Schott increasing stake in ULM Photonics; restructuring Schott Optovance
7 October 2002 -- Schott is increasing its stake in ULM Photonics GmbH - a spin-off from the University of Ulm, Germany - to a majority stake of 52%.
After two years in operation, ULM Photonics, has built and developed research, design and manufacturing facilities for vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs).
Also, Schott is restructuring Schott Optovance Inc, based in Southbridge, Massachusetts, which supplies high-density fibre management components for parallel optical interconnects as well as high-density planar optical components.
Schott Optovance will be sold, spun-in or closed by the end of 2002. Supply of products to its 20 or so customers will be assured during the restructuring, Schott says.
"We are not able to forecast when a sustained turnaround of the telecommunications markets will take effect," said Dr Karl-Peter Merz, a member of the corporate management committee of Schott Glas and chairman of Schott Optovance.
Schott also supplies hermetic packages for optoelectronic components, substrates for passive and active optical components, and advanced bonding techniques.