Barr Associates has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Optical Coating (OCC) based in Natick, Massachusetts
The acquisition underscores Barr's strategic focus on solidifying its position as the largest independent manufacturer of precision thin film coatings and filters.
In particular, it increases Barr's capabilities and coating capacity to better address the growing demand for products in the infrared wavelength region.
With the acquisition, Barr will have over 70 active coating deposition systems and a total of 275 associates.
OCC was founded in 2002 by Dan Jasinski and 11 other former employees of Optical Filter (OFC).
Since its founding in 1978, OFC has been a leader in the optical filter industry servicing the defense, aerospace and commercial industries.
In 2000, OFC (then called NetOptix) was acquired by Corning.
The subsequent shut down of the thin film coating facility, resulting from the softening of the telecommunications market, served as the catalyst for the formation of OCC.
Since its founding, OCC has targeted and made inroads in servicing customers with infrared applications.
"This acquisition supports Barr's plans to grow our business".
"It adds not only capacity but also an experienced and skilled staff that can contribute beyond just OCC's activities," says Ali Smajkiewicz, president of Barr.
OCC's operations will be moved from Natick to Westford and Tyngsboro (Massachusetts), where Barr's US facilities are located and substantially all of OCC's employees will join Barr.
According to Mike Tatarek, product line manager for Barr's infrared product line, "Barr is experiencing an increase in demand for its high quality infrared filters across all markets".
"This acquisition provides valuable resources that will help us further expand our capabilities in order to support our customers' growing needs." Barr Associates, founded in 1971, claims to be the largest independent designer and manufacturer of precision thin film coatings and optical filters.
Based in Westford, Massachusetts, Barr deploys coating technologies from below 200nm to 30 microns and manufacturing capacities from small prototype jobs to large-volume production to service leading companies and innovators across diverse markets.
