Combining Legacy Optics Firms AGI and Glass Fab, EvolvOptic is Investing $5 Million To Expand Capabilities in Space, Semiconductor, and High Energy Sectors
April 24, 2025 | 10:00am ET
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Two legacy optics companies are joining forces, as Advanced Glass Industries (AGI) has acquired 50-year-old Glass Fab Inc. Both companies will operate under the new brand name EvolvOptic, reflecting the innovation of the dynamic optics industry and the growth opportunities made possible via this acquisition.
The two companies, both located in the optics hub of Rochester, N.Y., have been long recognized among the world’s leading suppliers of precision-machined and molded optical blanks — which prominent optics companies then polish and transform into lenses and mirrors for an array of applications.
Expanded capabilities, integrated team
EvolvOptic’s growth strategy includes strengthening New York’s position as the leader in optics and photonics and providing job growth in Rochester. Over the next five years, EvolvOptic intends to grow its employment numbers; invest in training to enhance internal production and quality processes; and invest over $5 million in facilities, equipment, and R&D.
EvolvOptic worked with Greater Rochester Enterprise, the leading economic development organization in the region, to find the best ways to support the company’s expansion plans, including economic-development options.
Key to the growth is expanded capabilities, including the production of large, complex optical components for ground-based and space-based imaging, the semiconductor industry, and high-energy optics, such as laser fusion and directed energy. EvolvOptic is establishing a specialized team focused on optimized design, fabrication, and testing to push performance boundaries while minimizing risk. EvolvOptic will work with customers to enable rapid, affordable, large-aperture optics.
EvolvOptic Brand Debuted at Photonics West
AGI, trusted by companies for providing optical components for 80 years, unveiled the EvolvOptic company name at the SPIE Photonics West conference in January 2025. Glass Fab now joins the evolution.
EvolvOptic brings together two industry leaders with deep expertise in optical material supply and fabrication. While customers will experience business as usual, leadership is poised for success with the companies’ extensive inventories of optical materials, broad fabrication capabilities, precision testing equipment, and staff expertise to meet rigorous customer specifications.
“Combining our teams and capabilities creates a stronger, more competitive optics company — one with deep local roots and a global reach,” said Ted Mooney, PhD., president of EvolvOptic.
“The world’s leading optics companies have chosen AGI and Glass Fab as their preferred partners for supplying precision blanks because of our quality, expertise, and reliability. Our reputations precede us and together we will be even more competitive and better positioned for growth, expanding offerings for a broader market.”
Ted joined AGI as president in late 2023, bringing extensive experience in precision optics design, fabrication, and testing, working with L3Harris, SAIC, QED Technologies, ASML, and UAH CAO, holding leadership positions supporting multiple industries — including space-based and airborne imaging systems, semiconductor, high/directed energy applications, advanced-process and test-equipment development and implementation, and academia. Hadley Capital acquired a majority stake in the company in 2023 and appointed Ted to lead AGI with the retirement of former president/owner Tony Marino.
Dan Saltzman, second-generation owner of Glass Fab, is assisting hands-on with the transition. He has been full-time with the company for 41 years, first helping his father, Robert, with shipments by cutting up cardboard to protect the glass when he was 12 years old. Glass Fab’s global focus in recent years accounts for 30 percent of business being exports. Founder Robert Saltzman was actively involved in the business transaction before his passing in January 2025.
“We have been proud to be a family-owned company since my dad opened Glass Fab’s doors more than 50 years ago in 1974, but I believe our team will find even greater security with AGI and Hadley Capital,” Saltzman said. “I am confident we will have a successful transition and that the Saltzman legacy in optical materials will continue through the talented Glass Fab and AGI teams.”
Hadley Capital, known for patient capital and strategic support of small manufacturers, acquired a majority stake in AGI in 2023 and is supporting EvolvOptic’s long-term growth plans. “Hadley seeks to be good stewards of the companies they acquire, building on the legacy of the former owners,” said Jim Jones, CEO of EvolvOptic. “Hadley is excited and optimistic about the future of EvolvOptic and their role in the optics community.”
About the companies now known as EvolvOptic
Advanced Glass Industries specializes in the design, manufacturing, and customization of high-performance optical products for a variety of industries. With a commitment to innovation and precision, AGI offers tailored solutions and maintains an extensive raw material inventory to provide customers with value and fast delivery.
Glass Fab Inc. has met customers' stringent specifications since 1974 by providing fabricated parts made of optical glass, filter glass, fused quartz and fused silica, ultra-low expansion materials, and other exotic glasses. Their advanced capabilities and rigorous quality control ensure high-performance components tailored to exact customer specifications.
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