Join us in congratulating Joseph Spilman on being appointed president of Optimax. He is the second president of Optimax in its 30-year history and brings more than 20 years of experience in the optics and photonics industry, including 10 years at Optimax, most recently as the organization’s Director of Sales & Marketing. “It is trulyhttps://www.optimaxsi.com/news/optimax-appoints-new-president-joseph-spilman

The year 2021 marks the 30th Anniversary of Optimax. We have come a long way from starting in a barn in Webster, New York, to becoming the largest optics manufacturer in America. 

In 2020, Optimax completed its expansion and doubled its facility size to 120,000 sq. ft in Ontario, NY. In addition, Optimax committed to adding 59+ new jobs in the next five years as part of our dedication to growing our workforce

Optimax received a 2018 Technology & Manufacturing Award. The Rochester Technology and Manufacturing Awards recognizes and honors organizations and individuals who lead the manufacturing industry

Rick Plympton and Mike Mandina inducted into the Rochester 2018 Business Hall of Fame

In 2012, Mike Mandina and Rick Plympton, Optimax Systems leaders, were awarded the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2012 New York State Small Business Person of the Year Award.

Rick Plympton, CEO of Optimax Systems, received the RRPC Leadership Award for working with fellow members and the community to promote the Rochester Region’s Optics, Photonics and Imaging Industry. In his position as a board member with the New York Photonics cluster, Plympton has initiated strategies, helped fund initiatives and promoted New York’s OPI industry for nearly two decades

Optimax celebrates 25 years in 2016, with 270 employees and continual growth

Optimax continued expanding its workforce to over 160 employees and its facility to 60,000 sq. ft. In 2010, Optimax was recognized as one of the “Best Small Workplaces” in Rochester, NY.

Mike Mandina, Optimax President, set out to develop a new process for rapid polishing of surfaces that had to be adaptable to uniformly sloped surfaces and those with non-uniform slopes, such as aspheric surfaces. In 2006, the process known as VIBE was conceived, tried, refined, and put into limited production and was awarded a United States Patent

In 2001, Optimax employed 80+ employees and expanded its facility to 40,000 sq. ft. Optimax also officially launched its famous tagline of “Prototype Optics in 1 Week,” differentiating itself from the market place

In 1996, Optimax expanded its workforce to 20 employees and its facility to 5,000 sq. ft. During this time, our workforce encompassed many musicians who loved the Grateful Dead, allowing tie-dye to become the official Optimax corporate uniform

Optimax was founded in 1991, in a barn in Webster, New York. Mike Mandina was the first official Optimax employee