20 May 2014

Crystal IS adds VP of operations and expands plant as it readies commercial manufacturing

Crystal IS Inc of Green Island, NY, USA, which makes ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UVC LEDs) grown pseudomorphically (strained) on aluminum nitride (AlN) substrates, has appointed John Gartner as its first vice president of operations.

Picture: Crystal IS’ new VP of operations John Gartner.

Gartner has more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing and engineering, including establishing and growing manufacturing operations for clean and reliable energy solutions. His expertise will help transition Crystal IS from R&D to a manufacturing company of UVC LEDs for life sciences, environmental monitoring and disinfection applications.

“Crystal IS has committed to moving from R&D to commercial product development," comments Gartner.

In conjunction with the addition of Gartner, Crystal IS continues to expand its Green Island facility, preparing it for full-scale production and shipping of soon-to-be-announced Optan product with the addition of:

• a raw material furnace as well as three additional furnaces and a chiller to double manufacturing capacity;

• a new lab and production equipment for fine wafer polishing;

• moving fabrication in-house to the AK Fuji facility; and

• 23% staff growth across the organization in areas including application engineering, quality, customer support and product marketing.

“As the industry leader in developing UVC LEDs, our move from R&D to commercial production was inevitable,” says CEO Larry Felton.

“Appointing John Gartner as our first vice president of operations and expanding our manufacturing capacity demonstrates our commitment to commercializing our superior technology and getting our breakthrough products to customers.”

Tags: Crystal IS UVC LEDs

Visit: www.crystal-is.com