Our commitment to engineering and building the best industrial cutting solutions on the market dates back more than 50 years. From humble beginnings in a two-car garage to manufacturer of advanced cutting solutions sold around the world, our story is 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, NH. |
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1970First product sale: two PAC-400s are installed at the Mixing Equipment Company in Rochester, NY. |
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1975Our flagship corporate and manufacturing facility opens at across the street from the garage where it started. |
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1985We sell our 1000th system and enter the air-plasma market. |
1989Global growth begins with the opening of our first international subsidiary, Hypertherm Plasmatechnik GmbH in Maintal, Germany. |
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1991First Asian subsidiary opens in Singapore. |
1992Our commitment to world-class quality systems is recognized with ISO 9001 certification for Hypertherm plasma products. |
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1993The first OMAX waterjet systems are introduced. |
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1999The Centricut® brand joins our family and we open our European headquarters in the Netherlands. |
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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2002Fortune Magazine ranks us #12 on its list of the "100 Best Companies to Work For"; our Robotmaster® brand introduces its first CAD/CAM based robotic programming software. |
2003We open and office in Shanghai, China and establish a Global Stock Value Plan to extend stock Associate ownership to international 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. |
2008Product portfolio growth continues through the addition of Esse A., an Italian manufacturer of laser cutting consumables, and our ProNest® brand of nesting software. |
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2010The HOPE Foundation is established as a public grant-making non-profit 501(c) 3 foundation. |
2013Multi-technology expansion continues with acquisition of our AccuStream® waterjet brand. We expand our Employee Stock Ownership Plan to become a 100% Associate-owned company. |
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2015We expand our robotic capabilities with the addition of our Robotmaster® software brand; Robotmaster named a 20 Most Promising Robotics Solutions Providers. |
2016The Ethisphere Institute names Hypertherm one of the world's most ethical companies. |
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2017Hypertherm introduces the world's first X-Definition® class plasma; Our OMAX brand achieves ISO 9001 certification. |
2018We celebrate our 50th anniversary and are named one of America's Best Employers by Forbes Magazine. ![]() ![]() |
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2019Hypertherm acquires OMAX to form the industry's leading waterjet offering. |
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2020Business New Hampshire Magazine names us a Business of the Decade. |
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2021Hypertherm introduces the Powermax SYNC®, the world’s first smart plasma systems with a single-piece cartridge consumable; the New Hampshire Tech Alliance names the product a “Product of the Year” finalist. |
2022OMAX introduces a new generation of waterjet called the OptiMAX; Hypertherm changes its corporate name to Hypertherm Associates.
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