A leader in the optics industry is expanding its footprint and capabilities in Tucson.
Edmund Optics, which makes a wide variety of precision lenses, mirrors and other optical components, is moving to larger quarters just around the corner at 6274 E. Grant Road.
Edmund’s current Tucson design center, a 4,500-square-foot building at 6464 E. Grant Road, is too small to handle the company’s growth plans, said Kurt Abdelmaseh, engineering manager at the center.
“We have been in this facility for about 16 years and have outgrown the space with our expansion of workforce and desire to do more activities in Tucson,” Abdelmaseh said in an email.
The company plans to move into the new 8,000-square-foot facility, which is being built out to suit Edmund’s needs, in mid-September.
Edmund currently has a staff of 21 in Tucson, growing from about 16 over the last two years, Abdelmaseh said.
The Tucson center includes a custom optical and opto-mechanical design group, a sales group, and product support with a customer call center. The company has manufacturing operations in New Jersey, China, Singapore and Japan.
Edmund, which is based in Barrington, New Jersey, recently created a research and development group in Tucson, which is one reason for the expansion, Abdelmaseh said.
“As we expand we will have a much larger lab area that will allow us to explore new avenues for growth and development of the company,” he said.
That could open up some new job possibilities for graduates of the University of Arizona’s highly rated College of Optical Sciences.
As it is, Abdelmaseh said, 14 of the Tucson center’s employees are UA alumni. Edmund’s CEO, Robert M. Edmund, is a founding member and longtime chairman of the UA College of Optical Sciences development board of directors.
“The proximity to the UofA and the Tucson optics community was the original reason that this office was started and remains an important reason why Tucson is a good site,” Abdelmaseh said.
“It allows us to work closely with the university and with other optics community partners in the area to make sure we do what is best for our customers.”
Bob Breault, president of the optics software and services company Breault Research Organization, said Edmund’s moves are a good sign for a local optics industry that has had its ups in downs in the past decade.
“I feel strongly that is a very, very important commitment,” said Breault, who is chairman of the Arizona Optics Industry Association.
