Schott Optovance Unveils Components

SOUTHBRIDGE, Mass. -- Schott Optovance, Inc. an optical interconnect company, has emerged to provide advanced components for backplane, switching and parallel interconnect applications. By offering products that minimize the fiber chaos found in today’s network equipment, Schott Optovance allows parallel optics to be moved deeper into the central office. According to ElectroniCast, the market for interconnects will increase to $896 million in 2005, and $6.91 billion in 2010. Stephen Montgomery, President of ElectroniCast says, “This is a market in which we expect to see strong growth. As the importance for dense interconnects is being realized, Schott Optovance appears to be well-positioned within the industry; emerging with an established customer base and increasing revenue."Backed by Schott Glas, a $1.8-billion world leading optical materials company, Schott Optovance combines materials expertise with high precision design and manufacturing capabilities. As transceiver speeds increase, Schott Optovance’s optical interconnects will play an important role in current and next-generation switches and routers. Schott Optovance alleviates fiber chaos in Very Short Reach (VSR) Interconnects, while reducing operating costs for equipment vendors and maximizing space on their boards and backplanes. Schott Optovance offers a solution to dense fiber routing. The Optical Shuffle™ is a uniquely designed flexible fiber management product that facilitates high-density fiber routings – over 90% of space savings – in a compact package. As a replacement for complex cable harnesses, this dense solution decreases labor costs and the amount of space being used in the backplane while meeting customer’s individual requirements. The Optical Shuffle is currently available and approximately 10,000 units have been shipped to date. “Schott Optovance is bringing unparalleled connectivity to optical interconnects in a way which considerably improves current designs of backplanes and optical switches,” stated Alexander Hagemann, CEO of Schott Optovance. “Our customers, the datacom and telecom equipment manufacturers, share with us the same vision of dramatically simplified board and backplane architectures and can expect a partner with extensive design, manufacturing and test experience. In optical switching, our expertise in design, development and testing make us a valuable partner in the development projects of our customers. Here, we have also made great advances due to the excellent materials background of the entire Schott Group. I am especially delighted that the joint efforts with our customers have led to design wins with several major equipment makers which positions Schott Optovance strongly in our emerging markets.” Schott Communications Technologies Inc.