Even in its fifth year since its founding, UniversalAutomation.Org (UAO) continues to see strong membership growth. Among its newest members are the American organizations HPE and Clemson University.

With the groundbreaking ceremony on June 16, 2026, marking the start of a comprehensive expansion of its headquarters in Mülheim-Kärlich near Koblenz, Laserline is sending a strong signal in support of Germany as a hub for innovation: Even amid a challenging economic environment, the internationally leading specialist in industrial diode lasers continues to grow steadily and carries its success story forward.

French national Benoît Thooris is taking over as president of the nonprofit organization from Raquel Torres, who has held the position since 2024. At the annual general meeting on May 18, the Board of Directors of UniversalAutomation.Org was also re-elected. With Harry He (Kyland Group) and Brad Mozisek (Wood), two new industry executives are now represented on the board.

RUD Defence will be showcasing lifting means and system solutions for lifting, securing and moving defence equipment under the slogan “Ready when it matters” at the EUROSATORY in Paris from 15 to 19 June 2026. The exhibition stand focuses on bespoke solutions that have already proven their worth worldwide in the most demanding operating conditions.

Laserline is expanding its management trio to a quartet: Dr. Alexander Arndt has been appointed as the fourth Managing Director alongside Dr. Claus Narr and company founders Dr. Christoph Ullmann and Volker Krause, effective January 1, 2026. The PhD-qualified mechanical engineer has been with Laserline since 2018 and has already held several key positions within the company. In his role as Managing Director, he is responsible for Sales, Marketing, Applications, as well as IT and Process Management.

• Resistant to pitting corrosion and surface corrosion thanks to rust-proof 1.4462 Duplex Steel • Significantly better WLL in the load ring plane • PSA certification for 1.6 tonne variant

Diode laser specialist Laserline will present a new development phase of its Digital Laser Solutions for Industry 4.0 process architectures at the Schweisstec 2021 trade fair (October 26-29, Stuttgart, Germany, hall 7, booth 7307). In the meantime, not only beam sources but also processing optics with multi-spot module can be digitally programmed, controlled and monitored. The optics were developed specifically for joining applications. This enables the optimization of industrial brazing and welding processes, in addition to supporting the full integration of laser systems into a digitalized process control.

Laserline has optimized its portfolio in the high-power blue diode laser segment. In doing so, the company is making important advances in focusing properties. This is because with output powers of up to 800 watts blue lasers will be available with 20 mm-mrad beam quality, while lasers with output powers of up to 1,500 watts will be available with 30 mm-mrad beam quality. These improvements simplify the joining of thin copper contacts as well as welding with scanner optics.

At SPIE Photonics West in San Francisco, CA, High Power Diode Laser specialist Laserline, Inc. will be showcasing laser solutions for key industrial applications such as the production of electric copper components, semiconductor processing and the drying of lithium-ion batteries. The technology leader in the field of infrared and blue diode lasers has unique systems such as a blue CW laser with 4 kW output power and a blue 200 W pulse laser in its portfolio.

At the wind industry's largest trade fair, Schneider Electric will present a comprehensive portfolio of digital solutions for safe and efficient wind farm operation. In addition to specialized hardware, software solutions from partners AVEVA and ETAP will also be on display.

Transporting earth-moving machinery to the job site by heavy goods vehicle is part of the routine in many building projects. However, questions of load securing are not always accorded the appropriate importance – lashing points in particular often provide grounds for criticism. A joint project of Goldhofer AG, Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG and RUD Ketten Rieger & Dietz GmbH u. Co. KG illustrates what a secure lashing solution should really look like. The construction and logistics company Max Wild GmbH is already using these vehicles.

Electrode drying in the roll-to-roll process (R2R) has so far been one of the most cost- and CO2-intensive manufacturing steps in the production of lithium-ion batteries. A laser-based R2R drying process developed as part of the IDEEL research cooperation could change this in the future. It combines conventional, oven-based convection drying with laser drying using high-power diode lasers and reduces the drying time by more than 60 percent while maintaining the same quality of results.

In order to counteract the health hazards posed by particulate matter, the EU has for the first time also included dust from braking systems within the new vehicle emission standard, Euro 7. Diode-laser-clad hard coatings enable reliable compliance with all specifications, reducing brake dust with a maximum particle size of PM10 by up to 90 percent. The series-ready cladding process developed by Laserline enables cost-sensitive mass production for all market segments.

Comprehensive support for the planning and production process leading to a refined, customized fiber optic product.