Industry expert: laser market is moving towards recovery

For market and R & D personnel, the forum and Optech consulting company organized a series of seminars. This forum provides expert analysis and comments on “the impact of economic recession on the international laser market”.

“We’re not going to get worse news,” belforte concluded. He attributed the decline in demand to the contraction of the entire industrial manufacturing sector. At present, many industrial laser systems are integrated into machinery and equipment. “It’s not the laser itself, it’s the manufacturing industry. Industrial laser systems are innocent victims.” He said.

Although the current problem is in manufacturing, belforte remains optimistic. He believes that the overall economic downturn has bottomed out and there will be a recovery in the fourth quarter of this year. If the forecast is accurate, there may be a full recovery in 2021.

Of course, in the recovery of the global economy, some areas will be faster than others. Take the global semiconductor industry as an example, “the recession may last for three years”, but microelectronics is still optimistic for a long time, and the demand for medical, dental and surgical instruments is rising. Belforte predicts that the recovery of the laser market will start with fiber lasers and solid-state lasers, among which many new US legislation will play a role.

In response to the recession, Arnold Mayer, President of Optech consulting, agrees that fiber lasers are the first to recover. “From 2005 to 2008, the average annual growth rate of fiber lasers was 40%,” he points out. Mayer’s data show that in 2020, fiber lasers will occupy more than one-third of the market in material processing, about US $1 billion. When the recovery starts, fiber lasers will further penetrate the CO2 laser cutting market.

At the same time, the future of laser market depends on the recovery of global economy, and the future growth still depends on the progress of technology. “Laser technology is advancing rapidly and the competition is becoming more and more fierce, but it’s a good thing for users.” Mayer concluded.