Sheaumann Laser, a US manufacturer of semiconductor lasers, has announced that its ownership has purchased a 57,800 sqft building located at 5 Federal Street in Billerica, MA. The facility will be renovated to house its expanding workforce and production lines and will help address the growing demand for laser-based technologies from the defence and space industries.
The company plans to move into its new headquarters by August 2020. Sheaumann will continue to operate from its leased facility in Marlborough until the renovation of the new building is complete.
The move is spurred by a US$2.34 million grant that Sheaumann received this year from the Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (M2I2). This award, paired with Sheaumann's matching funds, enabled the purchase of laser manufacturing equipment to expand Sheaumann's production capabilities and to streamline existing processes.
The Billerica facility triples Sheaumann's current area and has 15,000 sqft that is to be converted to cleanroom space
The Billerica facility provides triple the area of Sheaumann's current location and includes around 15,000 sqft that the company plans to convert to state-of-the-art cleanroom space for its manufacturing and R&D activities.
As a key supplier to an increasing number of customers in the defence and space sectors, Sheaumann must allocate dedicated assembly and test areas to these projects for quality and security purposes, which the new cleanroom will enable.
The building purchase signifies Sheaumann's commitment to keeping its production in the US, and the expansion will necessitate training and hiring more local skilled workers.
"While most of our competitors have moved their manufacturing overseas to take advantage of cheap labour, we continue to uphold our vision of supporting and leveraging our strong Massachusetts workforce," said Frank Hsieh, VP and co-owner of Sheaumann Laser. "The move to Billerica brings us closer to some of the excellent educational institutions that offer a talent pool for our complex manufacturing processes, including UMass Lowell, MIT, and Shawsheen Tech."
