An international maker of microelectronics and infrared sensors has set up shop at the University of Arizona Tech Park.
The company, Micro-Hybrid Electronic GmbH, which is based in Germany, set up a United States application center at the UA Tech Park in the Tucson metro, where it had already been doing some manufacturing work since 2015 through subsidiary Micro-Hybrid Electronics Inc.
The move was facilitated by the University of Arizona Center for Innovation’s Soft Landings Global Advantage program, which is managed by Tech Parks Arizona to foster international business opportunities.
Micro-Hybrid has been in operation since 1992 and builds high precision sensors and components for a range of industries. Manufacturing at the Tucson location will focus on infrared emitters to enable components for spectroscopic sensors used for infrared gas analysis, the company’s website said.
The company has six employees in Tucson, with two of them hired last year, and it anticipates further expanding the workforce in the coming years, Micro-Hybrid Electronics Inc. Chief Operating Officer Jenny Tauber told the Business Journal.
The company hailed the location’s state-of-the-art facilities as well as its talent pool, resources and collaborative opportunities in an ecosystem with several optical and electronic technology companies.
"Our parent company, Micro-Hybrid Electronic GmbH – Germany, chose to expand operations in Tucson, AZ by opening the Application Center knowing the potential that the region offers due to its geographical position, the proximity to key industries and to the University of Arizona," Tauber wrote in a statement to the Business Journal. "From Tucson we can offer better service and support to our existent customers and tap into new customer segments within existent markets in the USA."
Micro-Hybrid said the expansion into North America was a vital part of its growth strategy. It already has several locations worldwide.
With the application center, Micro-Hybrid will be able to more easily offer technical consulting in the United States to customize its products to the industrial, medical, safety, transportation, agricultural and other sectors.
“Our vision of building a diversified network in the North American market will really take off here!” Micro-Hybrid said in a LinkedIn post announcing the expansion to Arizona.
Micro-Hybrid is located at the UA Tech Park on Rita Road southeast of Tucson, which has 2 million square feet of office, laboratory and production space. The UArizona Center for Innovation has an affiliated location called the UA Tech Park at the Bridges closer to the university. Tech Parks Arizona connects the university, community and industry to spur innovation and collaboration.
At the UA Tech Park, Micro-Hybrid will be joining a couple of tenants that have moved in during the past year, Strike Photonics and Applied Energetics. The campus is occupied by more than 100 companies, including Raytheon and IBM.
