A Rochester company whose roots in the city date back more than a century is being acquired by a British-based firm.
GS Optics on St. Paul Street was founded as the Germanow-Simon Corporation in 1916. It started out as a small machine shop, and today it manufactures optics related products for a broad range of applications including in the medical imaging and analytic instrument fields.
The local company is being purchased by UK based G&H, which makes precision optics and photonics related products for more than $15 million.
Stratos Kehayas is the chief commercial officer for G&H and he said Rochester has a particular expertise in optics and photonics.
“Obviously having access to educated, well trained, highly skilled operators, engineers, (and) business development managers means a lot to us, it’s the necessary ingredients for success,” said Kehayas.
Charlie Peppiatt, the CEO of G&H, said the deal “will unlock new possibilities and create a North American Center of Excellence that pushes the boundaries of what is possible in optics and photonics.”
Andy Germanow, the CEO of GS Optics, who will still have a leadership role after the acquisition, said that the acquisition by G&H “is a tremendous opportunity for us,” and he said that his firm will leverage the resources of G&H “to accelerate our growth and continue providing innovative solutions to our customers.”
GS Optics employs more than 60 people and there are no planned job losses. G&H said that it will immediately expand the downtown Rochester location by 25% to support its growth plans.
