Growing again
Eclipse Automation prepares to expand to another facility
CAMBRIDGE — A Cambridge firm has eclipsed its capacity once again.
Eclipse Automation, which specializes in custom automated manufacturing equipment, is preparing to expand into another facility on Thompson Drive.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not mistaken. The company has been growing steadily since its founding about 15 years ago, and will soon be working out of six buildings in Cambridge, along with facilities in North Carolina, California and Arizona.
Investments in equipment, processes, training and human resources have accompanied the physical growth. About 320 employees work in Cambridge now, with another 60 or so in the United States — and president and chief executive officer Steve Mai said he expects to hire another 100 people next year.
“We’ve been continually expanding over the years,” Mai said.
The company’s latest acquisition — an existing building at 385 Thompson Dr. — will provide 30,000 square feet in additional manufacturing space. But it also sits on more than two hectares (5.5 acres) of land, offering plenty of room to grow down the road.
“We bought the property with the idea that we’d be able to expand in the future,” Mai said.
Eclipse is investing $6 million in the current project. The new facility, which will primarily be used for equipment staging and assembly, should be operational in mid-December.
Eclipse’s equipment is used in a variety of sectors ranging from life/health sciences and transportation to mining/energy, industrial/ consumer and electronics/telecommunications. Mai said much of Eclipse’s focus right now is in the health science, automotive and energy sectors.
Cambridge has become something of a hub for firms working within the nuclear industry; Eclipse has been involved in that field for more than a decade.
Mai said the fact that Eclipse has control over all of its processes — even writing its own software — gives the company an advantage, especially in heavily regulated industries such as nuclear and medical.
“It really gives us a competitive edge,” Mai said.
Expansion in recent years into the United States brought the firm closer to many of its clients. A partnership with similar manufacturers in Switzerland, Hungary and China called the Smart Automation Group allows the companies to share best practices, new technologies and industry experience.
Having weathered a dip in sales during the recession in the late 2000s, Eclipse has bounced back nicely; earlier this year, it was named to Profit 500’s 2017 list of the country’s fastestgrowing companies, coming in at the 490th spot with five-year revenue growth of 81 per cent.
And things are looking good into the future. “We have work right into next year and the year after,” Mai said. “I think we’re definitely where we want it to be.”