Laser Die & Engineering history

Laser North Incorporated’s roots go back to the Detroit Michigan area in the 1940’s where a young Leo Niemela attended Henry Ford Trade School, and began learning the tool and die trade.

Precision Laser Services began its life as Indiana Wire Die, after years of managing other people’s diamond die operations; Otis Ferrier started manufacturing for himself in the basement of his home in June of 1941.

In the 1950’s, he opened his own shop, Stainless Dies by Niemela.

Laser North was founded in 1955 and has remained a private corporation, operated by the Niemela family.

Founded in 1956 by tool and die maker G.T. (Bill) Gramling, the company supplied dies and fixtures primarily to the gasket industry.

In 1958 Jack returned to the Kansas City area to work in the family business, the Vendo Company, the world's largest manufacturer of vending machines.

In 1959, a scientist called Gordon Gould expanded on Einstein’s theory.

The first carbon dioxide laser was created in 1963 by Kumar Patel in New Jersey.

In 1964, the carbon dioxide laser was invented by Kumar Patel at Bell Labs, the most powerful continuously operating laser of its time.

The first group to use laser cutting was the Western Engineering Research Center in Buffalo, New York, in 1965.

The first gas-assisted laser cutting experiments took place in 1967 by Peter Houldcroft, the Deputy Scientific Director at the Welding Institute in Cambridge.

In August 1969, three employees from the Boeing Company produced a paper on the CO2 laser cutting off “hard” materials – titanium, Hastelloy and ceramic – using the assist gas technique.

Jack Pierson bought Gramling Tool and Die Company in 1976, changing the name to Preco Industries, Inc.

Laser Machining, Inc. (LMI) was founded in 1978 by Bill Lawson, which will later be acquired by Preco Industries, Inc.

In 1979, the Italian company Prima Industrie invented the first 3D laser-cutting process with a 5 axes rotation system.

In 1994, physicist Josef Höllbauer founded ALPHA LASER GmbH. The next year, Wolfgang Seifert and Hans J. Penser, also physicists, joined the company as partners.

After trying to purchase neighboring buildings and failing, a move to our current location was completed in 2000.

ALPHA LASER reached another milestone in 2003 with its ALM mobile laser, whose maneuverability made it a great success with customers from the very first day.

In 2005, realizing that a major change was necessary to modernize and remain competitive, Northern Tool & Engineering/DBA Laser North purchased their first new 4000 watt automated laser.

The first fibre lasers for cutting reflective metals were introduced in 2008.

In 2010, Mark’s son, Karl, joined the team with fresh energy and innovative ideas.

In 2015, ALPHA LASER celebrated its 20th anniversary and moved into new company headquarters at Junkersstraße 16 in Puchheim, Germany.

In 2016 the performance class of the ALPHA LASER laser systems already reached up to 900 W.

Since that time, Laser North has expanded it's geographical footprint with the addition of a 24,000 sq. ft. operational facility in Hayti, South Dakota, which started production in 2018.

25 years of ALPHA LASER - our anniversary in 2019.