IRE-Polus, LLC NTO

NTO IRE-Polus is a manufacturer of fiber lasers in Russia and the CIS and has great research potential and its own production facilities in Russia.

History

2024: Acquisition by Softline of a controlling stake in NTO IRE-Polus

Softline Group of Companies (PJSC Softline) - a provider of solutions and services in the field of digital transformation and information security, developing a comprehensive portfolio of its own products and services - on September 2, 2024, announced to the TAdviser portal the acquisition of a controlling stake in the fiber laser manufacturer NTO IRE-Polus from the international group IPG Photonics, based in the USA and represented in Russia, Germany, Italy and other countries of the world; the minority stake in the deal was received by the company's top management. The transaction amount amounted to about 4.5 billion rubles.

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HTO "IRE-Polus"

As a result of the transaction, Softline Group of companies expects to expand its presence in the industrial sector, telecommunications and medical industries through access to technologies and the development of production capabilities, having gained the potential of scientific and technological development at the Russian and international levels in the next 15-20 years.

The total number of IRE-Polus employees at the beginning of September 2024 is 1.1 thousand people, about 25% of which are development engineers and IT infrastructure support specialists. It is expected that synergy with Softline Group of companies, which has competencies in software development and system integration, will allow the company to increase the level of manufacturability of production with the involvement of internal resources of the group.

"The merger with Softline opens up new horizons for our company by entering new industry segments, which will positively affect sales growth. Moreover, combining our competencies will allow customers to gain access to products produced using innovative technologies, "said Nikolai Evtikhiev, General Director of NTO IRE-Polyus.

According to him, NTO IRE-Polus, together with Softline Group of Companies, has already drawn up a plan for the further joint development of the product line using computer vision and artificial intelligence technologies. In addition, having become part of Softline Group of Companies, IRE-Polus will be able to accelerate the development of medical technologies, and the long-term experience of the group of companies in export sales and work in foreign markets will become a driver for the promotion of the enterprise abroad.

In general, the company operates in the following areas: telecommunications equipment; medical lasers and surgical fibers; industrial lasers and laser systems.

The production of telecommunications equipment is one of the new growth areas of IRE-Polus, focused on the dynamically growing mobile market. According to the company's representatives, the company can occupy up to 10% of the telecommunications segment market based on the results of 2024. As part of Softline Group of companies, IRE-Polus plans to scale this line of business by expanding its support network and production capabilities, participating in joint projects for the largest customers in the telecom segment.

IRE-Polus also holds 80% of the market share in urology and 40% of the market share in phlebology and surgical laser devices in Russia. It is expected that synergy with Softline Group of Companies will allow IRE-Polus to dynamically introduce innovative technologies and ensure the evolution of medical products.

The historical direction of business is represented by the production of industrial equipment. The company manufactures high-performance fiber lasers (about 90% of all lasers produced in the country), occupying about 70% of the Russian market in the segments of industrial lasers, laser systems and amplifiers, Softline noted.

At the same time, IRE-Polus is a major player in international markets, aimed at developing sales in friendly countries. As noted in Softline, "the high export potential is due to the wide range of products produced, its high quality and low maintenance cost." The share of international sales of NTO "IRE-Polyus" in the direction of medical lasers is about 30%, industrial equipment - 15%. The largest volume of exports falls on the countries of Southeast Asia and the Asia-Pacific region, in particular - India and China. Joining Softline will allow IRE-Polus to increase the international direction, opening new foreign markets through GC partners.

"The acquisition of a controlling stake in NTO IRE-Polyus complies with our M&A strategy. We are confident that the synergy of companies will achieve several goals at once - to expand the presence of Softline Group of Companies in the market, gain access to a new client base, enter new industries and niches, - commented on the deal, Vladimir Lavrov General Director of Softline Group of Companies.

According to him, the expertise and resources of Softline in various directions will become catalysts for the development of IRE-Polus in the markets of the Russian Federation and friendly countries. The variety of the company's products and its competitive quality, coupled with the capabilities of Softline Group of Companies, will provide an increase in both local sales and international expansion.

"In this direction, we have already taken the first steps. Thanks to the high-quality production facilities of IRE-Polus, we will be able to increase production without capital investments. All this will allow us to follow the key priorities of Softline Group of Companies, outlined in our development strategy until 2030, "added Vladimir Lavrov.

According to Softline estimates, the transaction for the acquisition of NTO "IRE-Polus" can provide up to 25% of the previously announced increase in the forecast EBITDA of the Softline group (pro-form), according to which, if all targeted mergers and acquisitions are successfully completed, by the end of 2024, EBITDA may grow to 10 billion rubles. The previously published forecast assumed an increase to 6 billion rubles.

2012

As part of IPG Photonics

As of 2012, NTO IRE-Polus LLC was part of the international group of companies IPG Photonics, which is a world leader in the development and production of unique fiber lasers and amplifiers for various purposes.

NTO IRE-Polus was the founder and one of the basic companies of the transnational scientific and technical group IPG Photonics Corporation with scientific centers and industries in, USA,, Germany,, and Russia Italy Japan(India according China to information as of May 2012). This Group is a recognized global market leader in fiber lasers and amplifiers, as well as devices and systems based on them. The group is the only manufacturer in the world of industrial multicilowatt fiber lasers (up to 50 kW) for cutting, welding and heat treatment. The output of such lasers is growing rapidly, displacing other types of lasers from the industry.

IPG's unique portfolio of technologies and deployed production facilities make it possible to confidently predict the rapid growth of production volumes in all the Group's companies.

NTO IRE-Polus LLC develops and serially manufactures high-performance fiber lasers and amplifiers, optical components, components, modules, instruments, subsystems and systems.

As a Russian company, NTO IRE-Polus successfully introduced advanced developments in the field of laser technology and telecommunications in the markets of Russia and the CIS, displacing the dominant Western and Japanese companies until recently. IPG sought to accelerate the production of its products in Russia and is ready to take an active part in the implementation of various programs for the scientific, technical and industrial development of Fryazino and the Moscow region.

Activities and products

NTO IRE-Polus offered more than 600 advanced products on the Russian market, many of which had no analogues in the global high-tech market (as of May 2012). All final products for the Russian market were produced in Russia. These products can be categorized as follows:

• Unique series of the latest industrial fiber lasers with continuous radiation power up to 50 kW, in power, efficiency, reliability and a combination of other parameters by an order of magnitude exceeding the kilowatt laser on YAG crystals and carbon dioxide. This series opens up completely new opportunities in laser processing of metals, alloys and composite materials for automotive, shipbuilding, aerospace, oil and gas, nuclear and other industries.
• Single-mode fiber lasers with different radiation wavelengths in the region of 1040-2200 nm, continuous or average output power up to 1 kW and radiation line width from 100 GHz to 10 kHz, including tunable in a wide spectral range.
• Powerful pulsed fiber lasers, including for laser markers.
• Diode laser modules and systems with fiber output and output power from units watt to 5 kW for instrumentation, medical laser equipment and material processing.
• Fiber single-channel and DWDM amplifiers of digital and analog optical signals C, L, S, Q, O and other bands with output power levels up to 10 W, including amplifier units, modules and subsystems, high-speed fiber-optic data transmission systems with spectral channel multiplexing, high-speed transponders - for telecommunications.
• Multichannel ITU sources and other devices for monitoring DWDM devices and fiber amplifiers.
• Unique medical laser systems.
• A wide range of fiber optic components, including kaplers, multiplexers and demultiplexers, insulators, circulators, single-channel and multichannel filters, Bragg fiber arrays, gain equalizers, dispersion compensators, attenuators, polarizers, acousto-optical and electro-optical modulators, and other elements of modern fiber optic systems and fiber lasers.
• Benches for life tests of laser diodes and modules.
• Other specialized optical and laser components, instruments and systems.
• High-speed transponders for communication systems.

1991: Establishment of the enterprise

The scientific and technical enterprise IRE-Polus (LLC) was founded in 1991 by Russian physicist Valentin Pavlovich Gapontsev.

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