ROCHESTER, NY – Navitar Inc., a manufacturer of precision optical systems, announced the recent sale of Navitar Coating Labs, located in Newport Beach, CA. The decision was made to sell the coatings division based on the success of Navitar’s recent acquisition of Special Optics, a Wharton, NJ, firm, which has quadrupled the company’s optical design capabilities and expanded Navitar’s in-house optical coating capabilities.

Navitar’s growth began one year ago with the purchase of Special Optics, a firm specializing in the optical design and rapid prototyping of complete electro-optical systems. Additional optical design personnel were added at both the Special Optics facilities and Navitar’s Rochester, NY, headquarters. Jeremy Goldstein, co-president of Navitar comments, ‘‘The purchase of Special Optics was the beginning of a dramatic surge in our design efforts and the rapid development of next generation optical systems. Navitar is now one of the few optical companies that can seamlessly integrate optical and mechanical engineering, rapid prototyping, and volume custom lens production in one operation."

With in-house optical coating capabilities at the Special Optics facilities in New Jersey, the Navitar Coating Labs facility in Newport Beach, CA, became a non-core asset. Formerly GM Vacuum Coating Laboratory, Navitar Coating Labs was originally purchased by Navitar in 1998 and has remained a separate organization with its own customer base.

One hundred percent of the shares of Navitar Coating Labs were purchased for an undisclosed amount by its President, Dan Coursen, who has been with the company for over 35 years. The company name will soon be changed to Coursen Coating Labs Inc.