We’re excited to unveil our new state-of-the-art manufacturing site in the Northeast London, marking a major step forward for Xtera as we expand our capabilities in-house. In a recent interview with Isabelle Paradis, Joerg Schwartz, our Chief Partner and Solutions Officer, shared the thinking behind this strategic move:

– A shift from our traditional asset-light model – driven by the need for speed, scale, and control
– Proximity to our UK engineering team for faster prototyping and hands-on innovation
– Focused initially on specialized products and complex units like our band drop ROADM
– A future roadmap that includes automation, robotics, and smarter design for manufacturing to drive cost and efficiency improvements

This additional manufacturing site reflects progress in our industrial capability – and a change in mindset. We’re proving that agility sometimes means doing more, not less.