The technology moves fast - but it's the pace of consolidation in the optical components sector that has been taking the breath away. Joe McGarvey talks to trailblazing CEO Jozef Straus. On a hiking trip, in the summer of 1999, Jozef Straus, CEO of JDS Fitel and Kevin Kalkhoven, his Uniphase Corp peer, decided that the best way to conquer the burgeoning business for optical networking components was to transform from competitors into colleagues. In an industry where firms tend to specialize in just one, the combination seemed a match made in heaven.
Opportunities are big and the game is just beginning.
Nothing has changed. That strategy is a three-point plan, whereby in phase one, Uniphase concentrates on building a comprehensive portfolio of passive and active optical components. This phase is ongoing, but essentially completed, with the bringing together of JDS Fitel's passive component range and Uniphase's complementary active offering. Phase two concerns the development of module strategy. Modules are optical products of higher degrees of complexity that enable systems makers to build equipment faster.