Omega Optical Opens Doors At New World Headquarters

Omega Optical Opens Doors At New World Headquarters
Omega Optical has just moved into its new 30,000 square foot world
headquarters and manufacturing facility on the Delta Campus in
Brattleboro. The company, a leading worldwide supplier of optical
filters for scientific research and instrumentation, is unifying its
operation in a state-of-the art building while adding capacity and
capabilities to satisfy growth in a variety of markets.
The new facility, designed from the ground-up specifically for the
manufacture of optical filters, has provided the company with the
opportunity to reengineer and plan every step of the manufacturing process
for efficient flow, with the resulting quality improvements and
cost-savings. Omega has also seen the move as an opportunity to make
major capital equipment improvements that will result in increased
capacity and capabilities, the benefits of which will be passed on to its
customers as well. Major equipment purchases have been made in the area of
coating capacity, clean-room capable work and processing areas, and CNC
metal machining.
With coating technology at the heart of the business, Omega has invested
most heavily in high volume coating systems and an automated manufacturing
line to increase capacity. Several sputtering systems have been added
with high capacity large format capability for high precision durable
surface coatings and high volume protected coatings. Another addition
includes a large capacity, high current, ion assist e-beam system, which
will enhance coating performance as well as improving yields and capacity.
The third major addition is an automated assembly line being used for the
company's patent-pending 3RD Millennium product line. This load-locked
system produces coatings with high uniformity, increasing yields while
lowering costs and speeding up delivery times. The new facility also
includes processing and work stations that are clean room capable
environments. In addition, CNC metal machining has been brought online so
that filter mounting hardware, such as rings, holders, and sub-assemblies,
can be rapidly customized.
The emphasis of all of these changes according to Robert Johnson, Omega
President, has been to improve quality and performance, while lowering
cost and speeding up the manufacturing cycle." "Customer demands are
high", adds Ruth Gorham-Houle, VP Business Development and Client
Services, "and we have made these manufacturing changes proactively to
meet and exceed our customer's expectations." All of the upgrades in
manufacturing equipment are intended to complement and enhance the leading
technology position that Omega already occupies in the optical filter
industry.
Omega Optical's new facility is the first building on The Delta Campus, a
137 acre parcel envisioned by Omega President Johnson to consist of a
unique combination of business and residential uses. The Master Plan for
the Campus includes seven "high information technology" businesses, an
educational institution, and forty residential units. With the Omega
building complete Gordon Bristol, Delta Campus Project Manager, states,
"Work now begins on promoting the Campus to other potential high
technology tenants, as well as on the planning and construction of the
residential component of the project." Bristol adds, "We believe that
this unique concept and site will be an extremely attractive alternative
for companies looking to locate away from major metropolitan areas."
"The beautiful view to the south down the Connecticut River Valley,"
Johnson concludes, "is not just good for employees, in that we have a
beautiful environment in which to work, but is a daily reminder of the
potential for Omega in our new facility. The horizon is wide and the
future market potential for optical filters, like the view, is expansive."
For more information about Omega's new facility contact Radka Jiraskova,
International Marketing Associate, at [email protected]. For
more information about the Delta Campus contact Gordon Bristol, Project
Manager Delta Campus, at [email protected].
Since 1969 Omega Optical has built its technical reputation on defining
the state-of-the-art for optical interference filter performance,
manufacturing optical filters for scientists and instrument manufacturers
worldwide. From biotech to astronomy, fluorescence microscopy to color
imaging, environmental monitoring to semi-conductor manufacturing, Omega
Optical has supplied filters for the Hubble Space Telescope, the Human
Genome Project, and the filming of Star Wars.