EVERETT — An Everett company that makes lasers primarily for the scientific and medical fields has been purchased by a German technology company.
Access Laser has announced that an 85 percent stake in the company has been acquired by Trumpf, which makes a variety of manufacturing tools, including industrial lasers. Access Laser’s founder, Yong Zhang, will retain a minority stake in the company while remaining as CEO.
Both businesses have agreed not to disclose the sales price.
Trumpf was attracted by Access Laser’s work with extreme ultraviolet photolithography, an intense beam of ultraviolet light used to make micro patterns on silicon wafers for semiconductor manufacturing, or microprocessor manufacturing.
“Access Laser is a core partner in our (extreme ultraviolet) business and a highly innovative laser company,” said Peter Leibinger, Trumpf managing partner and chief technology officer, in a statement. “Together, we will be working even closer to further improve (extreme ultraviolet) performance, as well as serving more applications and customers looking for innovative, low-power CO2 lasers.”
Access Laser employs 48 people at 917 134th St. SW in Everett. The company also has more than a dozen other workers employed in Shenzhen, China.
Zhang founded the company in 1999 with a handful of laser scientists and optical engineers. While it started by focusing on scientific research, the company has built a strong core of expertise in custom lasers. The lasers are being used in the medical and dental fields. Access Laser is also partnering with another company with the hope to use its lasers in a sensor system for future self-driving vehicles.
In a statement, Zhang said the deal will pair Access Lasers strength in scientific research with Trumpf’s industrial marketing expertise.
“Joining Trumpf enables us to expand our reach as a truly global organization, without compromising our core values of scientific curiosity and cultural diversity,” he said.
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