Jenoptik Group expands Asian market with materials processing JV

Jenoptik has teamed up with Korean company Telstar-Hommel Corp. to establish Jenoptik Korea Corp., a joint venture between the two companies. The new venture will see the representation of Jenoptik’s Lasers & Material Processing division by a laser materials processing centre, which will provide testing and after-sales services to the Asian electronics, flat-panel and photovoltaics industries.

Telstar-Hommel will hold a third of the shares in the new company, leaving Jenoptik AG as the main shareholder with 66.6%. The company is headquartered in Pyeongtaek (Gyeonggi Province), approximately 70 kilometres south of Seoul. The start of 2010 will see the construction of the application centre, which will cost the partners US$4.4 million.

The centre is geared towards the entire Asian market and will provide various laser material processing systems specifically addressing the electronics, flat-panel, and photovoltaics industries. Jenoptik’s laser processing systems will be made available to customers for processing brittle materials such as display glass, solar cells, ceramics and silicon wafers, and will also provide TLS-dicing (thermal laser separation) services.

There are currently 42 Jenoptik laser systems installed in Asia, with a further 12 having been ordered recently.

"With the laser application center in Korea, we have taken a further important step towards internationalization and now have direct access to the Asian market for our Lasers & Material Processing division,” said Jenoptik President and CEO Michael Mertin. “In Telstar-Hommel we have chosen an experienced partner who has already been representing our Industrial Metrology division for years.”