Kaplin: Rooted in the field of lasers, continuous innovation and investment

Beijing Caplin Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. was established in 2003 with a registered capital of 63 million yuan. It is a national high-tech enterprise. With the mission of "creating a better future with light" and the vision of "China's leading, world-class laser manufacturer", the company has been focusing on the research and development and industrialization of high-power laser devices and laser systems for more than ten years, and is committed to high-performance Development and market application of fiber-coupled semiconductor lasers, fiber lasers, ultrafast lasers and other products. The products cover the visible light to near-infrared bands, and the output power ranges from milliwatts to tens of thousands of watts, providing highly integrated laser devices and systems.

The company's existing R&D and production site is 11,000 square meters, and it has a R&D team of more than 100 people with national special experts and Beijing special experts as the backbone, mainly doctors and masters. With scientific research and technology platforms such as "Beijing Enterprise Technology Center" and "Beijing International Science and Technology Cooperation Base", the annual scientific research investment exceeds 15% of the turnover. At present, Caplin Optoelectronics has won almost all semiconductor laser product awards in China's optoelectronics industry, and has won many technological innovation awards. The scientific research achievements and innovation environment have reached the domestic leading level. Caplin Optoelectronics has undertaken or participated in "2008 Beijing Olympics Large-screen Laser Display", "2014 Aerospace Exploration Project", "863 Laser Materials Major Project" in 2015, 2016 Beijing Enterprise Technology Center Key Innovation Project, 2018 National Key Project Research and development plan "Additive Manufacturing and Laser Manufacturing" special.

In order to further expand the company's business scope and respond to the national development strategy of green Beijing and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei synergy, in 2016, the company established Tianjin Caplin Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. and Tianjin Caplin in Tianjin Binhai New Area. Laser Technology Co., Ltd. is engaged in the R&D and production of high-power fiber lasers and ultrafast lasers. At present, there are more than 300 people. The products are highly recognized by domestic and foreign customers.

With the continuous maturity and development of the international and domestic laser industry market, through the unremitting efforts of all employees of the company, the company's sales in 2018 exceeded 300 million yuan, and accumulated exports to North America, the European Union, Japan and South Korea, etc. 70 In many countries and regions, the annual export volume exceeds 10 million US dollars, ranking among the most influential laser suppliers in the world.

Chen Xiaohua worked in the Chinese subsidiary of Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., Japan, and successively served as engineer and department manager of the technical service department, and deputy general manager of the Chinese subsidiary of American GTRAN Corporation. Founded in 2003 and served as the chairman and general manager of Beijing Caplin Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. He holds a Ph.D. from the Department of Precision Instruments of Tsinghua University, an MBA from the School of Economics and Management, and is a senior engineer. He has won the honors of outstanding graduates of Tsinghua University, outstanding graduates of Beijing, and outstanding talents of the "Fortress Plan" in Fengtai District, Beijing. He has served as the project leader of the National 863 Program "High Efficiency Pump Source Technology" and the leader of a number of national key R&D projects, and has dozens of domestic and foreign patents. In 2019, he led Caplin to be selected as one of the first batch of specialized and special new "little giant" enterprises by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (a total of five innovative enterprises in Beijing were selected).

Dialogue with award-winning companies

CEConline: What brought you into this industry?

Chen Xiaohua: Connection with the Laser Industry , to start with entrepreneurship. After graduating from university with honors, I joined the Chinese subsidiary of Sumitomo Electric, responsible for after-sales service and technical support for optical fiber parameter testers, optical fiber fusion splicers, optical fiber cables and other products. At that time, the company's engineers usually arranged two business trips a week, and each time they traveled to a city to provide technical services to customers. And I competed with myself: "Although I came late, I must do better than senior engineers." In order to improve the technical level faster, I took the initiative to increase the workload, and I just gave it to the weekly work arrangement. I arranged 6 business trips by myself and basically gave up the rest time. At that time, in the eyes of my colleagues, I was like a clockwork full of energy, running tirelessly. With three times the work intensity of others, in addition to the rapid technological progress, I have also accumulated a wealth of experience. In just two years, I was promoted to Technical Services Manager, becoming the youngest department manager in the company.

Despite the rapid progress, the upside that Japanese companies can provide is limited, and I began to think about my future. In 2000, GTRAN, a technology leader in the field of optical communication in the United States, established a branch in China to produce 40G optical transceiver modules. The world-leading technology, innovative thinking, and rapid iteration capabilities of Silicon Valley companies attracted me to join this newly established company, where I served as the deputy general manager. Three years later, with a "restless" heart that is not reconciled to mediocrity and comfort, I embarked on the road of entrepreneurship. The experience of foreign companies made me see the huge market in China. At that time, the lasers used in the communication industry were all provided by foreign companies, and there were no domestic substitutes, so the prices were very expensive. With the original intention of "breaking foreign monopoly and becoming a Chinese laser", I finally decided to resign to join the laser business after weighing the current stability and future risks.

CEConline: According to your observations, what challenges and pain points exist in your industry? When dealing with these challenges, how did your company build its core advantages and break through the fierce competition among peers?

Chen Xiaohua: The fourth industrial revolution is in the ascendant. Compared with the previous ones, this industrial revolution is faster, wider and more far-reaching. Therefore, while we are seizing the opportunities of the times, we are also facing greater challenges. Through the analysis of the general environment, the current situation at home and abroad is still not optimistic. The new crown epidemic has not ended, and Sino-US relations are still surging. From an industry perspective, our research on basic technologies is still relatively weak, and there are still many process technologies and key points that are stuck. In the laser industry, the price war that has lasted for one or two years has also brought enormous pressure and challenges to every company. In order to cope with these challenges, Caplin has been actively deploying and continuously breaking through the competition through four aspects of construction: benchmarking against world-class enterprises, attracting talents and technologies; keeping an eye on national industrial policies, and taking advantage of the situation; taking advantage of the situation and planning for upstream and downstream integration ; Broaden financing channels, and finance helps industrial development. Overall, challenges remain, but the future looks bright.

CEConline: Please summarize the company's performance and achievements in recent years. As an industry leader, looking back on the past, do you think your company has achieved such success, what valuable experience can you share?

Chen Xiaohua: In recent years, Caplin has achieved rapid growth in sales with its advantageous technologies and products, with a compound growth rate of over 20%. At the same time, thanks to the R&D investment that exceeds 10% of sales each year, Caplin has also made continuous breakthroughs in product technology and technology.

Caplin has been in business for 18 years , to be able to continue to improve and maintain success, I think from two levels: good corporate culture and goals, and continuous investment in innovation. The formation of corporate culture can enhance internal cohesion and improve team awareness. In the process of sustainable development, products will change, the market environment will change, and customers will also change, but only if the company always adheres to the correct corporate culture and values, it is possible to go for a long time.

Continuous investment in innovation is the direct guarantee of product cost performance and competitiveness. Only by continuously investing in new technologies and keeping up with the development trend of the industry can enterprises attract more talents to promote the competitiveness of the R&D team. Inject a steady stream of power into the fierce market competition.

CEConlines: Instead of trying more opportunities, Hidden Champions are focusing on their competitive advantage in the market and getting better at existing areas. Excuse me, why did your company choose to focus on market segments instead of diversification?

Chen Xiaohua: Since its establishment in 2003, Caplin has always focused on the development of market segments. The reason is that a more focused development direction can help us achieve greater success in terms of innovation capability, market share, core technology, quality and efficiency. Up to now, through continuous investment and deep cultivation in the industry, Caplin has made breakthroughs in many sub-sectors, and innovative results are emerging. In 2019, Caplin has already launched a 200W 200μm semiconductor laser at the Optoelectronics West in the United States. With the continuous upgrading of processes and technologies, Caplin will successfully launch the first domestic 1000W-330μm core diameter high-brightness blue laser in 2021. Blue laser, It provides a new driving force for industry innovation. The technology of these products has reached the world-class level, filling a number of domestic technological gaps.

CEConline: What are the development prospects and trends of the industry in which your company operates? In times of uncertainty, how will your company continue to maintain its existing advantages in the future? What are your next steps and goals?

Chen Xiaohua: At present, the world is going through a new round of technological revolution, industrial transformation and social transformation, and the global innovation map is being reconstructed. The Chinese laser industry has ushered in a golden period of development under the market pull and policy support. As a national enterprise and entrepreneur rooted in laser, we have seized the development opportunity and started the industrial layout very early. The high-power fiber-coupled semiconductor laser automatic production base will be completed and put into operation. With technological innovation, scale effect and quality improvement We will provide customers with more high-quality and efficient services.

Through vertical layout and development, Caplin has now formed a business system centered on semiconductor lasers, fiber lasers, and ultrafast lasers. Over the years, Caplin has accumulated profound strength in terms of technical level, product and service quality, and has achieved competitive advantages in some sub-sectors. In the future, Caplin will also invest more power in independent innovation, aiming at high-quality development, to build a domestic laser brand in China.

Photo/Caplin