Ann: BluGlass 2024 Annual Report (Revised), page-2

The directors report is informative and gives me confidence the company is closer than ever in getting repeat orders from significant customers including an OEM with a little luck.


Customer engagement

BluGlass increased its engagement with customers and partnersduring the year, growing laser sales and order back-log acrossits full portfolio as well as securing first repeat customer orders.The Group is working with diverse customers from industry-leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), a nationallab, leading international universities and research institutions, todisruptive start-ups, and continues to focus on converting theseopportunities into new orders and custom projects. BluGlassis also engaging with potential partners on tender applicationsfor large revenue-generating contracts. Projects further validatethe Group’s differentiated approach, highlighting the genuinemarket need for custom solutions to address specific customerchallenges.Projects, such as the Microelectronics Commons, enableBluGlass to accelerate revenue growth and develop higher-valuelasers and new capabilities. This strategy funds the Group’sgrowth over the short and mid-term as its direct-to-market laserscales over time. During the year, BluGlass ordered and receivedits first commercial burn-in and reliability testing racks to providecrucial reliability and qualification data. Customer qualification ofsemiconductor lasers is lengthy, requiring thousands of hours oflifetime testing under hostile (accelerated) operating conditions.As BluGlass’ lasers are being tested in customer applications thatare concurrently in development, these steps require more timethan initially anticipated. We continue to develop our productswith strategic customers and are refining and improving ourportfolio with feedback and collaboration. Our go-to-marketstrategy is focused on addressing specific customer challengesand providing enhanced manufacturing agility and flexible formfactors. Our market differentiation continues to be validated by ourgrowing customers and partners, with the majority of our ordersand proposals involving the development of custom integrations,and/or novel capabilities and applications.BluGlass continues to invest in the infrastructure and relationshipsrequired to win high-value product development projects aswe engage with customers to qualify our lasers and their newapplications.