On July 3–5, 2020, LASER World of PHOTONICS CHINA 2020 was held successfully in Halls 7.1H–8.1H of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai). As the annual high-end event for the global optoelectronics technology industry, and the front-runner of optoelectronics exhibitions in 2020, LASER World of PHOTONICS CHINA 2020 posed as a gathering of the leading brands and their new products, technologies and solutions, and depicted the future trends and prospects of optoelectronics technology in modern manufacturing environments.

With an exhibition space of 53,060 square meters, the trade fair attracted nearly 819 exhibitors. With strict safety guidelines in place, the trade fair received about 57,135 professional visitors during the three days.

Dr. Reinhard Pfeiffer, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Messe München, on the success of the trade show in Covid-19-times: “Thanks to the strong commitment of all partners and exhibitors LASER World of PHOTONICS CHINA 2020 was held successfully. The safety and hygiene concept of Messe München ensured the restart of Asia’s leading trade show for this key technology in China.”

The Reopening Industry finds Opportunities in Hardship

The Covid-19 epidemic has had a major impact on the global economy. However, China fortunately has made initial success in its prevention and control, laying a foundation for the gradual restoration of economic activities. The laser industry has also been gradually revitalized as companies resume daily operations and production. In recent years, benefiting from China's support to intelligent manufacturing and the expanding application market, the Chinese laser industry has entered a period of rapid development.

Mr. Stephen Lu, Chief Operations Officer of Messe München Shanghai, expressed his satisfaction: “The first Laser World of PHOTONICS CHINA in 2006 impressed me with a lot of leading enterprises from the USA, Germany and Japan. In the past 15 years, we have seen a lot of high-quality Chinese laser enterprises grow stronger in the international market.”

Mr. Wang Youliang, Director of the Laser Processing Committee, China Optical Society, mentioned: “The year 2020 is indeed very special. After 10 golden years of development, the laser industry in China is entering a period of transition. Coupled with the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, the challenge we are facing is unprecedented. However, the challenges can mean crisis, but they are also be opportunities.”

At LASER World of PHOTONICS CHINA 2020, exhibitors from the laser, infrared, optics and other industries have made contributions to the fight against the Covid-19 epidemic with IR thermal imaging body temperature screening technology, IR temperature measurement, and anti-counterfeiting laser marking technologies which are essential in the reopening of businesses. Laser World of PHOTONICS CHINA, together with China's laser optoelectronics industry, has established a comprehensive procurement and supply system that covers the upstream and downstream of the industry. In the future, new requirements for production processes will increase demand for photonics technology. While promoting the vigorous development of the Chinese manufacturing industry, the trade fair also attracted German and Japanese pavilions to present their advanced technology and applications in optoelectronics and related industries.

Industry Leaders with Innovative Products and Solutions in Shanghai

The visitors enjoyed a fruitful exhibition. Today, seven major new infrastructure construction domains, such as new energy, 5G, intercity high-speed railway and urban rail transit, are in a crucial stage. Related laser applications are faced with huge opportunities and challenges. At the trade fair, TRUMPF, Hans, HG Laser, Penta Chutian, Stäubli, Pretzter, Hymsun, Coherent, Newport, IPG, Raycus, Laserline, nLight, Ruilayse, Amplitude, Ekspla, Lumentum, Torchlight, JPT, Olympus, Konica Minolta, Edmund, Hamamatsu, Yongxin, CASTECH, Mitutoyo, Celera, Renishaw, PI, Baumer, ON Semiconductor, Baidu Cloud, Keyence, Allied Vision, Basler, DAITRON, Vieworks, LUSTER, Daheng, Huaray and other leading brands displayed their innovative products and solutions.

Huang Zhe, General Manager, Business Division, TRUMPF said: “However, TRUMPF, as a multinational company, has tried its best to keep the supply chain going. TRUMPF was fortunate enough to be part of LASER CHINA since its first opening. The exhibition is a very good platform for our customers to learn about the latest technology and solutions. It is also an important opportunity for us to learn from and help each other, which can be a booster for market development. I believe there are still many options and there is a long way to go for the laser industry and its development in China.”

Liu Bo, General Manager, Newport Optoelectronics Technology (Wuxi) Co., Ltd., China, stated: “Newport has exhibited in LASER CHINA for many years. We believe that it is one of the most important exhibitions in the photoelectric industry in China. It provides a platform for very extensive and in-depth exchanges. Many of our customers and suppliers will participate in the exhibition every year. LASER CHINA has contributed a lot of high-quality trade opportunities for us, and helped us find potential customers in China. With the support of new customers, our business has grown in China. I think LASER CHINA is a very important exhibition for Newport.”

Exhibition of Innovative Products Made in China Revitalizes the Photonics Industry

LASER World of PHOTONICS CHINA 2020, under the theme of "Intelligent light manufacturing", had a strong focus on applications. Lots of new products were released at the exhibition, many of which are used in fields like new energy, automotive, Lidar, bio-photoelectric, medical, 5G, AI-supported processing and 3C electronics. At the trade fair, the exhibits fully demonstrated the vitality of the optoelectronics industry's recovery.

Chinese companies play a key role in China's laser industry. Leading Chinese fiber laser manufacturers such as Raycus, semiconductor laser manufacturers like Everbright, and system integrators such as Han's Laser and HG Laser and PENTA Laser prove that China is gradually changing from a user to developer and manufacturer.

Li Jie, Deputy General Manager, Wuhan Raycus Fiber Laser Technology Co., Ltd said: “Raycus has been established for nearly thirteen years. These years have seen the rapid development of the Chinese laser industry in both market size and technology. I remember when I first participated in 2009, the exhibition was basically filled with foreign laser manufacturers. There are very few Chinese exhibitors. But with the development in recent years, I feel that China's laser technology has greatly improved and is able to compete in the international market. I hope that LASER CHINA will continue to promote the industry, and I wish LASER CHINA more successes in the future.”

Wu Rangda, General Manager, PENTA LASER (Wenzhou), commented: “This is the fifteenth time Penta have participated in LASER CHINA, which means we haven’t missed a single year. There are many benefits in our participation. Not only can we learn about advanced products and technologies from Chinese and foreign counterparts, but also our customers in Shanghai and East China are all here. They can visit our booth to find out about our latest R&D projects. Penta has always made LASER CHINA the venue to release our latest R&D project, and the results have been satisfactory. I think LASER CHINA is the largest and best trade fair in China’s laser industry, and it has played a very positive role in market promotion.”

At the same time, VisionChina (Shanghai) 2020 brought together outstanding machine vision brands and companies at home and abroad, including machine vision platforms with innovative products, high-tech and solutions. LASER World of PHOTONICS CHINA, productronica China and electronica China were held at the same time, and extended the scope of machine vision applications, especially in intelligent light manufacturing and innovative electronics manufacturing.

There are 97 Conferences with In-depth Communication between Industry, R&D and Science, Cloud Exhibition Breaks Boundaries

Along with the exhibition, PHOTONICS CONGRESS CHINA and other online and offline conferences focused on hot topics in the industry, including laser processing, advanced lasers, optical technology, infrared imaging, Lidar, laser safety, and beam analysis, making it a comprehensive exhibition of the laser and optoelectronics industries. The conferences closely connected the industry, R&D and scientific communities. The offline conference attracted a total of 2678 onsite visitors and online visitors (including the audience of Vision China). The conferences implemented all possible safety measures, including distanced seating and face masks, throughout the meeting to ensure the safety of the audience.

Chu Junhao, Academician, Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences: “Since the 1990s, the infrared technology in China has been developing very rapidly. Many small enterprises have grown big and strong. The Chinese market leaders have even become international leaders. LASER CHINA 2020 attracted many high-quality exhibitors to communicate with each other and jointly promote the rapid development of the infrared industry.”

Moreover, for the overseas visitors who could not come to the exhibition in person, LASER World of PHOTONICS CHINA 2020 provided online access to the conference. LASER World of PHOTONICS CHINA 2020 also built an "online exhibition hall" for product display and exhibitor-visitor interaction.

Mareile Kaestner, Exhibition Group Director at Messe München concluded: “There were many obstacles to overcome this year. We are all the more pleased about the great success of LASER World of PHOTONICS CHINA 2020.”

The next LASER World of PHOTONICS CHINA 2021 will return to the Shanghai New International Expo Center on March 17–19, 2021.

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