Lumonics

Lumonics
Company typePublic
IndustryElectronics, Semiconductor, Laser
Founded1970
FounderAlan Buchanan, Gordon Mauchel, Alan Crawford
Defunct2002
FateAbsorbed
HeadquartersKanata North Business Park
Key people
Robert Atkinson, Scott Nix
Productson the Wayback Machine
Revenue$374 million US (2000)
Number of employees
1,550 (2000)
Websitewww.lumonics.com (on the Wayback Machine)

Lumonics was a global laser manufacturing company based in the Kanata North Business Park region of Ottawa.

Founded in 1970,[1] it was the first venture capital (VC) financed high tech company of the ones that based themselves there,[2] thus clearing the path (started by Computing Devices from nearby Bells Corners back in 1948) for the subsequent VC and start-up fueled growth that led to the region later becoming known as “Silicon Valley North”.

With an average sales growth of almost 89% per year over its first decade, in 1980 the company went public.[1] After its acquisition of JK Lasers in 1982, it became “the third largest laser company in the world”.[3] Following a period of private ownership by the Japanese firm Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd. starting in 1989,[4] it once again went public in 1995 and went on to merge with Massachusetts-based General Scanning Inc. in 1998/99, to become GSI Lumonics, “the largest producer of laser-based manufacturing equipment in the world".[5]

With most of its employees now in the US,[6] despite subsequent growth from the dot-com boom, the Canadian workforce was scaled back down again after the 2001 recession and, in 2002, the original Canadian headquarters was finally “boarded up”[7][8] and control shifted to the U.S. operations.[9]

The company's name was changed to GSI Group in 2005,[10] then finally Novanta, its current name, in 2016.[11]

The original Impact, LaserMark, and excimer laser product lines of Lumonics were sold by GSI Group in 2008/2009 to LightMachinery[12] in the Nepean region of Ottawa, many of whose employees originally started out at Lumonics in Kanata.[13]

  1. ^ a b Annual Report 1980 (PDF) (Report). Lumonics. pp. 7, 2, 7, 8, 12, 2, 8, 16, 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-10-18. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  2. ^ Callahan, John; Charbonneau, Ken (2004). "The Role of Venture Capital in Building Technology Companies in the Ottawa Region". Silicon Valley North. Technology, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Competitive Strategy. p. 24. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.198.2529. doi:10.1108/S1479-067X(2004)0000009010. ISBN 978-0-08044-457-4. SSRN 1509227.
  3. ^ Chevreau, Jonathan (16 April 1982). "Lumonics agrees in principle to acquire J.K. Lasers". The Globe and Mail. p. B.9. ProQuest 386781995.
  4. ^ Urlocker, Mike (17 May 1989). "Sumitomo buys local laser firm". The Ottawa Citizen. p. C9. ProQuest 239273766.
  5. ^ Tuck, Simon (29 October 1998). "Lumonics and GSI to join forces Merger creates world's biggest producer of laser-based manufacturing equipment". The Globe and Mail. p. B.9. ProQuest 384508849.
  6. ^ Bagnall, James (29 October 1998). "Lumonics pulls off $149M merger: Deal with U.S. competitor keeps headquarters in Kanata". The Ottawa Citizen; Ottawa, Ont. p. E1. ProQuest 240190113.
  7. ^ Hill, Bert (28 March 2002). "From upstart to player to ghost: Lumonics rode booms and busts and survived everything but a 'merger of equals.' Bert Hill reports". The Ottawa Citizen. p. D1. ProQuest 240525927.
  8. ^ Pilieci, Vito (28 March 2002). "GSI Lumonics to wind down Kanata plant: Ottawa laser pioneer will shift work to facilities in U.S., U.K. Head office stays in Ottawa, but 50-60 jobs lost". The Ottawa Citizen. p. D1. ProQuest 240534070.
  9. ^ "Ghost: Power shift to US". newspapers.com. The Ottawa Citizen. 28 March 2002. p. 42. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  10. ^ "GSI Lumonics announces name change". Laser Focus World. 28 June 2005. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  11. ^ "GSI Group Announces Corporate Name Change to Novanta Inc". Cision PR Newswire (Press release). GSI Group Inc ; Novanta. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  12. ^ "LightMachinery acquires the Lumonics excimer laser product lines from GSI Group". Laser Focus World. 14 July 2008. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  13. ^ "About | LightMachinery". lightmachinery.com. Retrieved 2023-01-07.