MKS, Hamamatsu Photonics, and Thorlabs have announced that they will not be attending Photonics West 2022 this month in San Francisco, California due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
MKS Instruments, Inc., a global provider of technologies that enable advanced processes and improve productivity, announced that it has withdrawn from exhibiting at Photonics West 2022 in San Francisco.
“The health and safety of our employees and customers is our top priority, and given the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases, we have made the difficult decision to withdraw from exhibiting at Photonics West 2022,” said John T.C. Lee, President and CEO of MKS. “We want to extend our thanks to the SPIE team for their work during these uncertain times, and we look forward to returning in 2023.”
Hamamatsu Corporation made the decision to withdraw from exhibiting at Photonics West 2022 due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases. The safety of our employees and customers is our top priority. We hope to return next year at Photonics West 2023 and thank the SPIE team for their work during these uncertain times.
Thorlabs posted a Photonics West update on its website saying that, "Over the last several weeks, Thorlabs has been carefully following the precipitous rise in Covid-19 cases, as the Omicron variant spreads throughout the United States. Although data from other nations would suggest that we will see a strong increase in case positivity rates followed by a rapid decline, we are concerned that the situation will not improve quickly enough to feel comfortable moving forward with an in-person presence at Photonics West. In consideration of the health and wellbeing of both our customers and staff, we’ve made the difficult decision to withdraw from the exhibition."
As always, the Thorlabs Technical Support Team is available for technical assistance. For those who had previously scheduled face-to-face meetings with their west-coast-based outside sales staff, we are planning to move forward with those arranged meetings, but can move to virtual meetings, as requested.
Recently Excelitas Technologies announced this it would not be attending. Posted on the Excelitas website is the following:
"Due to the continued rise of COVID-19 infection rates and the uncertainty of international travel disruptions, Excelitas Technologies must regrettably withdraw from exhibiting at SPIE Photonics West/BiOS 2022. While the health, safety and well-being of our employees remain our top priority, we wish SPIE continued success with the event and eagerly look forward to returning in 2023."
Sill Optics also announced its withdrawal, stating that "The health and safey of our employees and customers is our top priorty, and tiven the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases, we have mad ehte difficult decision to withdraw from exhibiting at Photonics West 2022."
Note: This news has been updated as we receive confirmation of companies deciding not to attend.
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