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Thank you very much Gary. Good morning everyone and welcome to the annual Laser Focus World market seminar. In addition to the series that Gary referenced, this is actually about the tenth or so market seminar that we've done if you include more specialized seminars that we do in the medical and industrial areas. We've done a number of seminars on the medical laser market as a whole as well as on specific clinical specialties and every two years we take a very in—depth look at the industrial laser market in conjunction with the biennial machine tool show in Chicago and Dave Belforte may have more to say about that. However, this meeting here at OE-LASE has become the annual gathering at which we inspect the laser industry's score card overall for the year, as well as the outlook for the future. I'm just going to propose one ground rule. In the unlikely event that I don't consume all the tixae allotted to me, and we do indeed have the very xauch needed time for questions as Gary indicated, I simply ask that rather than directing all of your questions to me you direct them to your favorite competitor. Last year at this time, you may recall, we were meeting under rather extraordinary conditions. It was about the time of the outhreak of the Persian Gulf War. And therefore, at that time, one of the hottest laser applications was a xailitary one centering on laser-based target designators. So as we met at year-end and for a brief period of time thereafter, this was perhaps the only time in the world that the most lasers being consumed in any market was centered in Baghdad. As we'll see, the market has shifted since then. In the ensuing year, and certainly at the present time, much more general international political and economic developments again have had a most dramatic ixapact on the laser industry and its associated markets. In fact in the past year the theme was quite the opposite of war. Instead we witnessed a deepening as well as spreading global recession along with associated cutbacks in spending by a host of governments. We also saw the dissolution of the former Soviet Union and the associated end of the cold war. I think these are worth citing because these developments have certainly had a very dynamic and strong impact on a number of laser markets and in a very direct sense the scientific and military laser markets. But I think more generally pretty niuch across the board most of the other laser markets that we will be discussing today have in iiiany ways been SPIE Vol. 1719 The Laser Marketplace 1992 / 1 LASER MARKET OVERVIEW Dr. Morris R. Levitt Senior Vice President, PennWell Publishing Company Thank you very much Gary. Good morning everyone and welcome to the annual Laser Focus World market seminar. In addition to the series that Gary referenced, this is actually about the tenth or so market seminar that we've done if you include more specialized seminars that we do in the medical and industrial areas. We've done a number of seminars on the medical laser market as a whole as well as on specific clinical specialties and every two years we take a very in—depth look at the industrial laser market in conjunction with the biennial machine tool show in Chicago and Dave Belforte may have more to say about that. However, this meeting here at 0E-LASE has become the annual gathering at which we inspect the laser industry's score card overall for the year, as well as the outlook for the future. I'm just going to propose one ground rule. In the unlikely event that I don't consume all the time allotted to me, and we do indeed have the very much needed time for questions as Gary indicated, I simply ask that rather than directing all of your questions to me you direct them to your favorite competitor. Last year at this time, you may recall, we were meeting under rather extraordinary conditions. It was about the time of the outhreak of the Persian Gulf War. And therefore, at that time, one of the hottest laser applications was a military one centering on laser-based target designators. So as we met at year-end and for a brief period of time thereafter, this was perhaps the only time in the world that the most lasers being consumed in any market was centered in Baghdad. As we'll see, the market has shifted since then. In the ensuing year, and certainly at the present time, much more general international political and economic developments again have had a most dramatic impact on the laser industry and its associated markets. In fact in the past year the theme was quite the opposite of war. Instead we witnessed a deepening as well as spreading global recession along with associated cutbacks in spending by a host of governments. We also saw the dissolution of the former Soviet Union and the associated end of the cold war. I think these are worth citing because these developments have certainly had a very dynamic and strong impact on a number of laser markets and in a very direct sense the scientific and military laser markets. But I think more generally pretty much across the board most of the other laser markets that we will be discussing today have in many ways been profoundly iiupacted by these developments in the world political econom.
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