SPIE (Bellingham, WA), the international society for optics and photonics, has agreed to purchase Xmark Media (Cardiff, England), tradeshow organizer of key photonics exhibitions and conferences in the United Kingdom (UK) including Photonex Europe, Vacuum Expo, Graphene Expo, and a range of regional photonics roadshows and university exhibitions. The acquisition expands SPIE activities in Europe, adding to established technical events in numerous locations--including Germany, France, and the Czech Republic--that are supported by the SPIE Europe office in Cardiff. With an international constituency of individuals and companies from more than 170 countries, SPIE says it will bring worldwide visibility to Photonex Europe, the UK's premier photonics exhibition.
Photonex Europe, which began in 1992, is an annual exhibit showcasing the latest technologies and developments in the photonics field, including biophotonics, fiber optics, imaging, lasers, microscopy, opto-electronics, and quantum photonics. The two-day event brings together supplier companies, consultants, industry leaders, and researchers from across the world. The 2019 event will take place 9 and 10 of October in Coventry, UK. Co-located with Photonex Europe are the Enlighten Conference and Vacuum Expo: the latter will bring together the industrial and scientific vacuum community for its 10th annual exhibition, training, and conference.
"As the international society for optics and photonics, SPIE is excited to have this opportunity to enhance the UK's top event in our field," said SPIE CEO Kent Rochford. "We see great potential when experts, suppliers, buyers, scientists, and engineers from across the globe meet to discuss new challenges and solutions, and we're thrilled that Xmark Media reached out to us to help strengthen support for the photonics community in the UK by including Photonex in the SPIE portfolio."
"The people we attract to Photonex are leaders and innovators at the forefront of optics and photonics technology, so our community has a natural home within the SPIE family," said Xmark Media Exhibition and Marketing director Laurence Devereux. "I've always had great respect for SPIE and am delighted that this transition enables us to continue with our determined objective to support the growth of the photonics industry in the UK and Europe. Joining forces with SPIE, with its international reach, will boost the visibility of our events, presenters, and exhibitors."
"This is an exciting development that will further support the global photonics industry, including those manufacturing in the UK and the many international companies supplying photonics solutions to UK users," said UK Photonics Leadership group chief executive John Lincoln. "The UK photonics community has worked with SPIE conferences and events over many decades, and will be very supportive in expanding this key UK event, further leveraging SPIE's renowned capability in helping people share ideas that move optics and photonics technology into high-impact applications."
SPIE says it is the leading global organizer of optics and photonics conferences and technical exhibitions. Its flagship, SPIE Photonics West, is held annually in San Francisco, CA, USA.
SOURCE: SPIE; http://spie.org/about-spie/press-room/press-releases/spie-to-acquire-photonex-uks-top-optics-and-photonics-exhibition
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.