JPSA plans to double size of laser micromachining systems plant
May 20, 2009--Laser micromachining systems company J. P. Sercel Associates (JPSA; Manchester, NH) plans to double the size of its manufacturing-office building, according to a story in the New Hampshire Union Leader. Jeffrey Sercel, JPSA founder and chairman, said he's run out of space to manufacture laser scribing systems for photovoltaic solar-energy systems (see also "A sunny outlook for lasers in solar").
"We're building machines right now and we're practically out of floor space," he said. His customers are solar farms designed to generate electricity on the gigawatt level.
Sercel owns the building at 20 Hackett Hill Road in Manchester, NH, the former French Hall university building that city officials hope will one day serve as the centerpiece to the Hackett Hill research park. Sercel appeared before the Manchester Planning Board last week to seek site plan approval for a 16,700 square-foot, two-story addition to the building. The addition will square off the L-shaped building and provide manufacturing space and offices for engineers, he said. In an unusual move, the planning board approved the site plan just hours after Sercel made his presentation.
The story says that JPSA employs 65 people and expects to grow to 200 workers in five years. Sercel said the company is carefully looking for engineers now and will eventually need skilled workers such as electronics technicians, precision assemblers, and mechanical assemblers. Architectural work on the building is complete, and site work should take about 90 days. The expansion could be completed three weeks after the steel arrives, Sercel said.
For more information, go to www.jpsalaser.com.
--Posted by Gail Overton, [email protected]; www.laserfocusworld.com.