Unusual request for help

[Barbara Conn]

I'm hoping someone here can offer some advice/help.

My husband and I have inherited what has been billed as a "precision optics
manufacturing" company. I knew nothing about this industry until recently,
and still don't know much. I've come to find out that we do not do in-house
manufacturing, however, but have manufacturers in Japan that we have used
for 16 years. In-house, the items we manufacture are brewster tube
assemblies, neutral density filters and flat substrates. My husband has,
for the last 16 years, worked the shop end of the company, not having gotten
involved at all in sales or higher education in the optics industry. It's a
long, ugly story, but in a nutshell, we're faced with a sink-or-swim
situation, and my questions are:

1. Is there much of a market for brewster tube assemblies? (We have one
catalog company as a customer for these items right now.) If there is a
market, how do I know who to contact?

2. Some of our customers in the last 16 years have been companies such as
JDS Uniphase, Spectra Physics, Vision Engineering, etc. From some of my
phone calls I've learned that most of the larger companies are dealing
directly with manufacturers, rather than using a company like ours. What
would be your suggestion as to where we should focus our sales efforts?

I realize this may not be in the realm of the questions appropriate to this
news group, but if someone can point me in the right direction, I'd be
forever in your debt.

Thanks for reading my post.

Barbara Conn

 

[dont know]

I'm hoping someone here can offer some advice/help.

My husband and I have inherited what has been billed as a "precision
optics manufacturing" company. I knew nothing about this industry
until recently, and still don't know much. I've come to find out
that we do not do in-house manufacturing, however, but have
manufacturers in Japan that we have used for 16 years. In-house, the
items we manufacture are brewster tube assemblies, neutral density
filters and flat substrates. My husband has, for the last 16 years,
worked the shop end of the company, not having gotten involved at all
in sales or higher education in the optics industry. It's a long,
ugly story, but in a nutshell, we're faced with a sink-or-swim
situation, and my questions are:

1. Is there much of a market for brewster tube assemblies? (We have
one catalog company as a customer for these items right now.) If
there is a market, how do I know who to contact?

2. Some of our customers in the last 16 years have been companies
such as JDS Uniphase, Spectra Physics, Vision Engineering, etc. From
some of my phone calls I've learned that most of the larger companies
are dealing directly with manufacturers, rather than using a company
like ours. What would be your suggestion as to where we should focus
our sales efforts?

I realize this may not be in the realm of the questions appropriate
to this news group, but if someone can point me in the right
direction, I'd be forever in your debt.

Thanks for reading my post.

Barbara Conn

maybe alt.lasers
also i got some hits with google when you type brewster tubes

 

[Sam Goldwasser]

I'm hoping someone here can offer some advice/help.

My husband and I have inherited what has been billed as a "precision optics
manufacturing" company. I knew nothing about this industry until recently,
and still don't know much. I've come to find out that we do not do in-house
manufacturing, however, but have manufacturers in Japan that we have used
for 16 years. In-house, the items we manufacture are brewster tube
assemblies, neutral density filters and flat substrates. My husband has,
for the last 16 years, worked the shop end of the company, not having gotten
involved at all in sales or higher education in the optics industry. It's a
long, ugly story, but in a nutshell, we're faced with a sink-or-swim
situation, and my questions are:

1. Is there much of a market for brewster tube assemblies? (We have one
catalog company as a customer for these items right now.) If there is a
market, how do I know who to contact?

2. Some of our customers in the last 16 years have been companies such as
JDS Uniphase, Spectra Physics, Vision Engineering, etc. From some of my
phone calls I've learned that most of the larger companies are dealing
directly with manufacturers, rather than using a company like ours. What
would be your suggestion as to where we should focus our sales efforts?

Without further description, I would assume that the "Brewster tube assemblies"
you are describing are used in the manufacture of various types of gas
lasers. Melles Griot may have been one of your customers as well. While
these are essential components, the gas laser market in general is declining
being replaced with semiconductor and solid state alternatives, and as you
mention, larger companies (which are the only ones who still would buy in
volume) are more likely to deal directly with the manufacturers of the parts.

Certainly neutral density filters and flat substrates are important
optical components.

I realize this may not be in the realm of the questions appropriate to this
news group, but if someone can point me in the right direction, I'd be
forever in your debt.

More appropriate newsgroups to ask on would be alt.lasers and sci.optics .

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[Mark D. Zacharias]

I think I would look into having the value of the company assessed and sell
off. Not being knowlegeable in your industry simply runs too great a risk of
losing everything.

Mark Z.