programme will run until mid-2010.

• Osram has created a joint venture with Traxon Technologies, Hong Kong, intended to bring together the LED lighting expertise of Osram and two Traxon Technologies companies, Traxon and e:cue Lighting Controls. Operating under the new name Traxon Technologies - An Osram Company, the joint venture be headquartered in Hong Kong while Traxon's research and development activities will remain in Paderborn, Germany, and Hong Kong.

• Hamamatsu Photonics, a manufacturer of optoelectronic components and systems, has announced the expansion of its Electron Tube division facility in Iwata City, Japan. The new building will provide approximately four times the floor space of the original facility. The Scintillator Product division will occupy approximately 50% of the total space and the new facility will enable a 3-fold increase in production, according to the company. Completion of the new facility is scheduled for January 2010.

• Sofradir, a developer and manufacturer of advanced infrared detectors headquartered in France, has completed the acquisition of US infrared equipment company Electrophysics. The acquired company will be renamed Sofradir EC (Sofradir Engineered Components). Frank Vallese, former owner of Electrophysics, will head Sofradir EC as president, and Philippe Bensussan, chairman and CEO of Sofradir will also serve as chairman of Sofradir EC.

• Kollmorgen Electro-Optical has been awarded a $9.3 million US Navy contract to install and maintain its photonics mast imaging systems on Navy submarines. The photonics mast combines cameras, a multispectral suite of electro-optical sensors, a laser rangefinder and other imaging technologies to replace a traditional optical periscope.

• The University of Adelaide has received $28.8 million from the Australian Federal Government to help establish a new Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing, to be located on the university's North Terrace campus. The university will contribute $1.3 million to the construction of the new facilities, with a further $2.5 million from partner institutions. The Institute will be led by Professor Tanya Monro, and aims to bring together leading research in optical fibres, lasers, luminescence, chemistry, proteomics and virology.

• FOSS A/S, a Denmark-based developer of analytical solutions for agricultural, chemical and other industries, has increased its shareholding in Ibsen Photonics to 12.5% of the company. This investment follows a close collaboration on development and manufacturing of spectrometer modules for the next generation of certain FOSS analytical solutions. Both companies see potential in the combination of FOSS' analytical know-how and Ibsen's expertise in spectrometer technology and optical diffraction gratings, according to a joint statement.

People

• Thomas Waechter has been promoted to president and chief executive officer of JDSU, and will also be appointed to the company's board of directors. Waechter is currently president of JDSU's communications test and measurement business. David Holly, senior vice president in that business segment, will have interim responsibility for its operations until a new president is appointed.

• Terry Taber has been elected as a vice president by the board of Kodak, having recently been promoted to chief technical officer for the company. He is currently the chief operating officer of the image sensor solutions business. Kodak has also appointed Susan Wylie as assistant secretary of the company.

• Rick Powers has been appointed business development manager by Fonon DSS, the display & semiconductor systems division of Fonon Technology International. Powers was most recently director of operations for the US office of Micronic Laser Systems. Fonon is a developer of laser cutting technology for flat panel display manufacture.

• Tobias Schenk has been appointed R&D manager by LayTec, a developer of optical sensors for use in thin-film applications based in Germany. Thomas Zettler, company founder and former head of research, will now focus on his role as company president.