Traverse City manufacturer acquires German maker of laser crystals

TRAVERSE CITY — A Northern Michigan manufacturer of equipment for high-power laser systems has acquired a German supplier of laser crystals.

According to a statement, Electro-Optics Technology Inc., headquartered at 3340 Parkland Court in Traverse City, said it had purchased Idar-Oberstein, Germany-based Forschungsinstitut für mineralische und metallische Werkstoffe – Edelsteine/Edelmetalle – GmbH, known as FEE, a research institute and manufacturer of crystals. 

The company will become a subsidiary of Electro-Optics Technology and do business as FEE GmbH.

FEE supplies optical crystals used in advanced laser systems for welding and cutting in the automotive, medical device and other industries. The company was 75-percent owned by the German state of Rhineland Palatine, which sought to sell it off and position it to better compete in the marketplace, according to reports in Rhein-Zeitung, a German newspaper. 

Electro-Optics, which manufacturers optical components and diagnostic equipment for use in high-power lasers, said the deal will enhance its offerings to laser manufacturers with a complementary technology and products.

“This will allow us to replicate our success with our current products into entirely new and broader offerings of optical components and technologies to our customers,” Electro-Optics CEO David Scerbak said in a statement.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Scerbak founded the company in Silicon Valley in 1987 and moved the operations to Michigan in 1992, according to prior reports.