PTB Industry News

Attendance at SPIE Annual Meeting Tops 5,000

Optics Clusters See Rapid Growth

DENVER, CO, July 22 -- Attendance at SPIE's 44th Annual Meeting & Exhibition has reached 5,085, including 800 walk-in attendees. This industry event -- sponsored by the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE) -- is being held July 18-23 at the Colorado Convention Center & Marriott City Center in Denver.

Among the continuing developments in the optics industry is the rapid growth of regional "clusters," in which companies with common economic and technological interests band together to maximize their influence, provide networking opportunities, and gain industry recognition. By forming a partnership between business and government, they seek to improve the entrepreneur business climate. Robert Breault -- founder of Breault Research Organization, Inc. (BRO), Tucson, AZ -- helped organize the Arizona Optics Industry Association (AOIA), which includes more than 115 optics companies.

"In October 1997, our cluster met with about 80 community leaders, including staff from national legislators, city council members, county board of supervisors staff, state legislators, and people from banks and the educational system," said Breault. "We articulated what we thought would be best for economic development in the region. We created a whole network that focuses on the infrastructures that are most economically viable for a community."

The Arizona cluster also sends representatives from Raytheon, Breault Research, and other companies into classrooms to spur students' interest in science and technology.

"I'm convinced the optics community will grow from a $50 billion industry of a couple of years ago to a $500 billion industry by 2010," said Breault. "We don't have enough people to service it. The best way to service the industry is globally through cooperation."

According to Breault, the AOIA helps its members "make money and save money" by providing:

• a link to government at the local, state, and federal levels (AOIA represents the small to medium-sized companies at these levels);
• access to funding: connections to venture capitalists, investment banks, and "angel" investors;
• directories that are distributed internationally;
• a cluster Web site
• a pool of resources for personnel searches;
• a link to education at all levels;
• marketing via a cluster billboard, ads, public relations issues;
• networking for engineers.

In addition to the AOIA, other optics/photonics clusters include the Colorado Photonics Industry Association (CPIA); the Connecticut Photonics Industry Cluster (CPIC); the Florida Electro-optics Industry Association (FEIOA); the Greater Rochester Photonics Alliance (GRPA); and the Massachusetts Association for Optical Industry (MAOI). The Colorado cluster now includes 132 companies, 32 of which were represented at this week's SPIE exhibition.

The 45th Annual SPIE Annual Meeting will be held next summer in San Diego, CA.