PowerPhotonic Ltd, designer and manufacturer of precision, wafer-scale optics, has based its new US production facility in Sahuarita, Southern Arizona – the ‘optics valley’ of the US. Southern Arizona is rapidly gaining a reputation for innovation, research, technology, and advanced manufacturing. The University of Arizona’s College of Optical Sciences, in nearby Tucson, teaches more students in optics than any other in the US and attracts the calibre of engineers needed by PowerPhotonic. The College has also undertaken many advanced, optical research projects, including involvement with NASA on the James Webb telescope.
Mark McElhinney, CEO of PowerPhotonic Inc., said, “Locating PowerPhotonic’s US operations in the Sahuarita Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Center (SAMTEC) in Arizona is a great fit for our business. Sahuarita is a rapidly growing town and SAMTEC was specifically built to attract advanced engineering companies like ours. There is a pool of highly skilled engineers and technicians on our doorstep, thanks to the university and the proximity of other advanced engineering companies.
“We have received strong support from the town of Sahuarita. The community has welcomed us with Mayor, Tom Murphy, stating that for a global leader like PowerPhotonic to base its US operations in SAMTEC is a huge win for the town and area. We bring skilled employment and will develop a wider service and support eco-system that will contribute to the local economy.”
PowerPhotonic’s US, wafer-scale optics, production line is nearing completion in its Dalgety Bay HQ, outside Edinburgh, in Scotland. This will be shipped and installed in a purpose-built, ISO Class 1000 “clean room” in Sahuarita in quarter 3, 2022. By this time, the specialist optical design engineers, process engineers and machine technicians we require will be in position, shortly followed by planning, inventory control, purchasing and shipping staff to support supply to US and international markets.
For more information about PowerPhotonic Ltd contact:
PowerPhotonic Ltd
5A St David’s Drive
Dalgety Bay
Fife
KY11 9PF