Inrad Optics

History & Acquisitions

• April 1973. Incorporated in New Jersey as Inrad Inc.

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• September 2003. The Company changed its name to Photonic Products Group Inc. (PPGI).

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• November 2003. The Company purchased the assets and certain liabilities of Laser Optics Inc. of Bethel, CT. In business since 1966, Laser Optics was a custom optics and optical coating services provider. The acquisition enhanced PPGI’s ability to offer custom optics and optical coating services.

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• October 2004. The Company acquired MRC Precision Metal Optics Inc., a manufacturer of precision metal optics and diamond-turned aspheric optics located in Sarasota, FL. MRC’s specialties included CNC- and single-point diamond machining, optical polishing, nickel plating of aluminum, AlBeMet™ and beryllium.

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• January 2012. Following a review of its brand position within the marketplace, the Company concluded that the “Photonics Products Group” brand name had not achieved the anticipated level of brand equity since its inception in 2003. The Company developed and is implementing a strategic marketing plan around the brand name Inrad Optics (TM). Changing the Company’s name to “Inrad Optics Inc.” leverages the positive historical and current brand equity of the Inrad name and more clearly communicates the Company’s principal business activities to both our marketplace and the investment community.

Board Members

Luke LaValle 

Luke has been a member of the Board since 2005. He is the Founder, President and Chief Investment Officer of American Capital Management, Inc. (1980-present). Previously, he was a Senior Investment Officer in the Investment Division of the US Trust Co. of New York (1967-1980). He has specialized in the investment of quality small and medium sized growth companies that are publically traded for over 40 years. Luke has a BS from Boston College and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts. He is also a retired Lieutenant Colonel, Military Intelligence, US Army Reserve and served with the 101st Airborne Division and on the Army Staff, the Pentagon.

Dennis Romano

Dennis joins the Board of Photonics Products Group, Inc. after a lengthy and successful career in the defense sector with Grumman Corporation and its successor Northrop Grumman Corporation.  During his career at Northrop Grumman Mr. Romano held a series of senior and executive level positions in the areas of marketing, business development and strategy.  In 1999 he assumed the position of Vice President of Business Strategy and Development. He served in this position until his retirement in 2001.  Mr. Romano was a Senior Vice President of Business Development, in the defense business unit, with Washington Group International. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree and Master of Science degree in Physics from Adelphia University.

Joseph Rutherford 

Joe Rutherford leads the Inrad Optics organization and President and CEO. Joe  is a 35+ year career executive experienced in leading optical component development and manufacturing businesses serving customers in both defense and commercial sectors of the photonics industry. From 1989 through 2006, he was VP/GM of Charlotte, NC-based Synoptics, a subsidiary successively of Litton and Northrop Grumman corporations and an industry leader in laser crystal products and related optical components. Prior to that, he held executive level sales and marketing positions within Memtech Corporation, Material Progress Corporation, and Allied Corporation. Joe has a wealth of hands-on optics business experience, and a reputation for being a person who is passionate about customer satisfaction and success of “his” business enterprise.”

 Rick Strandlund

Rick comes to the Board of Photonics Products Group, Inc. with significant experience in the photonics manufacturing and marketing arenas having served the bulk of his career with companies involved in the fabrication and thin-film coating of sophisticated optics and the manufacture of lasers. His experience includes a variety of management and executive positions with Optical Coating Laboratory, Inc., a public company in Santa Rosa, CA. where he was employed from 1973 to 1996.  Mr. Strandlund also served as the President and CEO of Research Electro-Optics, Inc., in Boulder, CO from 1997 to 2004.  He currently serves as the Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of NanoProducts Corporation in Longmont, CO.  Mr. Strandlund holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from San Diego State University and a Masters degree in Management from Golden Gate University.

 Jan Winston

Jan has been a member of the Board since 2005 and is a Principal of Winston Consulting (1997-present). He was Division Director/General Manager IBM Corporation (1981-1997), Executive positions held in Development, Finance and Marketing.

Management Team

Joseph Rutherford – President and CEO

Joe  is a 35+ year career executive experienced in leading optical component development and manufacturing businesses serving customers in both defense and commercial sectors of the photonics industry. From 1989 through 2006, he was VP/GM of Charlotte, NC-based Synoptics, a subsidiary successively of Litton and Northrop Grumman corporations and an industry leader in laser crystal products and related optical components. Prior to that, he held executive level sales and marketing positions within Memtech Corporation, Material Progress Corporation, and Allied Corporation. Joe has a wealth of hands-on optics business experience, and a reputation for being a person who is passionate about customer satisfaction and success of “his” business enterprise.”

 William Brucker

Bill joined the Company in 2000 as Director of Human Resources. In 2006 he was appointed Vice President of Human Resources and Administration. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Brucker held corporate divisional HR leadership responsibilities with Hughes Aircraft/Raytheon, RJR/Nabisco, Proctor & Gamble, and The Journal of Commerce. In addition to competency in all the classic HR disciplines including regulatory compliance, he has experience in multi-site organizations and facility/operational integration and transition. Mr. Brucker holds a BA degree from Salem College.

Thomas Caughey

Tom has been with PPGI since 1978 and serves as Vice-President of Research and Development, a position he has held for more than 15 years.  Dr. Caughey’s current role has focused on development of systems involving non-linear crystals, and advances in the development of individual crystal components that the company manufactures.  Previously, he was a research associate at Texas Tech University, working in the area of picosecond spectroscopy of chemical reactions.  Tom holds a Doctorate in physical chemistry from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and an undergraduate degree in chemistry from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor.

 Miroslav Dosoudil

Miroslav serves as Vice-President of Operations, New Jersey. Dr. Dosoudil joined the Company as Director of Manufacturing Engineering in 2000 and has held the positions of Director of Operations for the former Laser Optics dividion of the Company. Prior to joining Inrad Optics, he held optical manufacturing engineering positions with Circon, Tyrolit and Meopta (Czech Republic) and holds various degrees in science and engineering including a Doctor of Science and Physical Electronics and Optics from the University of Palackiana in the former Czech Republic.

 John Duich

Jack serves as Vice President of Operations, Sarasota.  He previously served, beginning in 2005 as Inrad Optics’ Sarasota, Florida subsidiary Director of Operations, responsible for manufacturing, engineering, sales support, and site administration.  Jack spent 25 years with Motorola and Flextronics, major electronics-sector multinational corporations. His career progressed through engineering and operations management roles including overseas assignments in Ireland, Singapore, and Hong Kong as a site or regional General Manager.

Mr. Duich received his Bachelors of Science degree in Materials Science Engineering from the University of Florida in 1983.

 Amy Eskilson

Amy joined the Company in February 2011 as Vice President of Sales and Marketing, after a long career with Thorlabs, Inc., a photonic tools catalog company.  Ms. Eskilson served as Director of Business Development at Thorlabs from 2001 to 2011.  In this role Amy coordinated a team responsible for a total of eight acquisitions.  She fostered the development of multiple partner companies, technology transfers and IP license agreements.  Prior to that she was the Thorlabs inside sales and technical support manager and served in various marketing roles beginning in 1992.  During her tenure at Thorlabs Ms. Eskilson was also involved in photonic startups Nova Phase, Inc., Menlo Systems, Inc. and Idesta Quantum Electronics.  Ms. Eskilson received her BA in Communications in 1985 from Montclair State University. 

 William Foote

Bill joined the Company in May 2006 and was appointed its Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, and Corporate Secretary on May 16, 2006. Mr. Foote served as Chief Financial Officer of INSL-X Products Corporation, a private paint and coatings manufacturer, from 2002 through 2005. From 2000 to 2002, he was CFO of ASD Group, Inc., a publicly held contract manufacturer serving the OEM marketplace in the high-tech sector. Prior to that, from 1990 through 1999, Mr. Foote held several executive positions including Director and Vice-President of Finance positions, with Benjamin Moore & Co., a large public paint and coatings manufacturer. Mr. Foote is both a Certified Public Accountant and obtained a Chartered Accountant (Canada), while working in the audit field with the public accounting firm of KPMG (Canada). Mr. Foote holds a B.A. from Carleton University in Ottawa and a Masters Degree in Accounting from the University of British Columbia.

Code of Ethics

Inrad Optics, Inc., Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers

Purpose: The Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Inrad Optics, Inc. (the “Company”) has adopted the following Code of Ethics (the “Code”) to apply to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer; Chief Financial Officer; Chief Accounting Officer; Controller; and Treasurer (the “Senior Financial Officers”). This Code is intended to focus Senior Financial Officers on areas of ethical risk, provide guidance to help them recognize and deal with ethical issues, provide mechanisms to report unethical conduct, foster a culture of honesty and accountability, deter wrongdoing and promote fair and accurate disclosure and financial reporting.

No code or policy can anticipate every situation that may arise. Accordingly, this Code is intended to serve as a source of guiding principles. Senior Financial Officers are encouraged to bring questions about particular circumstances that may involve one or more of the provisions of this Code to the attention of the Chair of the Audit Committee, who may consult with inside or outside legal counsel as appropriate.

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