PRC Laser opens fiber laser machine factory

May 27, 2023

PRC Laser will be building new fiber laser cutting systems out of its new plant in South Carolina.

The CO2 laser remains an industry workhorse. For many CO2 lasers in the field today, there's a good chance the laser resonator was made by PRC Laser.

The brand hasn't gone away. PRC is opening a new headquarters and manufacturing location in Charleston, S.C., ramping up operations throughout the fall. It will still service its existing CO2 cutting lasers, and it's dedicating a portion of the plant toward CO2 laser resonators and systems, especially for laser welding, which has been a major focus for PRC in recent years. Now, however, the company is shifting gears, with most of the plant dedicated to the fastest-growing segment of the market—which, no surprise, is the fiber laser.

PRC Laser's roots go back to the mid-1980s when a group of welding engineers were looking for a CO2 laser that could keep up with a continuously running production line. Over the years the company expanded into CO2 laser cutting, partnering with many well-known machine builders.

In 1996 PRC was bought by Dover Corp., which in 2004 sold the company to Rofin-Sinar, which has since been acquired by Coherent. In April 2018 PRC was acquired from Coherent through an effort led by a longtime executive of PRC, Walter Wilson.

"Walter was one of the primary designers of PRC's CO2 resonator," said Alain Porro, who joined PRC earlier this year as North American sales manager.

The company now is being led by Wilson and two partners: longtime machine designer Jan Muys as well as Guy Bauwens, based in Belgium. Wilson is president, Bauwens is general manager, and Muys is chief technology officer.

As Porro explained, the new owners plan to focus on operations looking for stand-alone fiber laser cutting machines. They’re also building a domestic supply chain, aiming to source, assemble, and fabricate as many components in the U.S. as possible.

"We’ll be offering an American-built machine," he said, adding that the company has partnered with California-based Lumentum for the fiber laser source. PRC will also build its own controller for the machine.

The company also is building a motion system with a centered overhead carriage. According to Porro, "The design, under a centered X axis, is designed for ideal balance and dynamics of axis movement."

The company will be offering a standard 5- by 10-foot machine along with a smaller-form-factor, 4- by 4-ft. fiber laser cutting system intended for prototyping systems and job shops where shop floor space is limited. At least initially, Porro said, PRC will focus on stand-alone machines with dual shuttle tables, not on automated systems. The company is coming to market with systems having 4-kW and 8-kW Lumentum power sources. "We’ll also be offering lower-cost options in the lower-wattage market," Porro said.

He added that PRC will not be offering a CO2 laser cutting option with the machine design, simply because the machine is designed around the fiber laser. That said, the company will continue to offer CO2 laser resonators as a component for both cutting and welding systems.

PRC also will be partnering with Deratech Group, based in Belgium, to offer press brakes. "This allows us to offer a turnkey package," Porro said, adding that PRC will partner with Deratech on a punch/fiber laser combo.

So is there room in the market for another player in fiber laser cutting systems? "We think there is," Porro said, adding that the company is focusing on fabricators with hands-on managers and operators, and who don't have an immediate need for a large automated system.

"For instance, the new plant will have demonstration machines at the end of the production line," Porro explained. "Again, it’ll be a hands-on approach. You’ll see the machine run, but you’ll also meet the people who build it."