Leoni and Hengtong establish joint venture to manufacture optical fiber in Germany
Leoni (Nuremberg, Germany), a global provider of energy and data management solutions in the automotive sector and other industries, and Hengtong Optic-Electric (Suzhou, China), a supplier of cable and system solutions for the telecommunications and energy sectors, plan the joint production of single-mode fibers for telecommunications and data networks in Jena for the European market. To this end, both companies have signed a framework investment agreement to establish a joint venture and intend to create additional jobs. The joint venture will be founded after approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.
"The transmission of signals via singlemode fibers is a forward-looking technology. It enhances our strategic positioning as a technology partner for intelligent data transmission solutions. By expanding our manufacturing competence we expect to strengthen our Fiber Optics business to serve the increasing European demand for singlemode fibers," explained Bruno Fankhauser, member of the Board of Directors of Leoni AG with responsibility for the Wire & Cable Solutions Division.
"The establishment of the joint venture in Germany and the accompanying expansion of our business activities in Europe are a perfect fit for our '5-5-5' internationalisation strategy. In Leoni we have found a strong and reliable partner to produce singlemode fibers directly in Europe and sell them in the European market," said Jianlin Qian, Chairman of the board of Hengtong.
The expansion of broadband in Germany and other European countries and the growing demand for datacenters require high-performance single-mode fibers as a key element in optical cables. Leoni and Hengtong are combining their strengths to service this growing demand. Through its subsidiary j-fiber GmbH in Jena, Leoni is an established producer of multimode fibers in Europe. j-fiber will provide the joint venture with the necessary infrastructure to commence its operations rapidly. The joint venture will operate under the name of j-fiber Hengtong GmbH and foresees recruitment of new employees in Jena after taking business.
Gail Overton | Senior Editor (2004-2020)
Gail has more than 30 years of engineering, marketing, product management, and editorial experience in the photonics and optical communications industry. Before joining the staff at Laser Focus World in 2004, she held many product management and product marketing roles in the fiber-optics industry, most notably at Hughes (El Segundo, CA), GTE Labs (Waltham, MA), Corning (Corning, NY), Photon Kinetics (Beaverton, OR), and Newport Corporation (Irvine, CA). During her marketing career, Gail published articles in WDM Solutions and Sensors magazine and traveled internationally to conduct product and sales training. Gail received her BS degree in physics, with an emphasis in optics, from San Diego State University in San Diego, CA in May 1986.