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• 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.

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Inrad Optics Inc. has long been known as one of photonic industry’s seminal crystalline products companies. In operation since 1973 and formerly known as Photonics Product Group, we initially built a reputation on our ability to grow and fabricate crystalline materials to exceptional quality levels. Today, we are a vertically-integrated photonics manufacturer offering:

• Crystal-based optical components and devices
• Custom optical components from both glass and metal
• Precision optical and opto-mechanical assemblies

We specialize in applying advanced manufacturing systems to crystal, glass and metal substrates. Our manufacturing competencies include:    

• Solution and high-temperature crystal growth
• Precision diamond turning
• Thin-film and other optical coatings
• Large substrate production
• In-process metrology expertise
• Optical systems assembly

We serve a global customer base of technology firms, research universities, and governments–among them the U.S. Military and National Laboratories. Our components and value-added photonic devices are used in a wide variety of defense, aerospace, laser, medical, process control and metrology applications.

Our corporate headquarters, engineering department and manufacturing operations share a 42,000 square foot facility in Northvale, NJ.  Additional engineering and manufacturing operations take place in a 25,000 square foot facility in Sarasota, FL.

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Amy Eskilson 

Amy Eskilson has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Inrad Optics since October 2012. Amy is focused on building an organization that fulfills demonstrated market demand and delivers a unique value to Inrad Optics' customers. She is focused on a strategic realignment of product lines and processes to support higher profitability and increased shareholder value.

Prior to joining the Inrad Optics team Amy spent 18 years with Thorlabs, Inc., a photonic tools catalogue company, where she served as Director of Business Development 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. Ms. Eskilson was also involved in photonic start-ups Nova Phase, Inc., Menlo Systems, Inc. and Idesta Quantum Electronics.

Honored in 2021 as an Optica Fellow for her contributions to the photonics industry, as well as a long history of advocacy for the optics & photonics community, Amy continues to be an active Optica volunteer. She is a member of the Steering Committee of the National Photonics Initiative, and serves as a Trustee of the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

Bill Foote

Bill joined the Company in May 2006 and served as its Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer, and Corporate Secretary before his retirement in February 2019. Prior to joining Inrad Optics, Mr. Foote served as CFO 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. From 1990 through 1999, Mr. Foote held several executive positions including Director and Vice-President of Finance, with Benjamin Moore & Co., a large public paint and coatings manufacturer. Mr. Foote is both a Certified Public Accountant and obtained a Chartered Accountant degree while working with the public accounting firm of KPMG in Canada. Mr. Foote holds a B.A. from Carleton University in Ottawa and a Master’s Degree in Accounting from the University of British Columbia.

Luke LaValle 

Luke has been a member of the Board since 2005. He is the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and co-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 publicly 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 Inrad Optics, 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 Adelphi University.

Rick Strandlund

Rick comes to the Board of Inrad Optics, 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 also served 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 Master’s degree in Management from Golden Gate University.

Jan Winston

Jan has been a member of the Board since 2000 and has served as Inrad Optics’ Chairman of the Board since 2009. Mr. Winston is a Principal of Winston Consulting (1997-present). He previously served as Division Director/General Manager IBM Corporation (1981-1997), and held several executive positions in Development, Finance and Marketing at IBM. Mr. Winston has an AB degree from Princeton University and attended the Columbia Graduate School of Business Administration.