II-VI co-founder Johnson to step down
SAXONBURG — II-VI founder Carl Johnson announced this week he will step down from the day-to-day operations of the company effective May 31.
However, he will continue in his role as chairman of the board of directors.
Francis Kramer, II-VI president and chief executive officer, said in a news release, "Since (Johnson) co-founded the company in 1971, Carl has shaped the culture, the values, the strategic business and technical direction of II-VI.
"Under his leadership for those nearly 40 years, II-VI Inc. has increased revenues from a few thousand dollars in 1971 to over $292 million in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2009."
He went on to say the company has more than 6,000 employees and has joined "Business Week's" list of the nation's Best Small Companies
Company history
Johnson said he and the late James E. Hawkey, co-founder, named their enterprise II-VI for Groups II and VI of the Periodic Table of Elements, the source of the basic materials — cadmium telluride (CdTe) and zinc selenide (ZnSe) — from which they would work.
Their mission was to grow, fabricate and coat the world's highest-quality infrared optical materials, then manufacture, assemble and market a line of output couplers, lenses, windows and beam-splitters to CO2 laser original equipment manufacturers and end users.
Johnson began as president of II-VI in 1971. In 1973, the company turned a profit for the first time, and it has remained profitable every year since, according to the company news release.
In 1987, II-VI went public on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange when revenues were about $10 million.
Kramer was appointed president in 1985 and Johnson served as CEO until 2007.
In the 1990s, II-VI expanded to near-infrared optics through a subsidiary, VLOC. In 1998, the company bought Exotic Electro-Optics, part of Laser Power Corporation, adding Germanium (Ge)-based materials to its arsenal of materials.
With the acquisition of Marlow Industries in 2004, Bismuth Telluride (Bi2Te3)-based crystals were added to the list of materials made by II-VI.
In 1988, II-VI established manufacturing operations in Singapore; in 1996, in China; and in 2005, in Vietnam.
Through acquisitions of Pacific Rare Specialty Metals and Chemicals in 2007, and HIGHYAG Lasertechnologie GmbH in 2008, II-VI began manufacturing in the Philippines and Germany.
In 2009, II-VI and Beijing Supower Science and the Technology Developing Co., formed a joint venture, Langfang Haobo Diamond Co., to produce diamond substrates for industrial-grade applications. In January, II-VI bought Photop Technologies in Fuzhou, China.
In 2007, Johnson and his wife, Margot, established the II-VI Foundation with the mission to enable students to discover and pursue careers in engineering, science and mathematics. The foundation identifies promising students from kindergarten through graduate school, providing early education program support and undergraduate scholarships.
