Advanced Photonix aims for 30 percent growth, signs new contracts

It’s been a fast ride to growth for Advanced Photonix and its Picometrix subsidiary (a University of Michigan spin-off). The Ann Arbor-based business employed about 30 people in 2005. It has a staff of more than 160 employees and the occasional summer intern today. AP even has a couple of positions open right now, looking for people who specialize in optical engineering. “We’ve grown tremendously in the last four years,” says Richard Kurtz, CEO of Advanced Photonix.The technology firm keeps aiming high, reaching for 30 percent revenue growth each year for the foreseeable future.Advanced Photonix specializes in making optimum electronic semiconductor sensors. These sensors are used by a wide variety of fields, ranging from homeland security’s search for WMDs to eye scanners for the healthcare industry. Meanwhile, Picometrix focuses on making sensors for the telecommunications industry, one of the firm’s most promising new sectors.Picometrix has also done work with NASA, which is also reupping with the company’s technology this year.Source: Richard Kurtz, CEO of Advanced PhotonixWriter: Jon Zemke