Lastek
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1988
- HeadquartersThebarton, Australia
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Lastek does
Lastek Pty Ltd is a privately-held Australian photonics technology distributor headquartered at 10 Reid St, Thebarton, South Australia, operating exclusively across the Australia and New Zealand markets. The company is the authorized — and in several cases exclusive — distributor for more than 70 international photonics principals, including Thorlabs, Toptica, Light Conversion, Ocean Optics, Ekspla, Gentec-EO, VIGO Photonics, Infleqtion, 3D-Micromac, Eitzenberger, Lasermet, FEMTO, Tucsen Photonics, Revealer, HinaLea, LaVision, and Photon Force. It does not manufacture products; instead it provides localized sales, technical support, and integration services for laser sources, optics, scientific cameras, photodetectors, motion control systems, spectroscopy, microscopy, metrology, and laser safety equipment.
Lastek generates revenue primarily through hardware resale on a quote-based pricing model, with no public price list. Its go-to-market combines a direct sales team (reachable via freecall lines in both Australia and New Zealand), free no-obligation demonstration-lab trials in customer facilities, an online OpticsShop for catalog purchases, and dedicated service divisions: Wombat Works (custom optical system design, test, prototype, and build) and Laser Safety Australia (laser safety equipment plus on-site safety audits). Customer segments are weighted toward research institutions and universities (primary), industrial and manufacturing customers (primary), with secondary exposure to medical/healthcare and aerospace, defense, and government (the latter notably tied to VIGO Photonics detectors used in NASA's Orion/Artemis program).
Strategic positioning is that of a high-breadth, service-anchored regional channel partner rather than a systems integrator or manufacturer. The company's competitive advantage rests on the breadth and exclusivity of its principal portfolio, its local technical and engineering support, and its specialized divisions (Wombat Works, Laser Safety Australia, and a Quantum Technology category). Distribution is the dominant business model and revenue is uncorrelated with any single end-customer segment, though it remains exposed to AU/NZ research-grant funding cycles and the broader photonics capex environment.
Lastek firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lastek
- Legal name
- Lastek Pty Ltd
- Website
- https://lastek.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1988
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lastek industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Photonics Distribution
- NAICS
- Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (3345)
- SIC
- Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Managed Quantum Services & Operations (M-QOps) (HDAGALAL)
Keywords
Where Lastek is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Thebarton
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Lastek business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Photonics Product Distribution: Lastek generates revenue by distributing and reselling photonics products from over 70 international technology companies. They act as the authorized distributor for Australia and New Zealand for these principals, marking up products and earning margins on sales.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Product pricing varies by manufacturer and specification |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels3 records
Lastek product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lastek is a photonics technology solutions distributor that supplies lasers, optics, imaging, and photonics components from over 70 international manufacturers to research, industrial, and academic customers across Australia and New Zealand. The company also offers custom engineering via its Wombat Works service, technical support, training, and in-house demonstration systems to help customers evaluate and integrate photonics technologies.
Product overview
Lastek is a photonics technology solutions distributor serving Australia and New Zealand, representing over 70 leading laser, imaging, and photonics technology manufacturers. The company operates as a broad portfolio distributor offering lasers and light sources (CW, nanosecond, picosecond, femtosecond, tunable, laser diodes, gas, industrial fibre, frequency combs, terahertz), laser safety equipment, optics (filters, fibre optics, modulators, mounts, crystals, adaptive optics), quantum technology products, scientific cameras (CCD, sCMOS, CMOS, MWIR, SWIR, high-speed, hyperspectral, thermal, X-ray), photodetectors (silicon, InGaAs, IR 1-16μm, photon counting), amplifiers (current, voltage, wideband, lock-in), laser measurement equipment (power/energy meters, beam profilers, wavelength meters), motion control systems (nanopositioning, micropositioning, vibration isolation), spectroscopy equipment (optical, Raman, Brillouin, NIR, terahertz), microscopy systems (superresolution, light sheet, fluorescence, OCT), and metrology instruments (coating thickness, flow visualisation, interferometry). Additional services include Wombat Works custom optical engineering consultancy, OpticsShop online ordering, demonstration systems for trials, and Laser Safety Australia division for comprehensive laser safety audits. The portfolio is distributed through authorized partnerships with manufacturers including Toptica, Light Conversion, Ocean Optics, Thorlabs, Gentec-EO, Ekspla, FEMTO, VIGO Photonics, Tucsen Photonics, Revealer, HinaLea, LaVision, and others.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Photonics Components and Instruments Distribution Distribution of lasers, optics, imaging, light sources, detectors, spectrometers, and related photonics instruments sourced from over 70 international manufacturers, sold to research institutes, universities, and industrial customers across Australia and New Zealand.
- Wombat Works Custom Engineering Bespoke photonics engineering service that designs and builds custom photonics solutions and sub-systems tailored to specific research or industrial application requirements.
- Technical Support, Training, and Repair Services After-sales technical support, end-user training, application assistance, and repair services for photonics equipment distributed by Lastek, provided to customers across Australia and New Zealand.
- Product Demonstration Systems In-house product demonstration facilities that allow prospective customers to evaluate photonics instruments and components from Lastek's distributed manufacturers prior to purchase decisions.
Quantifiable outcome
- Distributes products from 70+ international photonics principals
Companies that use Lastek
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Lastek technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Lastek partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
21 partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- 3D-Micromac AGcore3D-Micromac AG, the industry leader in laser micromachining and roll-to-roll laser systems for photovoltaic, medical device, and electronics markets, has expanded its distribution network with Lastek Pty Ltd in Australia and New Zealand.
- InfleqtioncoreLastek is the Australian distributor for Infleqtion, the world's quantum information company, who produce optimised miniature MOTs and cold atom desktop systems for research and training of quantum engineers.
- Eitzenberger GmbHcoreEITZENBERGER was founded in 2001, and develops, manufactures and markets components that move on a micro air cushion, i.e. high precision, frictionless or very high speed air bearings and air bearing systems. Lastek is appointed distributor in Australia and New Zealand.
- ThorlabscoreOfficial Thorlabs Channel Partner for the Australia/NZ region. Lastek provides the most cost effective source for all Thorlabs products with best prices, fast delivery and excellent support.
- Light ConversioncoreLight Conversion offers solid-state ultrafast laser systems and accessories, including PHAROS high power and energy femtosecond laser systems, CARBIDE industrial grade femtosecond systems, HARPIA femtosecond spectroscopic systems, TOPAS optical parametric amplifiers.
- Gentec-EOcoreGentec-EO offers laser power meters, energy meters, beam profilers, and terahertz measurement equipment. Lastek distributes their complete product range in Australia and New Zealand.
- EksplacoreEKSPLA is a manufacturer of lasers, laser systems and laser components for R&D and industrial applications. Distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Lastek.
- LaVisioncoreLaVision's product range includes modular laser imaging systems based on spectroscopic techniques for multi-parameter and multi-dimensional flow field measurements for combustion, spray and flow visualization.
- Ocean OpticscoreOcean Optics offers a wide range of optical spectroscopy products. Distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Lastek.
- TopticacoreToptica provides ultrafast and high-power lasers for research and industrial applications, including quantum technology solutions. Distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Lastek.
- Guide SensmartcoreGuide Sensmart develops thermal imaging cameras including high performance thermal cameras, handheld cameras, thermal cameras for smartphones. Distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Lastek.
- VIGO PhotonicscoreVIGO Photonics offers innovative IR detectors across the 1-16 micron spectral region, including HgCdTe (MCT) detectors, InAs/InAsSb detectors. Their detectors are used in NASA's Artemis program.
- Tucsen PhotonicscoreTucsen offers scientific cameras including sCMOS, CMOS, X-ray cameras for microscopy and scientific imaging applications.
- FEMTOcoreFEMTO offers photoreceivers, amplifiers including current/transimpedance amplifiers, voltage amplifiers, GHz wideband amplifiers, and lock-in amplifiers.
- LasermetcoreLasermet provides laser safety equipment including interlock systems. Lastek distributes their ICS-Magellan advanced touchscreen laser interlock controller.
- RevealercoreRevealer offers high-speed cameras, sCMOS cameras, and DIC (Digital Image Correlation) systems for scientific and industrial applications.
- Photon ForcecorePhoton Force offers single-photon sensitive cameras and sensors with the highest throughput and fastest time-resolved single photon counting technology, including PF32 SPAD arrays.
- ALIO IndustriescoreALIO Industries provides precision nanopositioning stages with sub-micron accuracy and measurement-grade monolithic XY stages. Their Ready to Ship (RTS) program delivers in weeks.
- High FinessecoreHigh Finesse offers wavelength meters, spectrometers, linewidth analyzers, and calibration sources for precision optical measurements.
- New Infrared Technologies (NIT)coreNIT offers MWIR cameras, SWIR cameras, and linear array cameras for infrared imaging applications.
- HinaLea TechnologiescoreHinaLea Technologies provides hyperspectral cameras and SWIR cameras with intelligent imaging capabilities for scientific and industrial applications.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Lastek competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Hamamatsu Photonics: Global photonics manufacturer of detectors, cameras and light sources. Comparable as a principal-level supplier whose products compete with or complement Lastek's distribution lines.
- Edmund Optics: Global manufacturer and direct distributor of optical components. Comparable as a supplier whose products Lastek distributes, and as a benchmark for direct-to-customer photonics distribution at scale.
- Newport (MKS Instruments): Large incumbent in photonics equipment including lasers, motion and optics. Comparable as a competing supplier whose products overlap significantly with Lastek's portfolio.
- Thorlabs: Dominant vertically integrated photonics components manufacturer. Comparable as Lastek's largest principal and as the benchmark for in-house photonics distribution; represents both partner and competitive threat if Thorlabs internalizes AU/NZ sales.
- Coherent: Major global photonics and laser manufacturer. Comparable as a principal and as a benchmark for scale in the photonics supply chain that Lastek serves.
Direct peers
- Scitec Instruments: Australian-headquartered distributor of photonics, lasers and scientific instruments. Comparable as a regional multi-principal photonics distributor serving research and industrial customers with similar catalog breadth.
- Acal BFi: European photonics and electronics distributor with a multi-principal model. Comparable as a specialty distributor providing local technical support across a broad photonics portfolio.
- Laser Components: European photonics distributor representing multiple principals across lasers, optics and detectors. Comparable as a multi-principal specialty photonics distributor with custom integration services.
Regional players
- Laser 2000: European-based photonics and laser distributor with multi-principal model. Comparable as a regional specialty distributor, although operating in a different geography.
Others
- Infleqtion: Quantum technology manufacturer for which Lastek is the Australian distributor. Comparable as a key principal partner and as a window into the high-growth quantum segment Lastek is positioning around.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Lastek financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lastek leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Lastek subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Lastek funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lastek M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Lastek
What does Lastek do?
Lastek is a photonics technology solutions distributor that supplies lasers, optics, imaging, and photonics components from over 70 international manufacturers to research, industrial, and academic customers across Australia and New Zealand. The company also offers custom engineering via its Wombat Works service, technical support, training, and in-house demonstration systems to help customers evaluate and integrate photonics technologies.
Is Lastek a public or private company?
Lastek is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Lastek founded?
Lastek was founded in 1988. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Lastek based?
Lastek is headquartered in Thebarton, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Lastek make money?
One revenue line is on record: photonics Product Distribution.
Who are Lastek's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Hamamatsu Photonics, Edmund Optics, Newport (MKS Instruments), Thorlabs and Coherent. Direct peers are Scitec Instruments, Acal BFi and Laser Components. Laser 2000 is listed as a regional player. Infleqtion is listed as an others.
Does Lastek have an API?
No public API is recorded for Lastek.
What industry is Lastek in?
Lastek's product category is Photonics Distribution. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAGALAL, Managed Quantum Services & Operations (M-QOps). Its NAICS code is 3345 and its SIC code is 3827.