Business Profile
Coherent was founded in May of 1966. As it was for most companies starting out in the mid-60’s, the company’s start was modest. With limited financial resources, Coherent established its headquarters in the Palo Alto, CA home of one of its founders. At that time, the most pressing need was for a 220-volt power outlet, which forced Coherent’s brain trust to build their first laser in a laundry room. In the summer of 1966, next to a washer and dryer, and using a piece of rain gutter as a key component, Coherent’s founders began building their first laser. Four months later, Coherent unveiled the very first CO2 commercially available laser.
Today, Coherent is one of the world’s leading photonics manufacturers and innovators. With headquarters in the heart of Silicon Valley, California, and offices spanning the globe, Coherent offers a unique and distinct product portfolio that touches many different markets and industries.
Photonics
Photonics has taken its place alongside electronics as a critical technology in the twenty-first century. Photonics-based solutions are entrenched in a broad range of industries from industrial automation to scientific research and medical diagnostics, where lasers are displacing conventional technologies because they can do the job faster, better, or more economically. For over 50 years, Coherent has been providing high performing and highly reliable photonics-based solutions that have become the enabling tool in many applications. As a leader in the photonics space, we continue to identify opportunities in which our technology portfolio and applications expertise offer innovative solutions to both commercial and scientific customers, allowing them a distinct advantage as they seek breakthroughs in the development of cutting-edge applications.
Support
To support the needs of our diverse customer base, we drive innovation not only in our diversified mix of product technology and applications expertise, but also in technical development, operational excellence, and customer satisfaction. We are dedicated to providing the best support in the industry, and are recognized across the globe as having the most experienced, knowledgeable, and easily accessible sales, service and support teams.
Quality
Commitment to quality and customer satisfaction remains a cornerstone of our business. As such, we design and produce many of our own components and sub-assemblies – including fibers, crystal and wafer growth. We also design and implement proprietary manufacturing tools, equipment and techniques that are utilized across our product lines ensuring the highest quality product for all our customers. This commitment to quality differentiates us from other laser manufacturers.
