Lastek

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.

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

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

• Photonics distribution
• Laser technology solutions
• Optical components
• Scientific instrumentation
• Photonics engineering services

Headquarters

HQ city

Thebarton

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. 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

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core 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

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• 3D-Micromac AGcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor3D-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.
• InfleqtioncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLastek 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 GmbHcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEITZENBERGER 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.
• ThorlabscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial 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 ConversioncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLight 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-EOcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGentec-EO offers laser power meters, energy meters, beam profilers, and terahertz measurement equipment. Lastek distributes their complete product range in Australia and New Zealand.
• EksplacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorEKSPLA is a manufacturer of lasers, laser systems and laser components for R&D and industrial applications. Distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Lastek.
• LaVisioncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLaVision'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 OpticscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOcean Optics offers a wide range of optical spectroscopy products. Distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Lastek.
• TopticacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorToptica provides ultrafast and high-power lasers for research and industrial applications, including quantum technology solutions. Distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Lastek.
• Guide SensmartcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGuide 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 PhotonicscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVIGO 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 PhotonicscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTucsen offers scientific cameras including sCMOS, CMOS, X-ray cameras for microscopy and scientific imaging applications.
• FEMTOcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFEMTO offers photoreceivers, amplifiers including current/transimpedance amplifiers, voltage amplifiers, GHz wideband amplifiers, and lock-in amplifiers.
• LasermetcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLasermet provides laser safety equipment including interlock systems. Lastek distributes their ICS-Magellan advanced touchscreen laser interlock controller.
• RevealercoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRevealer offers high-speed cameras, sCMOS cameras, and DIC (Digital Image Correlation) systems for scientific and industrial applications.
• Photon ForcecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPhoton 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 IndustriescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorALIO 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 FinessecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHigh Finesse offers wavelength meters, spectrometers, linewidth analyzers, and calibration sources for precision optical measurements.
• New Infrared Technologies (NIT)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNIT offers MWIR cameras, SWIR cameras, and linear array cameras for infrared imaging applications.
• HinaLea TechnologiescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHinaLea 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

Broad 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

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lastek