Optical Research Associates grows in 1995
Due to significant growth in business in the first half of 1995, Optical Research Associates (ORA, Pasadena, CA) increased its staff by more than 10% to a total of 50 employees. The additional personnel were hired primarily in the research and development sections of ORA, and, to accommodate this growth, the company moved into a new 17,000-ft2 Pasadena facility that provides 50% more space than its previous facility.
ORA produces a variety of optical software packages, including the optical design program Code V. The company attributes its growth to the release of a version of the program for the Windows platform, and it claims that in the two years since the release of the PC version, these users now make u¥more than one-third of the ORA user base. Another spur to growth is the introduction of LightTools, a three-dimensional solid-modeling program for optical engineering (see Laser Focus World, March 1995, p. 169). The recent success of ORA is a positive indicator for the optics industry as a whole. According to David Brown of ORA, "When we see increased activity from engineers in the design phase, we realize that growth in the production business can`t be far behind."
