€6 Million laser factory opens in Vilnius, with capacity to produce up to 3,000 lasers annually
Lithuanian femtosecond laser manufacturer LITILIT opened a new €6 million factory in Vilnius on Friday. The company plans to produce around 1,000 lasers during its first year of operation and later triple production to as many as 3,000 units per year.
The first lasers manufactured at the new facility are expected to reach international customers as early as November. The company’s products will be exported to markets across Asia, the United States and Europe. In the future, LITILIT also plans to establish similar factories in other countries together with international partners.
Located at Plungės St. 4 in SIRIN PARK GARIŪNAI, a logistics park operated by real estate developer SIRIN Development, the new factory has a total area of approximately 4,000 sq. m. It will house a CNC metalworking workshop as well as automated laser assembly and testing lines.
Approximately 2,500 sq. m of the facility is dedicated to an ISO Class 5 cleanroom area. Fit-out works at the factory began in June this year.
Nikolajus Gavrilinas, CEO and co-founder of LITILIT, says that from the very beginning of the technology’s development, the company aimed to make it suitable for mass production.
“When we started developing femtosecond laser technology more than a decade ago, we were already thinking about how to adapt it for mass production. We use a modular design and less complex components, which allow us to manufacture lasers efficiently and quickly. This is exactly what the semiconductor, electronics and other rapidly growing industries need,” he says.
Around 150 Employees Will Be Sufficient to Support Full-Scale Production
LITILIT will manufacture its lasers using patented technology developed together with the Center for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC). The technology enables the development of more compact lasers that can be more easily integrated into industrial production lines, while also allowing their manufacturing process to be automated.
Ramūnas Skaudžius, Director of FTMC, emphasises that the opening of the new factory demonstrates the potential to transform scientific technologies developed in Lithuania into industrial-scale production.
“The laser technology developed and patented by FTMC has now become the foundation for modern manufacturing. However, the technology itself is not the most important part. What matters most is that knowledge created in Lithuania has been transformed into an internationally competitive business,” says Skaudžius.
According to Gavrilinas, the high level of automation will allow the new factory to reach its full production capacity with approximately 150 employees. He says that producing femtosecond lasers using conventional methods would require several times more specialists.
According to data from Sodra, Lithuania’s State Social Insurance Fund, UAB LITILIT currently employs 58 people, while another company led by Gavrilinas, Atžalas, employs a further 24. He estimates that the combined workforce could increase to around 100 employees over the coming year and reach approximately 150 once annual production capacity reaches 3,000 lasers.
LITILIT sees the new factory not only as a project to increase its manufacturing capacity, but also as a model for its future international expansion.
Together with international partners, the company plans to establish similar automated laser manufacturing facilities in other countries. Asia is one of its key export regions, with Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan identified as particularly important markets, where demand for lasers is being driven by the electronics and semiconductor industries.
Lithuania’s Laser Industry Continues to Grow
Gediminas Račiukaitis, President of the Lithuanian Laser Association, told Verslo žinios (VŽ) that the country’s laser industry continues to grow this year, while companies’ investments in new manufacturing capacity indicate increasing demand for their products.
According to Račiukaitis, although growth in the sector had slowed in recent years, companies continued to expand their operations. According to association data, the sector grew by approximately 15% in 2024, compared with an earlier growth rate of 21%, while growth reached 17% last year.
“This year is looking quite good. You certainly do not build factories if you have no business for them,” says Račiukaitis. “This is also reflected in the fact that LITILIT is not the only company expanding its capacity. Other Lithuanian laser companies, including Light Conversion, Integrated Optics and Ekspla, are doing the same.”
Demand for industrial lasers remains one of the key drivers of growth in the sector.
Račiukaitis also highlights cooperation with Taiwan, where new opportunities are opening up for Lithuanian laser manufacturers in the semiconductor industry. According to him, cooperation with Taiwan is already taking place in practice, although political factors can complicate it in some cases.
He notes that the semiconductor industry can require large volumes of lasers, meaning LITILIT’s planned production capacity is well suited to the needs of this market.
Speaking about US trade policy, Račiukaitis acknowledges that tariffs have created additional challenges for Lithuanian laser manufacturers. Nevertheless, he says companies are adapting to changing conditions by assessing how much of the additional cost they can absorb themselves and how much can be passed on to customers.
The association president also sees growth opportunities in defence technologies, although he stresses that this market currently accounts for a relatively small share of Lithuania’s laser industry.
LITILIT Considers Raising More Than €20 Million
The opening of the new factory forms part of LITILIT’s broader expansion plans. The company is also developing Femoda, a modular femtosecond laser system, for which it has secured an €8 million loan from Lithuania’s national development bank ILTE.
As Verslo žinios reported in September, the total budget for the project is approximately €10 million, with the company planning to begin repaying the loan in 2029.
The Femoda technology is based on the ability to combine several small lasers into a single system whose power and performance can be adapted to different industrial processes.
According to Gavrilinas, this architecture could make it possible to combine dozens of lasers in a single system and achieve kilowatt-level power. The company also aims to make the lasers suitable for mounting on industrial robotic arms.
The technology is expected to be used in the automotive industry, metalworking and other sectors requiring extremely precise material processing.
To support its further expansion, LITILIT is considering raising additional capital. Gavrilinas told VŽ that the company is planning a financing round of more than €20 million, which could involve venture capital funds as well as ILTE.
According to his estimates, once the new factory reaches full capacity and all of its output is sold, annual revenue could theoretically reach €100–200 million. However, achieving this level of production would require substantially more working capital than the company could generate from its own operations.
Last year, LITILIT’s revenue exceeded €3 million, while net profit amounted to approximately €1.5 million. In September, the company’s CEO stated that revenue for this year had already surpassed the total recorded for the previous year. However, due to investments in the new factory and further expansion, the company does not expect to maintain the same level of profitability.
Founded in Vilnius in 2015, LITILIT specialises in the development and manufacturing of femtosecond lasers. These lasers generate extremely short pulses of light lasting less than one femtosecond, equivalent to one quadrillionth of a second.