One year on from Torrent Photonics's acquisition of Knight Optical, the combined capabilities of these companies were on full display at Laser World of Photonics in Munich
The partnership is delivering everything from deep-sea optics to lunar rover components – quite literally spanning from the ocean floor to outer space.
Three decades of optical excellence and custom solutions
"Knight Optical has been going for over 30 years," says Marketing Manager, Pam Chahal, showcasing an impressive selection of components at the booth. "What we're looking at here is the bread and butter – we do everything from filters, lenses, windows, domes for subsea applications, and we work with a variety of materials including UV and IR optics, germanium, zinc selenide, dichroic filters, and colour glass filters."
The breadth of Knight Optical's manufacturing capabilities is impressive, encompassing mounted filters, various prism types including corner cubes and dove prisms, optical flats, stepped windows, and sapphire components
Unwavering commitment to quality
Central to Knight Optical's success has been an unwavering commitment to quality, embodied in the company tagline "bringing quality into focus." This philosophy has delivered real results: a rejection rate of just 0.03%. "It's quality at every single stage," Chahal emphasises. "Whether we're working with partners, optimising our manufacturing processes, or testing processes, keeping an eye on that KPI is what's kept Knight Optical going for so long."
The company's manufacturing takes place in the US, with its metrology laboratory based in the UK. While the firm maintains thousands of products in its stock catalogue, the real differentiator lies elsewhere. "95% of what we do is custom," says Chahal. "We work a lot with research universities and labs, and we take on the weird and wonderful challenges that basically come our way. That's what the Knight Optical brand was built on – the fact that we don't say no. At the heart of Knight Optical is the drive to take on any project, no matter the challenge."
Advanced optical assemblies and specialised capabilities from Torrent
Jon Herringer, Director of Special Projects at Torrent Photonics was also present at the event. He told us how Torrent’s capabilities extend Knight Optical's reach into sophisticated optical assemblies. "We specialise in transmission sphere optics and high laser damage coatings, working with components up to 600mm," he says. "We're unique in that there's probably only a handful of companies in the world that can do patterned filter coating on different substrates."
Enabling innovation: From lunar rovers to precision agriculture
One particularly impressive application involves advanced camera modifications. "We can take a filter, like a classic RGB or Bayer type filter, remove the cover glass from a sensor, and install the filter on top with active alignment of each channel to the underlying pixel," Herringer describes. This cutting-edge technology has found applications ranging from lunar exploration to precision agriculture.
"We did a project with Johns Hopkins APL for a lunar rover that will survey rocks on the moon and look for certain iron content," Herringer says. "In agriculture, they can fly drones over fields to identify which areas need water or might have disease. There are also defence applications – we're working on an IED ( Improvised Explosive Device) project where drones can identify targets and help soldiers either disarm them or stay away."
Synergistic partnership delivers complete value chain coverage
The synergy between the two companies is becoming increasingly apparent one year post-acquisition. "We're still in that discovery phase," says Herringer, "as we figure out exactly which projects we can add value to. Torrent brings huge manufacturing capabilities, so we're starting to work on spec products with OEMs and machine builders."
For Knight Optical, the partnership provides something equally valuable: global reach. "The fact that we're giving Torrent a European footprint and distribution into the rest of the world outside of the US creates a really nice synergistic relationship," Herringer explains. This expanded presence proves particularly valuable in navigating current geopolitical complexities, including tariff considerations.
End-to-end solutions and consultative approach
The combined value proposition is compelling. "Between Torrent and Knight Optical, we can cover you from your idea to your prototyping, to your specification, to your testing, to your delivery, wherever you are in the world, we’re here to help." Chahal summarises. This end-to-end capability, spanning the entire value chain, represents a significant competitive advantage.
Their approach to customisation remains consultative rather than prescriptive. "We get a lot of people that come to us with something, and we might say 'you can't do that, but you can do this,' and then we work together," Herringer explains. "It's much more consultative, and we're happy to collaborate and find the right solution."
Future outlook and market expansion
Looking ahead, the partnership is targeting continued growth across their established markets of space, defence, and subsea applications, while expanding into medical, automation, robotics, and machine vision sectors. With renewed confidence following recent government grants and increased tender activity, particularly in defence and space, both companies see significant opportunities ahead.
As Chahal puts it: "We're happy to take on the weird and wonderful, and with our combined capabilities, there's really no limit to what we can achieve together."
