When the Lasers & Photonics Marketplace Seminar (LPMS) took place in March 2021, the world was coping with the pandemic that had taken a seven-digit death toll. Even with vaccines available, most of the world suffered from restrictions with severe economic effects. Under these circumstances, the Seminar moved to a full online format so as not to compromise a program that continued to see global industry leaders sharing their insights.
Through this virtual format, we had a chance to look at the bigger picture: What happened in the markets? What prognoses could be made? It turned out that while other markets have had a hard time, many photonics companies reacted quickly and developed resilience to the adverse economic circumstances. Aside from the pandemic, we see growing commodification in the field of industrial lasers, while photonics innovation drives other fields to above-average growth.
