The UK arm of Excelitas Technologies, a photonics company making lasers, optics and sensing technology at UK sites including Cambridge, Neston in Cheshire and Hamble in Hampshire.
Excelitas UK is the UK company of Excelitas Technologies, a US-headquartered photonics group. Photonics is the science and technology of light, including lasers, lenses, sensors and the systems that use them. The company's Hamble site in Hampshire manufactures high-performance solid-state laser systems and fibre optics for scientific, analytical and metrology (measurement) uses. Its products are used in X-ray machines, cancer diagnostic systems, semiconductor chip manufacturing and other laser and optical technology.
The UK business grew out of the Qioptiq photonics business that Excelitas owns. The Hamble operation, Qioptiq Photonics Ltd, grew from 68 staff in early 2020 to about 200 by the end of 2022, with plans to recruit about 70 more and to invest in new high-end cleanrooms, according to a local council news article. That growth shows demand for photonics skills in the UK. A separate Qioptiq business in North Wales supplied night vision and surveillance equipment to the Ministry of Defence, but Teledyne bought the Qioptiq optical systems business in Northern Wales in February 2025, so it is no longer part of Excelitas.
Excelitas lists three UK addresses on its site: Cambridge (161 Cambridge Science Park, Milton Road, CB4 0GQ), Neston (Unit 1 Millennium Court, Clayhill Industrial Estate, Cheshire CH64 3UZ) and Hamble, Southampton (Mitchell Point, Ensign Way, Hamble, SO31 4RF). Excelitas UK Limited is a UK registered company (number 02822648). The Hamble site works in production, research and development, engineering and supply chain, and keeps ISO Class 6 and Class 8 cleanrooms (very low-dust workspaces) and an ISO 9001 quality certificate.
We did not find a UK mission statement. The local-news article on Hamble gives a clear picture of culture and community: Operations Director Connor Bowdidge said many staff, himself included, grew up and live in the local area, and the council leader called it a business thriving in the borough. The company said it plans to recruit locally, including from universities and colleges, to sponsor engineering students and to visit schools and colleges. These are statements from the company and the council, reported in early 2023.
Roles at a photonics company include manufacturing technicians, optical, mechanical and electronic engineers, project managers, supply chain and quality staff, and research scientists. The Hamble article says roles run from skilled manufacturing to project management and engineering, and that some new recruits moved from other parts of the UK. Excelitas also has a long-running link with Cardiff Business School through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the former Qioptiq business, a reminder that its UK sites work with universities. See Excelitas's UK site for current roles.
Website: www.excelitas.com
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