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.
1968Dick Couch and Bob Dean invent water-injection plasma-arc cutting in a two-car garage in Hanover and Hypertherm is born. |
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1970First product sale: two PAC-400s are installed at the Mixing Equipment Company in Rochester, NY. |
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1975The company's flagship corporate and manufacturing facility opens at 21 Great Hollow Road. |
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19851000th system sold; company enters the air-plasma market. |
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1989Global reach expands with the first subsidiary, Hypertherm Plasmatechnik GmbH in Maintal, Germany. |
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1991First Asian subsidiary opens in Singapore. |
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1992Hypertherm's commitment to world-class quality systems is recognized by the coveted ISO 9001 certification. |
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1999Acquisition of Centricut® consumables and controllers; Hypertherm Automation business team formed. Office opens in Roosendaal, Netherlands. |
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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. |
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2002Ranks #12 in Fortune Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For". |
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2003Office opens in Shanghai, China. |
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2004The company initiates a Global Stock Value Plan to extend stock to non-U.S. based Associates. |
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2007As part of our commitment to local manufacturing, the Hypertherm Technical Training Institute is launched as a public-private partnership for training skilled machine operators. |
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2008Product portfolio growth continues through the acquisition of ESSE A., an Italian manufacturer of laser cutting consumables, and MTC Software nesting software. |
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2010Entry 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. |
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2013Multi-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. |
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2015Expands robotic capabilities with purchase of Jabez Technologies, creators of Robotmaster® software. |
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2016Named a "Most Ethical" company by Ethisphere Institute. |
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