Interview [Manufacturing Optoelectronic]

WHEN IT COMES to the mass manufacture of optoelectronics in the UK, "it\´s just gone. We all know that," says William Heath, whose matter-of-fact assessment of the situation seems to leave no room for manoeuvre. But, he reassures me, this doesn\´t imply there is nothing left for UK optoelectronic manufacturers. He\´s talking about the emergence of high-end specialists, typically those producing complex safety-critical components in low to medium volumes. "Products like this need to be well engineered and to fit exactly what the customer is trying to do."