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3 September 2014

Swiss veteran in laser technology

The Swiss company LASAG AG was founded on March 4, 1974 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of ASUAG, (Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhren AG), to manufacture lasers for drilling watch jewels. Since then the company has sold more than 4,000 lasers to around 1,500 customers worldwide. LASAG AG has belonged to the Swatch Group since 1998, before the company based on Lake Thun became a member of the ROFIN Group in October 2010, thereby gaining access to its global sales and service network, as well as the internal ROFIN technology pool.

Today 40 years after being founded, the head office in Thun now comprises of a team of 48 highly qualified employees, who develop and sell between 150 to 200 lasers a year for the most varied, industrial, precision applications. In several areas, such as needle and turbine blade drilling, ROFIN-LASAG AG has been the world market leader for many years. Here the Swiss company has never rested on its laurels but has continued to develop its lasers as well as its processes. This led, in 2009, to the addition of the first fiber lasers to the established solid state lasers, which today make a significant contribution to their revenue. LASAG offers optimally matched processing heads for a portfolio of laser sources. This also includes solutions for special applications. For example rotating optics for circular welding, even for parts that are positioned irregularly to each other, or multiple processing heads for simultaneously cutting multiple identical components, of which more than 100 have been sold in the last two years.

In June 2014, ROFIN-LASAG AG celebrated the company's anniversary with three separate celebrations. As well as customers and suppliers, guests from politics, science, employees and their families all came together at various events.

What happens next with the laser solutions that are "Made in Switzerland"?

Andreas Ewald, Managing Director of ROFIN-LASAG AG: "In its 40 year history, LASAG has repeatedly helped to shape the technological change. Because the change from lamp-pumped laser sources to fibre laser sources went well, we can now also continue to forge ahead with our process development in the area of ultra-short pulse laser technology thanks to the possibilities in the ROFIN Group.

Image: from left to right, National Council Hansruedi Wandfluh, Andreas Ewald, Professor Ursula Keller, Thomas Merk, at a celebration of the 40th anniversary of ROFIN-LASAG AG.
 


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