Photonics21 – WG2 SWOT Analysis Photonics21 – Work Group 2 Industrial Production, Manufacturing and Quality

Photonics21 – WG2 European SWOT Analysis – WG 2 Strengths Skilled specialists and institutes in Europe High quality of European products and processes Cutting edge technology origins in Europe and USA (i.e. pico sec laser, multi kW laser) Close link between optic, laser and production engineering technologies Industrial laser technologies are present and accepted in the public Weaknesses Cost competitiveness for European products Language and cultural barriers to Asia Research efforts are unbalanced in Europe (concentration in Germany) Non-uniform standards for safety requirements worldwide Opportunities High number of laser research institutes in Europe Good cross-link between research institutes Integration of application know-how into the products (as an USP) Leverage new east European production (automotive, electronics) Threats Know-how transfer from Europe to Asia (e.g. through Asian students in Europe) Suppliers’ locations differ from users’ locations (Micro applications in particular) Growing share of Asian components in Lasers (Crystals, Semiconductors, etc.) Duty and tax barriers especially on spare parts (outside Europe)

Photonics21 – WG2 Recommendations Following actions are recommended: Focus on research cooperation within Europe Foster research excellence centers and leverage application by geographic distributed development centers Large scale demonstration project on new production technology, e.g. PV Support interdisciplinary cooperation between optics, laser, production engineering and automation Standardization of safety requirements worldwide  Position Europe as world’s leading photonic area (EU/P21 marketing initiative) - Increase photonic science efforts and acceptance in whole Europe - Occupy leadership position worldwide