Navitar, a global leader in the design, manufacturer and distribution of precision optics and opto-mechanical assemblies for the machine vision and digital projection industries announced today the acquisition of Special Optics, a privately owned manufacturer of optical assemblies for long range surveillance, laser scanning, laser projection, UV, visible, and infrared applications. The acquisition is effective today, January 25, 2008.
Headquartered in Wharton, New Jersey, and founded in 1965, Special Optics is a fully integrated provider of custom, precision optical and electro-optical solutions that span markets and applications from medical imaging, semiconductor metrology, digital projection, laser projection, laser scanning, digital radiology, unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned ground vehicles, missile tracking, and homeland security & defense.
According to Julian Goldstein and Jeremy Goldstein, co-presidents of Navitar, the acquisition of Special Optics provides the following key benefits:
- Special Optics rapid prototyping and lens design capabilities will increase Navitar's product offerings and complement Navitar's strong lens manufacturing capabilities and ability to bring those innovative designs into volume production.
- The combination of Navitar's volume production expertise and Special Optics rapid design and prototype capabilities is expected to enable Navitar to increase its competitive advantage and technical offering to military contractors and commercial accounts seeking to outsource optics based assemblies.
David Manzi, President of Special Optics explains "the acquisition by Navitar provides us with an expanded range of capabilities to offer our customers. Now, when the rapid prototyping stage has been completed, Navitar's world leading production facilities can easily accommodate volume production as programs grow. With the design and prototyping strengths of Special Optics combined with the financial strength and production capabilities of Navitar, we can now accommodate anything from custom optical assemblies used in long distance surveillance or unmanned aerial vehicles to over 1,000 units per year for precision lenses used in new biomedical applications.