More than 40 years serving industry and laser technologies
Founded in 1982 in Alsace, IREPA LASER is a technology transfer centre specialising in industrial laser processes. We develop, industrialise and train. For more than four decades, for industries where precision leaves nothing to chance.
What we actually do
Developing tomorrow’s laser processes
We work on applications that do not yet have an established industrial solution. New materials, new geometries, new combinations of processes: our teams overcome technological barriers that conventional service providers cannot handle.
Training teams
Laser technologies evolve quickly. Training the engineers, technicians and operators who will use them is essential for processes to stand the test of time. Our training centre, Qualiopi-certified for training activities, is one of the most active in France in industrial laser technologies.
Producing
We don’t just develop. Our production workshop manufactures laser assemblies in small and medium series for manufacturers who wish to entrust us with their production.
Industrialising and qualifying
A laser process developed in the laboratory is only useful if it is repeatable, documented and transferable to a production line. We cover this critical step that many players neglect.
Why IREPA LASER exists
In 1982, one observation: emerging laser technologies had considerable industrial potential, but implementing them in real production environments remained out of reach for most manufacturers. There was a missing link between fundamental research and the factory.
IREPA LASER was created to be that link. Our purpose has not changed in 40 years: taking complex laser technologies, mastering them, validating them under real industrial conditions and transferring them to the companies that need them.
We are neither a research laboratory nor a mere service provider. We are a technology transfer centre: our mission is to turn laser expertise into operational, qualified and transferable industrial solutions.
What sets us apart
Expertise before rhetoric
We prefer to demonstrate our know-how on real parts rather than claim it in brochures. Every process we develop is qualified, documented and tested against industrial reality.
Continuity of service
A manufacturer should not have to change contact between the development of a process and its production start-up. We cover this entire cycle so that knowledge
is not lost along the way.
Transfer as the end goal
We do not seek to keep our clients dependent on our expertise. Our goal is to pass on the processes and skills so that they can master them themselves. That is what defines a technology transfer centre.
Uncompromising rigour
Our clients operate in sectors including aerospace, nuclear, defence, space, e-mobility, watchmaking and jewellery / luxury goods, and energy. In these sectors, a non-conformity can have serious consequences. Rigour is not an option for us; it is our culture.
A cooperative structure serving industry
IREPA LASER is a SCIC, a Société Coopérative d’Intérêt Collectif (collective-interest cooperative company). This status is not insignificant.
It means that our governance is shared between our employees, our partners and our clients. There is no shareholder seeking to maximise short-term profit.
This cooperative structure ensures that our decisions are made in the interest of our mission: laser technology transfer in the service of industry. It also explains our longevity: more than 40 years of continuity without a change of course, underpinned by stable, collective governance.
IREPA LASER is based in Alsace, in Illkirch-Graffenstaden, at the heart of the Strasbourg scientific and industrial ecosystem.
Our labels and commitments
Our certifications and labels are not decorations.
Each one reflects a concrete commitment to our clients and partners.
Institut CARNOT MICA Founding member
Institut Carnot is the benchmark label for collaborative research in France. Being a founding member means that IREPA LASER is recognised as a leading player in technology transfer between research and industry. This label gives us access to specific funding for our collaborative R&D projects.
Centre de Ressources Technologiques (CRT)
The CRT label (Centre de Ressources Technologiques – Technology Resource Centre) is awarded by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research to organisations that provide R&D and innovation services directly benefiting companies. It comes with CIR accreditation (Crédit d’Impôt Recherche – research tax credit): the services we carry out for you are eligible for your company’s research tax credit. It is the official recognition of our technology transfer role.
ISO 9001:2015
Our quality management system has been ISO 9001 certified since 2004, i.e. for more than 20 years, now in its 2015 version. This certification covers all our activities: process development, production, training and consultancy. It guarantees the rigour and traceability of every service.
Qualiopi for training activities
Our training centre is Qualiopi certified for training activities. This certification attests to the quality of our teaching processes and is mandatory for access to public funding for professional training.
LabCom LASERSURF (ANR)
Since 2023, IREPA LASER has been involved in the LASERSURF Joint Laboratory with the ICube laboratory (CNRS, University of Strasbourg), accredited by the ANR. This partnership formalises our commitment to fundamental research applied to the industrialisation of ultrashort pulse laser processes.
The people of IREPA LASER
Our teams cover all the disciplines needed for technology transfer: laser physics and laser-matter interactions, metallurgy and materials science, process engineering, software development and simulation, teaching and professional training.
This multidisciplinary approach is one of our strengths:
a laser project is not just about setting machine parameters. It involves choices of materials, metallurgical decisions, certification requirements and training issues.
Our teams cover this entire chain.
Join the team
IREPA LASER is first and foremost a team of engineers, technicians, researchers and trainers who share a common passion for laser technologies and their industrial application.
Our equipment and facilities
We have a fleet of industrial laser equipment covering all the technologies we master: laser welding, wire and powder laser DED additive manufacturing, laser machining (laser drilling, laser surface texturing, laser micro-cutting), numerical simulation.
Our equipment consists of industrial machines, not laboratory equipment. This means that the processes we develop in our facilities can be transferred directly to your production lines.
Our industrial and academic partners
IREPA LASER works at the crossroads of research and industry. Our partners reflect this dual identity.
Academic partners
ICube laboratory (CNRS, University of Strasbourg), University of Strasbourg, and other French and European research laboratories with which we collaborate on joint projects such as ANR or Horizon Europe.
Industrial partners
Our industrial partners are the companies with which we co-develop processes within accredited collaborative projects or bilateral research contracts. Their sector diversity reflects the breadth of our fields of application.
Institutional partners
Institut Carnot, ANR, Bpifrance, Région Grand Est, Eurométropole de Strasbourg: our institutional partners support our R&D and technology transfer activities.
Your questions about IREPA LASER
A Centre de Ressources Technologiques (CRT – Technology Resource Centre) is a label awarded by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research to organisations that provide R&D and innovation services directly benefiting companies, particularly SMEs without an in-house R&D department. IREPA LASER has held the CRT label since 1998. It is the official recognition of our role in technology transfer between research and industry.
A conventional provider carries out a one-off operation and keeps its know-how to itself. Our mission is the opposite: we develop and qualify a laser process, then transfer the skills to your teams so that they can master it themselves; that is what defines a technology transfer centre. We also cover the entire cycle, from process development to production start-up, so that no knowledge is lost between stages. This rigour is all the more necessary as our clients often operate in aerospace, nuclear, defence and energy, sectors where a non-conformity can have serious consequences.
Our centre is based in Alsace, at the Parc d'Innovation, 320 Boulevard Sébastien Brant, Illkirch-Graffenstaden (67), right next to Strasbourg. For training, we also work outside Alsace: in-company sessions take place directly on your premises, in France and across Europe, and some of our laser safety and laser welding training courses are available entirely remotely, by video conference.
Since December 2019, IREPA LASER has been a Société Coopérative d'Intérêt Collectif (SCIC – collective-interest cooperative company). This status brings together several categories of members in its capital: our employees, service-providing companies, and technology providers as well as industrial user companies. This shared governance enables employees, clients, suppliers and institutional partners to collaborate around a common co-creation approach: both the risks and the successes of a development project are shared for the benefit of the collective, rather than borne by a single party.
Yes, we recruit regularly, particularly engineers and technicians in laser processes, additive manufacturing and maintenance. All our current vacancies are published on our careers page. If none of the vacancies matches your profile but you are interested in our fields, you are also welcome to write to us directly.
Do you have a question about IREPA LASER?
Our centre is open to visits by appointment. Come and discover our facilities, meet our teams and discuss your laser projects directly with our experts. It is often the best starting point for a process development project.
