The BIOMEDevice Boston show was held May 3-4, 2017, at the Boston Convention center. This two-day event has grown in importance over the years, and now hosts about 400 suppliers greeting over 4000 engineers. The show was well attended both days, especially in the morning with a good number of quality leads generated. The numbers dropped off after about 2:00 p.m., not surprising because of Boston commuter traffic. Even though the numbers dropped off, there were still quality leads generated.
Talking with industry vendors, everyone seems to be busy. Laser lead times are in the 20-week range for most ultrafast laser manufacturers, and even orders on optics, like galvos, have a 20-week delivery. Everyone is talking about doubling their capacity, which either means we are going to see the industry take off or we will have massive over-capacity in a year or so. I guess we will see.
On the business front, there was talk at the show of a few laser machining companies that are either being courted or are outright for sale (in some cases, again…). No names to share yet, but stay tuned!
I will be on the road quite a bit over the next couple of months, and I look forward to new discoveries and news items.
I am always interested in hearing your thoughts concerning laser micromachining, the laser industry, comments on entrepreneurial endeavors, etc. AND … we are always looking for fresh, publishable material. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
Ron Schaeffer
Ron Schaeffer, Ph.D., is a blogger and contributing editor, and a member of the Laser Focus World Editorial Advisory Board. He is an industry expert in the field of laser micromachining and was formerly Chief Executive Officer of PhotoMachining, Inc. He has been involved in laser manufacturing and materials processing for over 25 years, working in and starting small companies. He is an advisor and past member of the Board of Directors of the Laser Institute of America. He has a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Lehigh University and did graduate work at the University of Paris. His book, Fundamentals of Laser Micromachining, is available from CRC Press.