THE Pennsylvania, United States-headquartered Coherent Corp. is weighing further expansion of its local operations as demand grows for technologies used in data centers, optical communications and semiconductor applications.
Executives of its Philippines subsidiary Coherent II-VI Laser Enterprise Phils. Inc. discussed expansion plans and prospects for scaling its domestic manufacturing operations during an early August meeting with officials of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza), the latter revealed. Representatives from Coherent, a global maker of lasers, photonics and optical technologies, presented potential projects that could add manufacturing capacity and bring in technology transfers from its global network, with discussions also covering the registration and incentives framework that would apply to new investments and expansions.
The company operates manufacturing, research and development, sales, service and distribution facilities across more than 20 countries, producing lasers, optical and optoelectronic components, transceivers, modules and systems, as well as engineered materials.
Its products are used in industries including data centers, communications, semiconductors, electronics, industrial manufacturing and instrumentation.
In the Philippines, Coherent operates its laser business in Calamba, Laguna, while its performance-metals operations are based in Rosario, Cavite.
Its Calamba facility supports manufacturing for telecommunications, data centers, optical communications, industrial lasers and other photonics applications.
The company opened a 1,500-square-meter manufacturing facility in Calamba in April, adding to its Philippine production footprint.
A Peza locator since 2014, Coherent has invested about P1.7 billion in its Philippine operations, including its latest Calamba facility, and employs more than 1,000 Filipino workers.
The potential expansion comes as the country seeks to move beyond conventional semiconductor and electronics activities toward higher-value manufacturing, while global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure continues to drive investment in photonics, optical connectivity and related technologies.