Great to be back in Neuchatel for the Optica Advanced Manufacturing workshop!
It was also a fantastic occasion to reconnect with my former colleagues at Focuslight Switzerland (formerly SUSS MicroOptics).
The journey to openly push the Advanced Manufacturing Alliance began at the NILID conference in Vienna and continued at Optica's event at EV Group, being tired if hearing the same talks year over year and seing technologies hitting the same roadblocks again and again.
I've always been a strong supporter of establishing strong networks, collaboratively increasing customer value and growing the pie for everyone. I'm delighted that Jose Pozo and Oliver Fähnle have taken the initiative to move it forward.
While this summit brought together 140 representatives from innovative companies with key enabling products, it was clear that some major players were missing. The discussions also revealed that the alliance's purpose and vision need further refinement.
However, Switzerland, as a small, united, and neutral nation with a strong currency (potentially analogous to micro-optics/electronics), might be a well-suited launchpad. The Swiss example of unity in a larger ecosystem could serve as a valuable model.
A big thank you to the Focuslight team - Reinhard Voelkel , Helena Jelinkova , Auri Ripoll , and Optica's Jose, Olga Raz , Helena Diez-y-Riega , and all the others for organizing such a productive event! #Optica #AdvancedManufacturing #MicroOptics #Collaboration #Photonics
