Optical components manufacturer LightPath Technologies Inc. announced Tuesday that it has formed a second subsidiary in China. LightPath Optical Instrumentation (Zhenjiang) Co. Ltd. is located in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, and occupies a 26,000-sq-ft facility, tripling the company's combined global lens production capacity. LightPath also has a 22,000-sq-ft plant in Orlando and a 17,000-sq-ft plant in Shanghai, home to its first China subsidiary, LightPath Optical Instrumentation (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. The Zhenjiang location is close to high-speed rail service and the Optical College at the University of Zhenjiang, providing an educated work force, the company said. "Demand for our aspheric lenses has accelerated in both our North American and Asian sales regions," said LightPath CEO Jim Gaynor of the expansion. "The company's lens unit volume production increased by approximately 50 percent in fiscal 2013, as compared to fiscal 2012. Our backlog as of September 30, 2013, had grown to $4.42 million." A primary catalyst driving the increased demand, he said, is LightPath's efforts in lowering the costs of its lenses, through a combination of proprietary technology and manufacturing processes. "As a result, there has been a paradigm shift in demand creation among end users in markets such as laser tools, telecommunications, digital projectors, industrial equipment and medical instruments," Gaynor said. LightPath's Zhenjiang location, where rent and wages are low, "will give us a solid platform to continue growing our high-volume business for precision molded optics," Gaynor said. "Work is under way to build out the factory, and production is planned to start during the first half of 2014. We estimate our manufacturing costs could be up to 40 percent lower at this new facility, once we are at full production levels." The new plant will focus on manufacturing, with administrative functions, engineering and sales supported from the Shanghai and Orlando locations, he said. For more information, visit: www.lightpath.com