Brief History of IMRA

IMRA America, Inc. is a world leader in the research and development, manufacturing, and application of ultrafast and short-pulsed fiber lasers.

The idea of a global IMRA research and development network was born in Japan and championed by Mr. Minoru Toyoda, the Honorary Advisor to the All Aisin Group. Aisin is Japan's largest, and one of the world's top ten manufacturers of automotive related components.

The IMRA network is dedicated to the creative research and innovative development of key technologies for future industrial applications. The company's international exchange of advanced technologies successfully implements Mr. Toyoda's visionary philosophy of "World Harmony Through the Development and Sharing of Science and Technology" (1985).

Our first facility - originally IMRA, "Institut Minoru de Recherche Avancée", and now IMRA Europe S.A. - opened in Valbonne/Nice, France, in 1986. Since then it has expanded to include additional sites in the United Kingdom and Germany.

IMRA America was established in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1990. Today IMRA America is a globally active company.

Research, development, prototyping, manufacturing and marketing and sales for ultrafast fiber lasers are carried out at our Ann Arbor Headquarters. Here IMRA has assembled a world-class research and engineering team, which is working in cooperation with leading research and development groups in universities, government institutions, and companies in the United States and all over the world.

The Femtolite™ ultrafast fiber laser series, the first IMRA America product line, is manufactured in Kariya, Japan, at a facility close to the headquarters of IMRA's parent company, Aisin Seiki.

Since 2004, the FCPA µJewel™ ultrafast laser series has been produced in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Other laser models and accessories are being added to the manufacturing line-up to keep up with market demand.

The lasers are distributed worldwide through our own sales forces in the United States and Japan and with an international network of sales representatives.

IMRA America has developed an intellectual property portfolio of more than 80 national and international patents.

In 2000, we established our Applications Research Laboratory (ARL) in Fremont, California. There we collaborate on pulsed laser micromachining applications with the semiconductor, display, as well as biomedical, medical device, and other high-tech manufacturing industries. A similar facility at the headquarters in Ann Arbor opened in 2005.

At IMRA we have the scientific expertise, technical know-how, and international resources to adapt ultrafast fiber laser technology to a wide range of applications.