UK Startup Opens Fiber Plant

SOUTHAMPTON, U.K. -- In-fiber optical components and subsystems vendor, Southampton Photonics (SPI), has opened its specialty optical fiber manufacturing facility at Hedge End, near Southampton, UK. The plant, which represents an investment of approximately $10 million, occupies part of the company's new 30,000 square foot premises and will primarily provide specialty fiber for use in its own products. The Hedge End facility includes a purpose-built suite of clean rooms for fiber manufacture that are serviced with high-purity process gases and chemicals, and by ambient temperature and humidity control and environmental management systems. The state-of-the-art fiber-manufacturing equipments include a dual-line, 11.5 metre drawing tower, MCVD (Modified Chemical Vapour Deposition) equipment for the manufacture of specialty fiber Preforms, and other associated specialist equipment such as a Preform profiler that measures the refractive index of the Preform glass rod and its core prior to drawing. Quality Assurance measurement systems are installed to enable full optical, mechanical and environmental performance tests on finished fibers. Don Spalinger, SPI's Senior Vice President, commented, "It is inherent in our Application Specific Fiber Platform that all of our components are based on specialty fiber, and having control of its manufacture is critical to the success of our business. Consequently, we are delighted to have the most up to date drawing facilities in the industry. Furthermore, the team which brought this project to fruition, led by Dr Steve Norman who joined us from Pirelli last year, is one the most experienced in the world."Southampton Photonics Inc.