New Life for QPC Lasers

An unknown group of investors has bought the assets of struggling semiconductor laser maker Quintessence Photonics Corp. (QPC) Lasers Inc. for $750,000.

The investor group, Laser Operations LLC, secured QPC’s $6-million debt from Finisar Corp. on May 13 and conducted a public sale of QPC’s assets on June 1.

In a press release issued June 5, Laser Operations said it will "leverage its financial stability and the deep business and managerial experience of its ownership group to support the customer base acquired from Quintessence and pursue new high growth opportunities in medical, industrial, defense and consumer display markets uniquely suited for the market-leading technologies and products acquired from Quintessence."

In a June 3 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, QPC said it expects to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in the near future, and for its stock to have no value after liquidation is completed.

QPC was founded in November 2000 by Dr. Jeffrey E. Ungar and George Lintz, with backing from strategic and venture capitalists, according to the company’s Web site. In late 2001, the company organized a technical staff that included experts in optoelectronic devices and semiconductor materials, from companies such as Lucent Technologies and Agere Systems. In March 2002, QPC opened its Sylmar facility to perform in-house the fabrication and manufacturing of its high-power semiconductor chip-based lasers for the consumer electronics, defense, industrial and medical markets.

QPC’s debt load became too heavy once the economy slumped and credit dried up. The company defaulted on its 2006 loan from Finisar in October 2008 by failing to make the required payment. After having no success in raising the funds necessary to continue operations, on Oct. 12 the company suspended most of its operations and terminated a majority of its 50 or so employees. It has been hovering on the brink of filing for banktruptcy ever since (See QPC Resumes Limited Ops).

Also in October, Paul Rudy resigned as vice president of sales and marketing, and Blima Tuller, vice president of finance and chief accounting officer, also resigned. QPC said Tuller would remain as an employee to assist with accounting and finance matters. Rudy and Tuller, along with Ungar and Lintz, had agreed in July to salary reductions and to having their insurance premiums increased – receiving additional shares of stock instead – as part of the company’s cost-cutting efforts. On April 6, 2009, Lintz resigned as chief financial officer and chief operating officer, remaining as a board member and a company consultant.

QPC will be exhibiting its high-power Brightlase and Brightlock high-power fiber-coupled products for medical, sensing, and pumping applications next week at Laser World of Photonics 2009 in Munich, Germany.

For more information, visit: www.qpclasers.com