Coherent, Inc.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Coherent, Inc. was acquired in 2022. For the combined company, see Coherent Corp.
Coherent, Inc.
Subsidiaries
  • Coherent Auburn Group
  • Coherent Laser Group
  • Coherent Semiconductor Group
  • Coherent Lambda Physik
Websitewww.coherent.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

Coherent, Inc., headquartered in

II-VI Incorporated acquired Coherent, Inc. and took the name Coherent Corp.[2][3]

Corporate history

Origins and early funding

Coherent, Inc. was founded in May 1966 by six engineers in Palo Alto, California[4][a] under the name Coherent Radiation.[6]: 1  Coherent was initially funded by the founders with $10,000 from their personal savings.[4][7] They released the first commercially available carbon dioxide laser that year.[7][b] The company made about $500,000 in sales its first year in operation, which grew to $6 million by 1970, after Coherent released its second generation product.[7]

The Rockefellers invested $250,000 in 1967 and other private investors put in an additional $250,000 the next year.[4][7] Then, Coherent filed an initial public offering in 1970.[4][7]

1970s – 1990s

Over time, Coherent expanded into lasers for consumer, medical, scientific, industrial, and other applications.[4][8] In 1981, Coherent acquired the scientific division of Germany-based Lambda Physik, a manufacturer of excimer lasers.[8] The following year, it acquired Germany-based Laser-Optronic GmbH and created a joint venture with Miyama and Co. in Japan.[8]

Coherent became the largest laser equipment and parts manufacturer in the world, but its operations were still unprofitable.

just-in-time manufacturing and continual improvement process.[4] As a result of these changes, Coherent's productivity improved 60 percent, while its costs decreased 58 percent.[4]

By the 1990s, medical lasers accounted for half of Coherent's revenues.[4] In the mid-1990s, Coherent acquired Applied Laser Systems, ATx Telecom Systems, Inc., Uniphase Corporation, and 80 percent of Tutcore Oy, LTD. These acquired businesses formed Coherent's new semiconductor division.[4] In July 1996, Bernard Couillaud was appointed chief executive officer and Hobart left the company the following year.[4] Coherent then acquired a Palomar subsidiary focused on medical applications in April 1999 called Star Medical Technologies, Inc. for $65 million.[4]

2000s

In 2003, Coherent acquired Lambda Physik, which created ultraviolet lasers used in annealing in manufacturing flat-panel televisions.[9] John Ambroseo became the CEO of Coherent in 2004.[9] During his tenure, Coherent made a series of acquisitions that grew the company from $400 million to almost $2 billion in annual revenues.[9] In 2006, Coherent acquired laser equipment manufacturer Excel Technology for $376 million.[9]

Coherent purchased the German-based pulse laser company Lumera in 2012 for $52 million.

additive manufacturing.[14]

Andreas W. Mattes was appointed CEO in April 2020.[9]

In July 2022,

II-VI Incorporated completed the acquisition of Coherent Inc., with the combined company named Coherent Corp.[2]

Products and services

Coherent provides laser-related equipment, components, and services[7][8][15] used for a range of industries and applications.[16] It operates numerous subsidiaries that focus on specific applications like engraving, drilling, or soldering.[8] It manufactures things like lenses, mirrors, diodes, laser measurement equipment, industrial lasers, and lasers used in research labs.[15]

The Bernard J. Couillaud Prize

The

OSA Foundation and Coherent Inc. partnered in 2017 to offer the annual Bernard J. Couillaud Prize,[17] in honor of the former CEO of Coherent, who died in 2017. Couillaud, in collaboration with Nobel Prize Laureate Theodor W. Hänsch, developed the Hansch-Couillaud technique for laser frequency stabilization,[18] and was instrumental in the development of dye, diode-pumped solid-state lasers, and Ti-sapphire lasers
in his roles at Coherent. The Couillaud Prize is awarded to early-career professionals pursuing ultrafast laser research with an emphasis on solving real-world problems. The prize is a merit award of $20,500 with up to $5,000 in travel expense reimbursement to attend OSA scientific conferences.

Notes

  1. ^ Sources conflict on the number of founders.[5]
  2. ^ Sources conflict on whether Coherent was the very first. Founder James Hobart asserted the first commercial laser was actually created by PerkinElmer
  3. ^ A different source claims $5 million rather than $9.3.[12]

References

  1. ^ Coherent, Inc. 10-K For the Fiscal Year Ended October 3, 2020, Coherent, Inc.
  2. ^ a b "II-VI Incorporated Completes the Acquisition of Coherent, Forming a Global Leader in Materials, Networking, and Lasers". GlobeNewswire (Press release). July 1, 2022.
  3. ^ Doughty, Nate (1 July 2022). "II-VI completes acquisition of Coherent, will take on new name". American City Business Journals. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Grant, Tina (2000). Coherent, Inc. Vol. 31. St. James Press. pp. 122–126. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. ISBN 978-0-262-02318-4
    . Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  6. OCLC 893974550
    .
  7. ^ a b c d e f Bromberg, Joan (January 20, 1984), "James Hobart", Oral History Interviews, American Institute of Physics
  8. ^ a b c d e Clark, Robert (February 1983). "Tangents: Coherent: Taking Command on Many Fronts". Photonics spectra. pp. 91–92.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Coherent CEO Ambroseo retiring by 2021". Optics.org - The Business of Photonics. April 15, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Coherent extends ultrafast expansion with $52M Lumera Laser buy-out". optics.org - The Business of Photonics. December 21, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  11. ^ Quackenbush, Jeff (July 31, 2015). "Raydiance acquired by Coherent". The North Bay Business Journal. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  12. ^ "Coherent Increases Profits, Acquires 2 Firms in 2015". Photonics.com. November 5, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
  13. ^ Beckerman, Josh (March 16, 2016). "Coherent to Buy Rofin-Sinar for $942 Million". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  14. ^ Holton, Conard (May 29, 2018). "Coherent buys OR Laser for AM systems, expands in Lübeck". Laser Focus World. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  15. ^ a b Coherent Website's Products List, December 3, 2020, retrieved December 9, 2020
  16. ^ Fisher, Lawrence (April 12, 1986). "The Missing Boom in Lasers". The New York Times. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  17. ^ "Bernard J. Couillaud Prize". The Optical Society.
  18. doi:10.1016/0030-4018(80)90069-3
    .

External links

  • Official website
    • Historical business data for Coherent, Inc.:
    • SEC filings
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