Company history

Hypertherm's commitment to engineering and building the best industrial cutting solutions on the market dates back 50 years. From humble beginnings in a two-car garage to becoming a world-class manufacturer of advanced cutting solutions, our story has been one of innovation, hard work, and customer focus.

1968 Dick Couch and Bob Dean invent water-injection plasma-arc cutting in a two-car garage in Hanover and Hypertherm is born.
1970 First product sale: two PAC-400s are installed at the Mixing Equipment Company in Rochester, NY.
1975 The company's flagship corporate and manufacturing facility opens at 21 Great Hollow Road.
	1985 1000th system sold; company enters the air-plasma market.
1989 Global reach expands with the first subsidiary, Hypertherm Plasmatechnik GmbH in Maintal, Germany.
	1991 First Asian subsidiary opens in Singapore.
1992 Hypertherm's commitment to world-class quality systems is recognized by the coveted ISO 9001 certification.
	1999 Acquisition of Centricut® consumables and controllers; Hypertherm Automation business team formed. Office opens in Roosendaal, Netherlands.
2001 “Our company is our people; our people are our company.” Hypertherm becomes Associate-owned with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan; First South American office opens in Brazil.
	2002 Ranks #12 in Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For".
2003 Office opens in Shanghai, China.
2004 The company initiates a Global Stock Value Plan to extend stock to non-U.S. based Associates.
2007 As part of our commitment to local manufacturing, the Hypertherm Technical Training Institute is launched as a public-private partnership for training skilled machine operators.
	2008 Product portfolio growth continues through the acquisition of ESSE A., an Italian manufacturer of laser cutting consumables, and MTC Software nesting software.
2010 Entry into fiber laser market with the HyIntensity line of products - the industry's first integrated fiber laser systems specifically optimized for cutting applications. The Hypertherm Owners’ Philanthropic Endeavors (HOPE) Foundation was founded as a public grant-making non-profit 501(c) 3 foundation.
	2013 Multi-technology expansion continues with acquisition of AccuStream®, a Minnesota manufacturer of waterjet cutting products. Expands the Employee Stock Ownership Plan to become a 100% Associate-owned company.
2015 Expands robotic capabilities with purchase of Jabez Technologies, creators of Robotmaster® software.
2016 Named a "Most Ethical" company by Ethisphere Institute.
2018 Hypertherm celebrates its 50th anniversary. Forbes Magazine names Hypertherm one of America's Best Employers.