Rochester’s Syntec Optics goes public with listing on Nasdaq

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Syntec Optics Inc. is growing in Rochester, rolling out new products and becoming part of a publicly traded company this quarter.

Syntec was formed over two decades ago from the aggregation of three advanced manufacturing companies started in the 1980s. It is now one of the largest optics and photonics ultra-high precision manufacturers in the United States.

Syntec operates in a nearly 90,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on Lee Road.

The company provides mission-critical components and sub-systems to systems integrators, doing business in the defense, biomedical and consumer end-markets. It most recently entered the burgeoning space economy market.

Syntec’s components and sub-systems are used in systems that keep American soldiers from harm’s way. They also offer doctors technology tools for patient care and deliver photonics-enabled precision to consumer products and services.

The business is in the midst of changes, announcing earlier this year plans to merge with OmniLit Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: OLIT).

The deal results in Syntec Optics becoming a public company listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange under the new ticker symbol OPTX in this year’s fourth-quarter, subject to customary closing conditions.

Company leaders are scheduled to ring the opening Nasdaq bell on Nov. 8 to celebrate its initial listing.

Syntec leaders said the merger will bode well for the local firm.

“Syntec Optics is excited to become listed on Nasdaq … and have the ability to serve its customers better with added opportunity to expand advanced manufacturing operations,” said Joe Mohr, CEO of Syntec Optics.

Florida-based OmniLit is a blank check company concentrated on identifying high quality businesses with optics and photonics capabilities for a business combination.

Syntec is an affiliate of OmniLit, with Al Kapoor, who serves as OmniLit’s CEO and chair, also being the chairman and majority stockholder of Syntec.

OmniLit’s shareholders approved the deal on Oct. 31 at its annual meeting of shareholders. The merger was finalized this week.

The company will continue to be led by Mohr, alongside the rest of the current Syntec management team.

“OmniLit saw great potential in Syntec Optics and believes that the business combination will allow them to execute on the opportunities they see in the light-enabled marketplace that has grown to be 11 percent of the global economy,” said Robert O. Nelson II, chief financial officer of OmniLit.

In addition to the merger, Syntec has been focused on new product development.

The business displayed its recently launched new light-weight eyepieces and objective lenses for night vision goggles, called Viper, at SPIE Optifab 2023 – the largest optical manufacturing conference and exhibition held in North America – last month in Rochester.

Additionally, the optical products manufacturer recently celebrated another milestone in October: producing its 1,000^th critical optics component for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites.

Syntec’s LEO satellite optics are extremely precise as they move at roughly 27,600 kilometers per hour – about 550 kilometers above the Earth – catching and receiving a laser beam nearly the size of a baseball, according to a company release.

Low Earth Orbit satellites currently play a critical role in providing broadband internet, the company noted.

Precision optics-enabled laser technology, as compared to previous radar-signal technology, provides lower latency for potential applications in areas that can range from services for banking, internet access for remote areas to services to aircraft, ships and military users.

Syntec leaders said the firm plans to continue to enter new end-markets and add to its current U.S.-based process of making thin-film coated glass, crystal or polymer components and their housings, which are ultimately assembled into high performance hybrid electro-optics sub-systems.

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