Autodoc invests millions in new warehouse in Szczecin

AUTODOC, Europe’s leading online retailer of car parts, accessories and equipment, opened its latest logistics centre in Szczecin. With the new building “M13” in Szczecin, AUTODOC is doubling its storage space in Szczecin to 26,700 square metres. Up to 800 jobs will be created in the new semi-automatically operated warehouse. At the opening ceremony of the facility, AUTODOC boss Alexej Erdle stated that despite the coronavirus crisis, the company urgently requires the additional capacity. AUTODOC was founded twelve years ago in Berlin and has enjoyed continuous growth. In 2019, AUTODOC increased its sales by 48 percent to almost 615 million euros.The company plans to continue to pursue an ambitious growth strategy in the coming years. With the new warehouse, AUTODOC continues its four-year success story in Szczecin. In 2018 AUTODOC opened its local reloading point for car parts, accessories and consumer goods by the A6 motorway in the district of Zalom-Kasztanowe. By now, almost 1600 employees and contract workers work at this location. Almost 75,000 products are unpacked and repacked, addressed and shipped to end customers every day. However, the handling capacity of the new warehouse will be significantly higher thanks to semi-automated processes. In future, AUTODOC’s handling will increase from 25,000 daily orders to as many as 61,000 orders. The Szczecin site has clearly established itself as AUTODOC’s most important logistics location with total investments of around 11.0 million euros since its launch. While the company continues to operate a warehouse in the Berlin district of Lichtenberg, maximum capacities have been reached at this location due to a lack of expansion space. AUTODOC requires the warehouses to be able to deliver goods ordered online in the shortest possible time to customers. The company mainly relies on “on-demand” delivery. Products ordered online are delivered to AUTODOC by the manufacturers and then sent on to the customer almost immediately. With its broad range of 2.5 million products, low prices, above-average customer service and fast delivery, AUTODOC takes a growing share of the market from the brick-and-mortar car parts trade. AUTODOC is currently looking for new employees in both Szczecin and Berlin to meet the continuing strong growth in demand. “We currently have many vacancies,” said Erdle. He particularly pointed to the fairly tight labour market in Szczecin, which has turned into a popular logistics location. The multinational workforce in the warehouses often works in teams organised according to their native languages. Ten nations are represented in Szczecin and the employees enjoy a good rate of pay, a number of bonus systems, private health insurance and care as well as free transport to and from the city centre of Szczecin.

New Strategic Fund to Invest in Health Innovation

As the health care landscape rapidly evolves, the American Hospital Association (AHA) has been pursuing multiple ways to lead and promote innovation in the field. Today, the AHA is pleased to announce the final closing of the AHA Innovation Development Fund, LP, or “AHA Fund,” a $50 million venture capital fund formed to help hospitals and health systems continue to transform health care and deliver cutting-edge care.The AHA Fund is sponsored and managed by Concord Health Partners, LLC (Concord), a health care-focused investment firm, with the AHA as the anchor limited partner investor. The AHA Fund has made several investments to date in health care companies and will continue to invest in cutting-edge solutions.The goal of the AHA Fund is to invest in early-stage health care companies that provide products, services and solutions that help hospitals and health systems transform care delivery, spur innovation among members, connect hospitals and entrepreneurs, and drive results.James Olsen, Founder & Managing Partner of Concord, commented, “Concord is focused on identifying and supporting health care companies with solutions that address affordability, quality and access to care. The AHA Fund aligns interests and delivers strategic value to both health systems and portfolio companies. We are excited to be part of this collaborative effort with the AHA to advance and accelerate innovation in health care.”

Wynnchurch Capital Invests in Eastern Metal Supply

Wynnchurch Capital, LLC (“Wynnchurch”) announced today that it has made an investment in Eastern Metal Supply (“EMS”). EMS is a leading value-added distributor of aluminum extrusions and related products. Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Lake Worth, Florida, EMS started with just five employees and has grown to employ approximately 800 today. Their single Florida location has also grown into fourteen nationwide distribution centers and manufacturing facilities, totaling nearly 1.5 million square feet under roof.“We have built and grown EMS by providing our customers with exceptional service, just-in-time delivery and a wide breadth of value-added products. Wynnchurch shares this commitment and we are excited to partner with them as we continue that mission and pursue our next phase of growth,” said Greg Weekes, President and Co-Founder of EMS.Chris O’Brien, Managing Partner at Wynnchurch, said, “For nearly 20 years, a core part of our strategy at Wynnchurch has been investing in founder-led companies. We are very fortunate to be able to continue this with our investment in EMS and partnership with Greg.” Greg Gleason, Managing Director at Wynnchurch, added, “As a market-leading, value-added distributor serving a wide variety of end markets, EMS is an ideal platform poised for continued growth. We look forward to working with Greg and his team to build on this impressive track record.”
Wynnchurch Capital is actively investing from its $1.3 billion Fund IV. In June, Wynnchurch acquired MPL Holdings, a leader in cultured marble products for the hospitality and multi-family housing markets, and two closed-die forging facilities of Allegheny Technologies that produce high-value, complex forgings for OEMs. Other recent Wynnchurch investments include: Alliance Designer Products, Inc., a leading manufacturer of polymeric sand and related installation products used in residential and commercial hardscaping projects; Boss Industries, a leading provider of power take-off and engine driven rotary screw air technologies; and Infra Pipe Solutions, a leading manufacturer of large diameter, high density polyethylene pipe.

Germany and France Invest in European Battery Production

Blackstone Resources AG (SWX: BLS; STU: 4BR, FRA: 4BR, BEB: 4BR) (“Blackstone”) is pleased to announce that it has formally submitted a detailed business plan to the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) to join its battery production subsidy programme. Germany and France have both respectively set up their own 1 billion and 700 million-euro subsidy programmes to facilitate battery production in Europe. This demonstrates that these countries fully support expanding the capacity for battery production in Europe with the aim of making Europe a global leader. Since the European car industry is now strongly committed to rolling out their own lines of fully electric vehicles, this represents an important strategic move.Blackstone along with a number of prominent battery technology firms where invited to summarise their plans and submit their applications for financing to the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). Blackstone’s 100% owned subsidiary based in Erfurt has applied for this particular programme, where one billion euros has been pledged to support Germany’s ambitions to become the world leader in battery technology and production.Blackstone has ambitious goals for the German market. It plans to take full advantage of Germany’s manufacturing prowess and strong innovative culture. Germany’s motivated workforce and additional support from governmental departments and the EU was the decisive factor for Blackstone’s participation.Blackstone will cooperate with additional German partners, which will provide an important platform for further research. This will allow Blackstone to establish a substantial battery-production project in Germany. The aim is to use these new technologies to manufacture the next generation of electric-vehicle batteries, close to where German auto manufacturers are based. EUR 200 million will be invested into this new project, initially from Blackstone’s own funds with the aim to garner further support from Germany’s subsidy programme and similar programmes being launched elsewhere in Europe, such as France.Blackstone’s management team has laid out a number of significant goals and milestone that it wishes to achieve in the German market.The first is to create battery manufacturing facilities in close proximity to major German auto makers. Its aim it to offer an initial capacity of 100 million battery cells per annum or approximately 1 gigawatt per annum (which is the equivalent of 25,000 to 100,000 electric-vehicle batteries) at lower costs than what is presently produced by China. Once successfully achieved, plans will be drawn up to increase production substantially.The second is to create an incubator fund and accelerator fund for numerous start-ups and academic research projects across Europe. In addition, Blackstone will cooperate with prominent universities from various cities. Blackstone has already conducted detailed due diligence on a number of highly promising projects and has started the evaluation process.

Sofradir and ULIS to invest €150M in French Nano 2022 program, part of EU initiative on microelectronics

Grenoble, France. Sofradir and its subsidiary ULIS today announce their participation in the Nano 2022 initiative, which sees the Group invest €150M ($171M) over the period 2018-2022.This announcement follows the European Commission’s approval on December 18, 2018 of the ‘Important Project of Common European Interest’ (IPCEI), a joint project by France, Germany, Italy and the UK to give €1.75 billion (approx. $2bn) in public support for research and innovation in microelectronics.Nano 2022 is France’s initiative within the cross-border program that will support developments in nanotechnology, a market sector of strategic importance for the future, which includes applications such as smart sensors. The Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region, where Sofradir and ULIS have operations, announced it will contribute €35M ($40M) to support Nano 2022.Sofradir and ULIS, whose infrared technologies are used in a range of applications from space observation and environmental monitoring to security surveillance and predictive maintenance, will invest €150M ($171M) in the Nano 2022 initiative in order to develop next-generation infrared detectors.“Infrared technologies can offer the necessary solutions for improving assisted living, mobility, energy efficiency, security and environmental monitoring, which are all crucial societal needs,” said Jean-François Delepau, chairman and CEO of Sofradir and ULIS. “As a result of our investment, equipment manufacturers will benefit from the ease-of-use and performance these new products will offer.”Nano 2022 will enable ULIS to develop the next generations of infrared detectors to address trends in autonomous systems for smart buildings (workspace management, energy savings), road safety and in-cabin comfort of vehicles. It also enables Sofradir to develop the very large dimension infrared detectors needed for space and astronomy observations as well as compact and light sensors that can be used in portable devices and on drones. Nano 2022 contributes to the funding of the pilot lines required for developing these technologies and products.Sofradir and ULIS participate in Nano 2022 alongside other companies based in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region, including STMicroelectronics and Soitec.The IPCEI framework develops key cross-border R&D and infrastructure projects aimed at encouraging member states to channel their public spending into large projects. These make a clear contribution to economic growth, job creation and the competitiveness of Europe. The European Commission (DGComp) evaluates the funding conditions, ensuring they are in line with EU state aid rules.

EU budget: Commission proposes a new fund to invest in the maritime economy and support fishing communities

The new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund will continue to support the European fisheries sector towards more sustainable fishing practices, with a particular focus on supporting small-scale fishermen. It will also help unleash the growth potential of a sustainable blue economy towards a more prosperous future for coastal communities. For the first time, it will contribute to strengthening international ocean governance for safer, cleaner, more secure, and sustainably managed seas and oceans. Finally, the Commission is reinforcing the environmental impact of the Fund with a focus on protecting marine ecosystems and an expected contribution of 30% of its budget to climate change mitigation and adaptation, in line with the commitments agreed under the Paris Agreement.Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella, said: “Healthy, well-managed oceans are a pre-condition for long-term investments and job creation in fisheries and the broader blue economy. As a global ocean actor and the world’s fifth largest producer of seafood, the European Union has a strong responsibility to protect, conserve and sustainably use the oceans and their resources. The Fund will allow Member States and the Commission to live up to that responsibility and invest into sustainable fisheries, food security, a thriving maritime economy, and healthy and productive seas and oceans.”Fisheries are vital to the livelihood and cultural heritage of many coastal communities in the EU. Together with aquaculture, they also contribute to food security and nutrition. A particular focus of the Fund will be to support small-scale coastal fishermen, with vessels below 12 metres, which represent half of European employment in the fishing sector. Since the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy in 2014, progress has been made in bringing fish stocks back to healthy levels, in increasing the profitability of the EU’s fishing industry, and in conserving marine ecosystems. The new Fund will continue to support these socio-economic and environmental objectives.As regards the maritime economy, the Commission proposes to strengthen its support compared to the 2014-2020 period. This is a high-potential economic sector whose worldwide output is estimated at €1.3 trillion today and could more than double by 2030. The maritime fund will enable investment in new maritime markets, technologies and services such as ocean energy and marine biotechnology. Coastal communities will receive more and broader support to set up local partnerships and technology transfers in all blue economy sectors, including aquaculture and coastal tourism.In the context of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Union has also committed at international level to make seas and oceans safer, more secure, cleaner and more sustainably managed. The new European Maritime and Fisheries Fund will support these commitments for better international ocean governance. It will, among others, also provide the necessary funding to improve maritime surveillance, security and coastguard cooperation.

Invest in Sharjah to lead a high-level trade mission to Rotterdam and Amsterdam in May

Sharjah, the third-largest economy of the United Arab Emirates, has finalised preparations for a high-level trade mission to the Netherlands, which will take place on May 8–9, and cover the cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
Sharjah’s visit comes within a couple of months of a business roundtable meeting organised by Sharjah, which saw participation of over 150 investors representing Dutch businesses in diverse sectors who were visiting to explore new areas of business interests in the Middle East and North Africa.
On May 8, the delegation will visit key innovation hubs and centers in the city of Amsterdam, including the Science Park; the Marineterrein, Growth Tribe, and Yes!Delft.Organised by Invest in Sharjah, the “Sharjah Netherlands Business Seminar” will be taking place on May 9, Hilton Rotterdam Le Jardin Venue in Rotterdam, to introduce Dutch investors to new business opportunities in a variety of sectors including logistics, tourism, environment, healthcare, education, media and digital productions, and offer them keen industry insights about the fast-growing business environment of Sharjah.The seminar in Rotterdam will be witness participations from HE Saeed Ali Yousef Alnowais, UAE, Ambassador in Netherlands; and senior officials from the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), Sharjah Media City (Shams), Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD), Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park, and the Sharjah FDI office.The visiting delegation will be looking at ways to optimise the relationship by driving sustainable growth for both nations in key sectors like healthcare, maritime, food and water sustainability, in which the Dutch represent some of Europe’s best. Through such networking opportunities, Sharjah seeks to discuss positive, practical steps that can be taken to open viable investment opportunities for Dutch businesses to either grow or enter in the emirate’s business community.The UAE’s trade relationships with the Netherlands were forged more than 60 years ago. Today, the UAE is home to over 7,500 Dutch nationals and 250 Dutch businesses including the likes of ABN Amro, AkzoNobel, Boskalis, ING, Unilever, Philips, Shell, Van Oord and Vopak.

H.I.G. Capital Invests in Logistics Assets in Denmark

H.I.G. Capital, LLC (“H.I.G.”), a leading global private equity investment firm with over €20 billion of equity capital under management, announced today that one of its affiliates has recently completed the acquisition of a 48,000sqm logistics portfolio in Denmark. Terms were not disclosed.H.I.G. continues to add to its sizeable holdings of real estate assets across Europe, consisting of both equity as well as debt investments, with a particular focus on its target market of value-added small/midcap opportunities.Riccardo Dallolio, Managing Director and Head of H.I.G. Europe Realty Partners in London, commented: “The Nordic real estate markets represent a key part of our European value-add strategy and we continue to actively look at opportunities in the small/midcap sector in these countries across the capital structure.” Fredrik Steinum, Director at H.I.G. Europe Realty Partners in London, added: “The transaction demonstrates our ability to leverage our strong network and track record in the Nordic markets to acquire high quality assets with significant value-add potential.”

Invest in Photonics sees greater funding opportunities for photonics start-ups with corporate ventures

Bordeaux, France. Invest in Photonics® 2014, a two-day international business partnering convention focused exclusively on photonics VC investment, today announces that participation at the October 9 – 10 event for business angels, VCs and corporate ventures rose by 13 per cent, to 170 attendees. Robert Bosch Venture Capital and Safran Corporate Ventures participated for the first time. This was also the first year the event welcomed investors from the crowdfunding community and traders, signaling a broadening attraction in alternative funding.Twenty early- to late-stage pan-European photonics firms pitched investors to target a cumulative total of USD 90m (EUR 70m) in funding. This is in line with the 2012 edition funding target.Attendees applauded the overall quality of the companies presenting, who were coached by market research and strategic consultants Yole Finance, a business unit of Yole Developpement. Investors attending the event plan to pursue next phase discussions with 13 companies who presented. Dutch-based Effect Photonics, a developer of DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) System-on-Chip based modules to decrease the complexity and increase the energy efficiency in data centers, won the Invest in Photonics award for most promising company in the photonics market. Finnish firm Valkee, a maker of bright light headsets to dissipate winter blues, and Luxexcel, a Dutch company providing processing technology for 3D printed optics, took second and third place respectively.“We have seen a significant increase in the business relevance and quality of the investment opportunities presented this year,” said Giorgio Anania, chairman of Invest in Photonics 2014. “The key take away for photonics start-ups is to ride the shift from VC to new funding sources such as corporations, business angels and alternative financing that were presented during the event.” The photonics industry is estimated at USD 480bn. According to keynote speaker Steve Anderson, industry and market strategist at SPIE (The international society for optics and photonics), for the core components business close to 2,750 photonics firms span 46 countries. Japan, the US and Germany host the majority. Ten per cent of companies employ roughly 77 per cent of employees. Most companies generate between USD 1m to USD 10m in revenue. The smaller companies produce only 4 per cent of photonics business sales, whereas larger firms (more than USD 1bn) represent 72 per cent of total sales. Japan generates 50 per cent of total photonics revenue.
While many of the VCs attending acknowledged that investment in early stage photonics companies is becoming rare, they recognized that there has been an “explosion of corporate ventures, which are filling the VC gap,” according to Alessio Beverina, venture partner. He has seen the number of corporate deals and partnerships rise steadily from 133 in 2005 to a peak of 330 in 2010, showing an approximate value of EUR 1.5bn in deals.
A new entrant in corporate financing made its appearance at this year’s event. Gregoire Aladjidi, director of Safran Corporate Ventures, announced that the Safran Group has a EUR 1.5bn research and development budget. Safran Corporate Ventures is a strategic investor collaborating with portfolio companies in a number of select areas, including materials, sensors, energy, advanced manufacturing and robotics. It will typically fund series A or B rounds in the vicinity of EUR 5m.This year, Invest in Photonics emphasized four market segments that extensively use photonics: consumer electronics, the life sciences, aerospace and transportation, plus energy and the environment. Speakers who represented these industrial sectors gave examples of the gaps in innovation they are looking to fill.Dieter Kraft, partner at Robert Bosch Venture Capital, who participated in the roundtable on ‘Photonics financing: shift from VC to corporations’ said that Bosch seeks to bring business expansion, disruptive technology as well as new business models to the company. Ticket size investments range from EUR 1m to EUR 4m and up to EUR 10m investments worldwide. Automation control, energy conversion efficiency, signal processing and healthcare are areas of interest.Alcatel Lucent Bell Labs’ Jean-Luc Beylat sees growing market opportunities for silicon photonics in the migration from telecom networks to data centers. Yole Developpement sees a turning point in the silicon photonics device market in 2018, growing from around USD 25m in 2013 to USD 700m in 2024.Biophotonics, used in high-end desktop devices for life science and healthcare applications, stands out as another strong growth area. Yole Developpement indicates that it will expand from USD 23bn in 2012 to USD 36bn in the next three years (Source: Biophotonics Market 2013, April 2013 edition). Leica Microsystems advocated a strong need for more powerful lasers to enable super resolution technology for microscopGreen photonics came up as another expanding area that is garnering investor interest. Beverina says that green photonics is interesting for VCs because it has real problems to solve, offers a huge market size and high growth potential. “VCs will continue to invest in photonics technologies if there is a strong market driver, such as regulations, incentives, needs for lower costs, significant growth in demand etc.”In his presentation on the ‘EU vision on financing photonics’, Wolfgang Boch, head of the photonics unit, European Commission, says that “the EU has, within the Horizon 2020 Program which provides overall funding of EUR 78.6bn, an envelope of EUR 700M earmarked to support photonics research and innovation activities in Europe.” He presented several instruments, like the dedicated SME instrument and pilot actions that go beyond research and development. These include helping companies test technology and products in real life situations and setting up mechanisms to transfer know-how to start-ups at low or no cost.“Photonics is central to driving innovation in the 21st century. To exploit Europe’s full potential in photonics, collaboration along the value chain and networking are crucial,” added Boch.
Invest in Photonics® is the only European partnering convention focused exclusively on leading investments in photonics. 2014 is the fourth Invest in Photonics, the biennial event where investors are presented with the most innovative, credible and profitable business ventures. The two-day event creates strategic investment opportunities by bringing together institutional investors and venture capitalists with the world’s experts on photonics, industry leaders, analysts and photonics entrepreneurs – all within a single venue. Early stage companies seeking seed funding, development and later stage financing can successfully network with qualified international panels of investors and potential partners to further business projects. Featuring recognized speakers from world leading companies, Invest in Photonics’ conferences provide the highest quality data on market trends and engage participants in informational exchanges on photonics developments.

Invest in Photonics

Laser Photonics lab (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bordeaux, France Invest in Photonics (R), a two-day international business partnering convention focused exclusively on photonics VC investment, places photonics investors in pole position for new business opportunities and promotes Europe’s mandate to stimulate development and competitiveness in photonics markets. Photonics is one of five key enabling technologies the European Commission has designated for Europe’s future prosperity.The third biennial event will be held in Bordeaux, France, December 12-13, 2012, and offers an enriched program with emphasis on the three important fast-growth markets for the photonics industry: cleantech, health and consumer products, as well as trends in Asia. By enlarging its scope, the event will also broaden the type and number of companies potentially selected to receive funding. Organizers expect 300 in attendance, more than double the number of delegates present in 2010.
The 2012 event will, for the first time, focus on the Asian market for photonics. In Asia, photonics-based technologies have multiplied in a number of areas, such as information and communication, where an increasing proportion of optical fibre cables are made overseas with China and India becoming major suppliers; and in screen and display, where the production of components has shifted towards Asia. Other developments in photonics energy systems, including the relocation of advanced lighting and laser diode manufacturing to Asia, have been progressing.Attendees at Invest in Photonics will debate the potential of this fast growing area and discuss Asian trends and business practices. Talks will outline the reality of the Asian market, the threats and opportunities and offer the data necessary to build a sustainable growth strategy. At each Invest in Photonics event, a carefully chosen number of companies present an elevator pitch of their projects to a panel of VCs from around the world, which has helped selected companies raise EUR 37 million in funding to date.
Register before July 15, 2012 and VCs, analysts and other industry players can benefit from a significant early bird discount, where tickets will be available at EUR 400 rather than EUR 600. The cost for SMEs attending is EUR 200. For more information, please visit http://www.invest-in-photonics.com/.
Invest in Photonics (R) is the only European partnering convention focused exclusively on leading investments in photonics. 2012 will see the third Invest in Photonics, the biennial event where investors are presented with the most innovative, credible and profitable business ventures in photonics. The two-day event creates strategic investment opportunities by bringing together institutional investors and venture capitalists in conjunction with the world’s experts on photonics, industry leaders, analysts, and photonics entrepreneurs in a single venue. Early stage companies seeking seed funding, development and later stage financing can successfully network with qualified international panels of investors and potential partners to further business projects. Featuring recognized speakers from world leading companies, Invest in Photonics’ conferences provide the highest quality data on market trends and engages participants in informational exchanges on photonics developments.
Photonics has become an integral part of daily life. Due to its high enabling power, it has vast application in and continues to revolutionize fields like health, cleantech, lighting and consumer applications. As one of five key enabling technologies the European Commission has designated for Europe’s future prosperity, Invest in Photonics is a strategic program within that technological framework. The event, co-organized by the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce, ALPhA (Aquitaine Laser Photonics and Applications) technology cluster and CEA-EA, the largest government-funded technological research organization in France, takes place in Bordeaux, France, host of the Laser Mégajoule and a region recognized as a center for photonics.

Invest in Photonics(R) 2010

Bordeaux, France, Invest in Photonics(R), a two-day international partnering convention that brings together the world’s experts in photonics and leading investors from Europe and beyond to meet with emerging photonics companies seeking financial support, announced that the participation in the event rose, with new attendees coming from the wider European and North American photonics communities.  The 2010 Invest in Photonics welcomed 125 participants, slightly higher than 2008 figures. C-level directors (CEOs, CFOs, CSOs etc) made up the majority of the visitors (64 per cent), with 42 per cent of attendees coming from the US, Canada and European countries outside France.  The 12 companies selected for the special funding session were seeking potential financing in the range of EUR 30 million. They presented projects covering a wide range of market segments. These included optical transport, medical equipment, and intelligent lighting, an area where the total market for LED (including handheld devices, and vehicular etc.), for example, was USD 5.9 billion in 2009. Event organizers awarded the prize for the “Best of the Convention” to LED Linear, a maker of scalable interior and exterior lighting systems using LED technology, based in Germany, for the originality of its product concept and fit with the market. Presentations from 11 of the world’s leading specialists in photonics, as well as the 5-member panel of investors, all confirmed the international nature of the industry, and that it offers strong growth potential, USD 356 billion in 2008 to USD 493 billion by 2020, according to Michael Lebby, president and CEO of the Optoelectronics Industry Development Association. Invest in Photonics(R) was created in 2008 by the ALPhA technology cluster (Aquitaine Laser Photonique et Applications), CEA (French Atomic Energy Commission and the largest government-funded technological research organization in France) and the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce for the purpose of facilitating meetings between investors and emerging companies in photonics, addressing business issues in photonics, as well as increasing the visibility of the industry.

Invest in Photonics

Bordeaux, France. Following a two month screening and selection process led by an international panel of photonics industry experts and venture capitalists, 12 emerging technology companies from Europe and North America have been chosen to participate in funding opportunities at the Invest in Photonics(R) International Partnering Convention 2010, March 18 – 19. nvest in Photonics is an investment-networking and market development event that facilitates meetings between entrepreneurs and management of emerging companies in photonics with investors and analysts.  This is the second year that a Selection Committee, comprising representatives of the most prominent players in the photonics and investment fields, have selected emerging technology firms offering the most potential for future success. During the three Business Time sessions (March 18 at 11:15 – 12:15, 16:15 – 17:15; and March 19 at 11:30 – 12:30) these seed, expansion and later stage small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) will meet investors and seek potential funding in the region of EUR 30 million (approximately USD 40.5 million). The median seed capital investment sought is less than EUR 2.5M.
Invest in Photonics(R) was created in 2008 by the ALPhA technology cluster (Aquitaine Laser Photonique et Applications), CEA (French Atomic Energy Commission and the largest government-funded technological research organization in France) and the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce for the purpose of facilitating meetings between investors and emerging companies in photonics, addressing business issues in photonics, as well as increasing the visibility of the industry. http://www.invest-in-photonics.com/

London Original Print Fair

London until 26/4/2009 Royal Academy of Arts  Burlington House Piccadilly –  Now in its 24th year, The London Original Print Fair is the longest-running specialist print fair in the world.  Prints have played an important role in the history of art. Before the invention of photography, it was through engravings that many people were introduced to great works of art, otherwise inaccessible to them. Many contemporary artists create original prints as a significant part of their oeuvre – from Tracey Emin to Howard Hodgkin, Lucian Freud to Damien Hirst. Their work sits alongside etchings by Rembrandt, Canaletto and Picasso amongst many others, all of which are for sale at the Fair.  With prints by current students and recent graduates from the Royal Academy Schools and Royal College of Art also on show, the Print Fair offers collectors at every level the opportunity to invest, with works ranging from as little as £100 up to £500,000. “Collectors are happy people” – Goethe (Image: print fair)