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Key Facts

The Scottish Optoelectronics Community Key Facts and Figures

The Scottish Optoelectronics Association (SOA) was established in 1994 to represent the Optoelectronics community in Scotland. The key objectives of the SOA are:

To actively promote the interests of the optoelectronics community and its members through local, national and international representation;
To provide strategic guidance to its members, government and other public sector bodies on industry priorities and allocation of funds;
To support the growth of the Optoelectronics industry in Scotland;
To maintain the viability and vibrancy of the SOA.

These objectives are detailed in the SOA Annual Report.

In order to promote Scottish Optoelectronics locally, nationally and internationally the SOA:

Works with other Scottish associations e.g. ScotlandIS, NMI, Electronics Scotland;
Participates in the UK Consortium for Photonics and Optics (UKCPO);
Participates in the International Optoelectronics Association

The industry in Scotland consists of approximately 85 companies including large Multi nationals (e.g. SELEX GALILEO, Thales Optronics and Raytheon), large indigenous companies (e.g. Optos) and predominately Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The annual sales of these companies in 2007 totalled approximately £750 Million and employment was in excess of 4000.

Scottish academia is particularly strong having 12 Universities with at least one department engaged in optoelectronics research. There are over 400 researchers engaged in optoelectronics research.

The SOA has recently produced a Photonics Brochure and Directory for Scottish Enterprise which records Optoelectronics activity in Scotland.