Realizing that opportunity is where you find it, Kaiam says it has stockpiled a “strategic reserve” of optical transceivers to serve U.S. and European data center customers who might find their supplies cut off if a trade war erupts between the U.S. and China. Since the company’s transceivers aren’t made in China, unlike several of its competitors, Kaiam believes it is in position to offer an alternative source of modules should trade tensions between China and the U.S. erode to the point that exports are curtailed.
“In today’s global economy, it’s easy to assume goods will flow seamlessly across borders indefinitely. We sometimes forget that the optical components that power cloud companies like Google, Facebook, Amazon, and others are virtually all made in China and are thus susceptible to trade tensions,” said Jeremy Dietz, vice president of global sales and marketing at Kaiam.
“As patriots, we believe a transceiver reserve is necessary for our domestic security,” Dietz continued while narrowly avoiding biting the tongue planted firmly in his cheek. “Our advanced technology and manufacturing process allows us to easily build a buffer to protect our nation in case of an embargo or even a natural disaster. We are currently exploring secure underground locations in states such as Utah and Nevada.”
“All humor aside, we are seeing the benefits of our $80 million investment in the automated UK line, and have the capacity to serve a large fraction of the high-performance optical transceiver market. The MEMS-based micro-packaging technology, together with our recent massive investments in automation and infrastructure, provides our Western customers with a secure source, free of potential trade issues,” said Bardia Pezeshki, president and CEO of Kaiam. “As we announced in a recent press release, we aim to serve the Asian market, with a similar local source, through our partnership with Broadex. This dual strategy eliminates any potential supply issues on both sides of the globe.”
Kaiam operates a production facility in Livingston, Scotland (see "Kaiam closes funding round, targets volume manufacturing").
For related articles, visit the Optical Technologies Topic Center.
For more information on optical transceivers and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.
Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher
Stephen Hardy has covered fiber optics for more than 15 years, and communications and technology for more than 30 years. He is responsible for establishing and executing Lightwave's editorial strategy across its digital magazine, website, newsletters, research and other information products. He has won multiple awards for his writing.
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