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Spectra-Physics history
Spectra-Physics company history timeline
Spectra-Physics was formed in 1961, three years after Charles Townes and Arthur Shawlow of the Bell Laboratories invented the first operational laser beam.
The company's first commercial laser, which it began marketing in 1962, was developed through an agreement with the Perkin-Elmer Corporation, a manufacturer of optical electronic equipment.
The first feasibility model, the Mark I, was unveiled in 1964, and was designed as an airborne profile recorder.
The Mark III, called the Geodolite, was funded in large part by the U. S. Army Engineer Topographic Laboratories (USAETL), and introduced in the spring of 1966.
Up through 1968, Bob Rempel was the prime mover of this company.
The geodetic instruments used an expensive Startracker photomultiplier tube made by ITT; some aspects of this were covered by patent #3,446,971 for "Optical Ranging System using a beat frequency responsive photomultiplier" granted to Kenneth Ruddock on May 27, 1969, and assigned to Spectra-Physics.
Spectra-Physics entered the business of point-of-sale scanners in 1974.
The company's $135 million in sales for the year were up 40.6 percent from its 1979 sales of $96 million, and followed five consecutive years that showed sales increases of more than about 25 percent a year.
The San Jose company began marketing the industrial lasers in 1979 after it acquired the laser products division of the GTE Sylvania Corporation.
He said he expected the market for the company's laser products to grow at an annual rate of at least 30 percent throughout the 1980's.
Interview of Herbert M. Dwight by Joan Bromberg on 1984 January 18, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics, College Park, MD USA,www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/31401
In 1984, when the manufacture of Geodolites ceased, Russell bought the Geodolite business and kept the existing instruments in repair.
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Spectra-Physics competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laser Service, Inc. | - | $2.0M | 31 | - |
| International Biomedical | 1976 | $770,000 | 7 | - |
| OPTO | 1981 | $35.0M | 75 | 7 |
| Gibbs Technology Company | - | $63.5M | 200 | - |
| Sargent Aerospace & Defense | 1920 | $150.0M | 347 | 9 |
| Encision | 1991 | $5.2M | 36 | - |
| CODONICS | 1982 | $20.0M | 200 | - |
| AEROSONIC | 1953 | $31.0M | 135 | 18 |
Spectra-Physics history FAQs
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Spectra-Physics may also be known as or be related to Spectra - Physics, Spectra-Physics and Spectra-Physics Inc.