GMP

What GMP does

GMP SA (General Microtechnology & Photonics) is a privately held Swiss distributor and systems integrator founded in 1977, headquartered in Renens with a secondary office in Fällanden (Zürich area). The company distributes scientific lasers, spectroscopy equipment, photonics instrumentation, micropositioning systems, and electronic instruments from over 30 international manufacturers including Ekspla, TEEM Photonics, Omicron laserage, Ocean Optics/Insight, Photonfocus, Hinds Instruments, Edinburgh Instruments, Zaber Technologies, SRS Stanford Research Systems, and others. GMP's customer base spans research institutions and universities (CERN, NASA, Max Planck Institutes, Cambridge, MIT, ELI), industrial and manufacturing users, and life-sciences/biotech organizations across Switzerland. The company complements distribution with in-house engineering services that deliver turnkey multi-vendor system integration, including driver support for MetaMorph, LabVIEW, and Micromanager scientific software platforms.

Name

GMP

Legal name

GMP SA

Website

https://gmp.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

GMP SA is a privately held Swiss distributor and systems integrator, founded in 1977, of scientific lasers, spectroscopy, photonics, and micropositioning equipment from over 30 international manufacturers, serving Swiss research institutions, universities, and industrial customers with turnkey integration services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scientific Instrumentation Distribution

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827)

akta.pro primary industry

Mass Spectrometry & Spectroscopy Instruments (HLAGAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Machine Vision & Optical Sensing (Cameras, 3D vision, LiDAR, illumination) (IMAGAFAB)

Keywords

• Scientific lasers
• Spectroscopy equipment
• Photonics distribution
• Micropositioning systems
• Laser measurement

Headquarters

HQ city

Renens

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Scientific Equipment Distribution: GMP distributes high technology scientific products including lasers, spectroscopy equipment, micropositioning systems, and electronic instruments. The company acts as a value-added distributor and also provides turnkey solutions and engineering integration services.
2. Engineering and Integration Services: The company's engineering department develops turnkey solutions for equipment integration, providing custom system configurations for customer requirements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

GMP SA distributes high-technology scientific equipment including scientific lasers (picosecond, femtosecond, CW solid-state, supercontinuum, terahertz, diode lasers), spectroscopy systems (spectrometers, Raman systems, monochromators), photonics instrumentation, hyperspectral and low-light cameras, micropositioning and motion control systems, vibration isolation, optics, and electronic instruments. The company serves as a Swiss value-added distributor for over 25 international manufacturers and also develops turnkey integrated solutions for equipment combinations through its internal engineering department.

Product overview

GMP SA is a Swiss company (since 1977) that operates as a distributor and integrator of high-technology photonics and scientific instrumentation products. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio organized into core product categories: Scientific Lasers (including pulsed solid-state, picosecond/femtosecond, CW solid-state, supercontinuum sources, OPO/OPA tunable systems, terahertz lasers, and laser diodes from manufacturers like Ekspla, TEEM photonics, and Omicron); Laser Measurement & Modulation (power meters, beam diagnostics, modulators, and ultrafast pulse measurement); Spectroscopy (spectrometers, Raman systems, monochromators, and light sources from Ocean Optics and Edinburgh Analytical); Hyperspectral and Low Light Cameras (from Photonfocus); Positioning and Motion Control (from Zaber Technologies and Galil Motion Control); Electronic Instruments (lock-in amplifiers, delay generators, and scientific instruments from SRS Stanford Research Systems); Optics and Optomechanics; Vibration Isolation; and Industrial Lasers. The portfolio also includes polarization measurement products (Hinds Instruments). GMP distributes products from over 25 manufacturers including Femtika, Omicron laserage, Edinburgh Instruments, Ekspla, Photonfocus, Hinds Instruments, Ocean Optics, Zaber Technologies, and others. The company also provides custom engineering services for turnkey equipment integration solutions developed by their engineering department.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Scientific Lasers Comprehensive range of scientific lasers including pulsed solid-state lasers, picosecond and femtosecond lasers, CW solid-state lasers, supercontinuum sources, OPO/OPA tunable systems, terahertz lasers and crystals, laser diode modules, CW and pulsed gas lasers, and laser diodes for research institutions, universities, and industrial customers.
• Spectroscopy Systems Spectroscopy products including spectrometers, Raman spectroscopy systems, monochromators, light sources for spectroscopy (UV-VIS-NIR), absolute quantum yield measurement systems, and spectroscopy software, sourced from Ocean Optics/Ocean Insight and Edinburgh Analytical.
• Laser Measurement and Modulation Laser measurement and modulation equipment including laser power meters, laser power and energy heads, laser beam diagnostic tools, laser modulation devices, THz measurement and detectors, ultrafast laser pulse measurement systems, and OEM detectors.
• Positioning and Motion Control Precision positioning and motion control systems including actuator linear and rotation stages, stepper and PID motion controllers, and life science products such as motorized and manual manipulators and microscope mounting accessories, sourced from Zaber Technologies and Galil Motion Control.
• Electronic Instruments Electronic instruments including laser diode drivers, scientific instruments (lock-in amplifiers, digital delay generators, HV power supplies, temperature controllers, optical choppers, gated integrators), test and measurement equipment, time and frequency instruments, and vacuum and analytical equipment.
• Hyperspectral and Low Light Cameras Hyperspectral cameras and low light imaging cameras from Photonfocus, including MV2 and MV4 series featuring IMEC CMOS image sensors with multiple pass bands optimized for high frame rates in scientific and industrial imaging applications.
• Vibration Isolation Systems Anti-vibration solutions including tables, breadboards, optical tables, nanotechnology anti-vibration systems, magnetic field control, and acoustic enclosures, sourced from TMC.
• Optics and Lab Mechanicals Optical components and laboratory mechanical equipment including classical optics, optomechanics, optical isolators, and infrared optics, sourced from manufacturers including Comar and Siskiyou.
• Laser Safety Laser safety products and solutions for laboratory and industrial environments, including laser safety eyewear from laservision and laser safety equipment from Akoneer.
• Industrial Lasers and Machines Industrial laser systems including multifunctional laser systems, industrial CO2 lasers, and laser nanofactory solutions from manufacturers including WOP Workshop of Photonics and Femtika.
• Engineering Services (Turnkey Solutions) Custom engineering services for turnkey solutions and equipment integration developed by GMP's internal engineering department, combining multiple product lines from distributed manufacturers into complete integrated systems tailored to customer applications.
• FemtoTune Tunable Femtosecond System Tunable femtosecond optical parametric amplifier designed for ultrafast science applications with 650-950nm and 1100-2000nm tuning range (extension to UV-VIS and Mid-IR 2300-10000nm), sub-50fs pulse duration, and up to 100kHz repetition rate. Manufactured by Ekspla.
• PicoSpear 260kW 250ps Laser Picosecond amplified microchip laser with peak power exceeding 200kW (IR) and pulse width as short as 250ps, designed for applications including instrumentation, LIDAR, atmospheric monitoring, Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence microscopy, material ablation, PCB repair, and 2-photon photopolymerization. Manufactured by TEEM Photonics.
• LightHUB Ultra Laser Light Engines Multi-wavelength laser combiner that can be equipped with 1-7 laser modules of different wavelengths from UV to near IR (375-1550nm), with fast analogue intensity modulation up to 1.5MHz and digital full ON/OFF modulation with switching time under 1µs, available with 1-2 fiber outputs. Manufactured by Omicron laserage.
• Hyperspectral Camera MV4 High-speed hyperspectral CMOS camera with IMEC CMV2K-SM5x5-NIR image sensor offering 25 pass bands from 665nm to 975nm and up to 340fps at full resolution, with modular camera system design. Manufactured by Photonfocus.
• IA30 FTIR Spectrometer High-performance benchtop Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometer for analytical and research applications with spectral resolution from 0.5 cm-1, anti-vibration interferometer frame, and Miracle software. Manufactured by Edinburgh Analytical.
• Photoelastic Modulators (PEMs) Polarization modulation components operating at resonant frequencies with applications spanning vacuum UV to Terahertz spectral regions, featuring polarization purity, large aperture and acceptance angle, and power handling capability up to 5 GW/cm². Manufactured by Hinds Instruments.
• PhoxX+ Diode Laser Series Diode laser modules with full ON/OFF Deepstar digital modulation bandwidth exceeding 180MHz, analogue intensity modulation over 25MHz, and single-mode optical output powers up to 300mW. Available in wavelengths from 375nm to 1550nm. Manufactured by Omicron laserage.
• LEDMOD HP Series Ultra high power LED modules with TEC cooling and optional fibre-coupling, wavelengths from 365nm to 660nm with optical output power up to several watts. Features fast analogue modulation up to 500kHz and digital modulation with switching time under 2µs. Manufactured by Omicron laserage.
• LaserNest Desktop Diode Laser Series Plug&play desktop laser light source combining LuxX+ diode lasers in a desktop-style housing with fast analogue intensity modulation up to 3MHz and digital modulation up to 250MHz. Manufactured by Omicron laserage.
• Supercontinuum Sources (SC-PRO, SC-OEM, SC-5) Supercontinuum white light laser sources providing broad spectral output from a single source, with models including SC-PRO, SC-OEM, and SC-5 for various application requirements.

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• EksplacoreTechnology or IntegrationEkspla is a manufacturer of lasers, laser systems and laser components for R&D and industrial applications. GMP distributes Ekspla products in Switzerland, including the FemtoTune tunable femtosecond system, picosecond lasers, and other advanced laser systems.
• Ocean Optics / Ocean InsightcoreTechnology or IntegrationOcean Optics (now Ocean Insight) is a manufacturer of spectrometers and optical sensing equipment. GMP distributes Ocean Optics/InSight products including QE Pro scientific grade spectrometers, Flame series miniature spectrometers, and spectroscopy software.
• Omicron laseragecoreTechnology or IntegrationOmicron develops and produces laser and LED light sources including LuxX+ diode lasers, PhoxX+ laser diode modules, LEDMOD series, and LightHUB laser combiners. GMP distributes the complete Omicron product range in Switzerland.
• PhotonfocuscoreTechnology or IntegrationPhotonfocus is a manufacturer of high-quality CMOS image sensors, OEM camera modules and industrial cameras. GMP distributes Photonfocus hyperspectral cameras including MV2 and MV4 series with IMEC sensors.
• Hinds InstrumentscoreTechnology or IntegrationHinds Instruments develops polarization measurement instrumentation including photoelastic modulators (PEMs), birefringence measurement systems, and laser Stokes polarimeters. GMP distributes Hinds products in Switzerland.
• Edinburgh Analytical / Edinburgh InstrumentscoreTechnology or IntegrationEdinburgh Analytical (part of Edinburgh Instruments) sets the standard in analytical spectroscopy instruments including FTIR spectrometers (IA30), UV-Vis spectrophotometers (DB30), and fluorescence spectrometers (FE30). GMP distributes these products.
• TEEM photonicscoreTechnology or IntegrationTEEM Photonics is a spin-off from Schneider Electric founded in 1998, specializing in passively Q-switched microlasers and Photonics Integrated Circuits based on ion exchange technology. GMP distributes PicoSpear and PowerChip laser series.
• Edinburgh InstrumentscoreTechnology or IntegrationEdinburgh Instruments produces fluorescence spectrometers, photoluminescence systems, and time-resolved spectroscopy equipment including FLS980, FLS1000, FS5, and LifeSpec II.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Photon Lines: French photonics distributor covering lasers, imaging, spectroscopy and motion control, sharing GMP's mix of high-tech distribution and integration services but operating primarily in France rather than Switzerland.
• Optoprim: France-based distributor of lasers, spectroscopy, imaging and photonics instruments with a comparable academic/industrial customer mix, serving a neighbouring geography rather than competing directly inside Switzerland.
• Schäfter+Kirchhoff: Hamburg-based supplier of laser-based systems, optics, spectrometers and motion components for scientific and industrial applications — comparable in product categories to GMP but manufacturer-led rather than pure distribution.
• Resolve Optics: UK-based specialist in custom optical and photonic components, including for spectroscopy and imaging applications adjacent to GMP's portfolio; smaller, niche and primarily serving European markets outside Switzerland.

Broad incumbents

• Edmund Optics: Global manufacturer and distributor of optical components, imaging systems and laser optics; overlaps with GMP's optics, micropositioning and laser measurement categories but at vastly larger scale and with proprietary products.
• Thorlabs: Global photonics platform that both manufactures and distributes a much broader catalog of lasers, optics, motion control and spectroscopy products; broader scale and direct sales make Thorlabs a broad incumbent rather than a regional channel peer.

Direct peers

• LOT-QuantumDesign: European scientific instrument distributor specialising in photonics, spectroscopy, cryogenics and materials research equipment with a comparable exclusive-distribution + value-added services model across multiple countries.
• AMS Technologies: European distributor of high-tech photonic, thermal management and sensing components serving research and industrial customers with the same multi-vendor catalog and engineering integration services strategy as GMP.
• Laser 2000: Germany-headquartered value-added distributor of lasers, spectroscopy, photonics and micro-positioning products with overlapping brand portfolio (e.g., Ekspla, Omicron, Toptica, Hinds) and a regional technical-sales motion very similar to GMP's Swiss model.
• Acal BFi: Pan-European specialty photonics and components distributor with turnkey engineering capabilities and a customer base spanning industrial, medical and academic buyers — directly comparable channel model to GMP.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 GMP