The Gates optical filter manufacturer started in 2000 with a crew of optics experts looking to use their know-how in telecommunications industry applications, said co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Turan Erdogan. When that industry collapsed, the company shifted its focus to biotechnology instrumentation.
Now those filters — glass coated with ultra-fine layers and typically costing hundreds of dollars each — are carving out a niche in biomedical research and diagnostics.
The company expects to ship its 500,000th filter any day now.
In 2008, Semrock’s revenues reached $20 million and it was acquired by Illinois-based industrial products maker IDEX Corp.