II-VI Incorporated

II-VI Incorporated was co-founded in 1971 by Carl Johnson.[3] The name "II-VI" is a reference to the groups II and VI in the periodic table, since the company started its business by producing cadmium telluride, consisting of cadmium (which belongs to group II) and tellurium (which belongs to group VI).[4] The company's first products included optical components, such as lenses, windows, and mirrors, to manufacturers and users of CO2 lasers.[5]

The company launched its IPO in 1987.[6] According to Carl Johnson, the funds raised by the IPO allowed II-VI to expand its zinc selenide manufacturing capacity.[7]

In the 1990s, the company began to grow through acquisitions as well as organically.[8] It purchased Litton System's silicon carbide group from Northrup Grumman in the 1990s,[9] Virgo Optics in 1995,[10] and Lightning Optical Corporation in 1996,[11] among others. The combination of Virgo and Lightning created II-VI's VLOC division for developing one-micron solid-state lasers.[12] Acquisitions in the 2000s have included Laser Power Optics in 2000, Marlow Industries in 2004,[13] HIGHYAG (75% in 2007 and the remaining 25% in 2013), Photop Technologies in 2010, and Oclaro's Santa Rosa, California, optics coating facility in 2012, among others.[14][15] The purchase of Avalon Photonics, Anadigics, and EpiWorks allowed II-VI to increase its production of vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs),[15] important to 3D sensing technology; and its acquisition of Finisar Corporation in 2019 brought to II-VI Finisar's indium phosphide (InP) platform and its experience in integrating InP lasers with optics and electronics in transceivers.[16] The company's silicon carbide (SiC) innovations have included the world's first 200 mm SiC substrate; its acquisitions of INNOViON, Ascatron, and the SiC IP of GE have expanded its business in this area.[15] In March 2021, II-VI's offer to acquire fibre laser manufacturer Coherent, Inc., was accepted;[17] the merger is expected to close in the spring of 2022.[18]

In 2007, Carl Johnson stepped down as CEO. He was succeeded by Francis Kramer, who was President from 1985 to 2007, and Johnson remained as Chairman of the Board until 2014.[19] Fran Kramer served as CEO and Board Chair from 2014 to 2016, and continued as Chair when Vincent D. (Chuck) Mattera, Jr., became the company's third CEO in 2016.[20] In November 2021, the company announced that Kramer would transition from Board Chair to Chair Emeritus, and Mattera was named Chair and CEO.

II-VI Incorporated is headquartered in Saxonburg, Pennsylvania,[21] located north of Pittsburgh in Butler County. The company also maintains R&D, manufacturing, sales, service, and distribution facilities in 73 locations worldwide.[22]

The Saxonburg headquarters site was once the property of KDKA, the world's first commercially licensed radio station, and some of original structures are still there.[23] In the 1940s, the site was expanded by the Carnegie Institute of Technology and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to become a 400 MeV synchrocyclotron research facility.[24] II-VI acquired the property around 1978 and has further expanded the facility over the years.[25]