Mike Adelstein, CEO of Potomac Photonics, discusses his collaborative business model.

Mike Adelstein, CEO of Potomac Photonics, measures his projects by the micrometre, a unit 1,000 times smaller than a meter. The tiny holes, channels and mechanical gears created by Potomac Photonics are often no bigger than a pinprick and custom made for clients from Baltimore to Japan. The company’s business model relies heavily on collaboration and partnerships involving government and academia. From the company’s new facility at bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park, it has begun offering free and discounted services throughout Maryland’s manufacturing community.

MDBIZ News spoke recently with Adelstein about his company and plans for growth.

Q. What does Potomac Photonics offer?

A. We’re a high-tech manufacturing company specializing in micro manufacturing, making small things and complex parts using a broad range of technologies, including laser micro machining, 3D printing, hot embossing and micro molding, among other services. We’re really a one-stop-shop. If there’s an engineer or company that wants something small, they can send us a digital drawing and we will then come up with a way to manufacturer it.

Things are getting smaller and we’re in a market right now that doesn’t show the slightest signs of diminishing. We have 20 employees now and we’re hiring.

Drilling tiny holes into glass is a service of Potomac Photonics.

Q. What kinds of projects is Potomac Photonics working on?

A. We are working with a company right now to produce suture materials as fine as a strand of hair. We use laser machining to drill wells into the device. A company then embeds small amounts of radiation into the sutures for very localized treatment of prostate and breast cancer. In the past, when people had cancer, they were given a lot of radiation, which could have negative effects in the future. With this technology, they use much less radiation. We now produce 300-500 of these devices per month, which are already being used in patients. We’re so proud of that because we feel like we’re really making a difference.

We’re also working with a company in Frederick, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense. We have developed a micro fluid chip, to which the company adds an antibody marker. If someone gets hit in the head, they will be able to take a blood sample and within five minutes know if someone has had a concussion.

We’ve done so much more. Recently, a company in Japan needed a part for a telescope. We turned around their order within 24 hours and we’re planning to work together more in the future. We’re making an impact here in Maryland, but also around the world.

Potomac Photonics created the tiny steel gears shown on top of a penny.

Q. Why did you choose to move the company to the bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park?

A. We’ve been located in Maryland and involved in manufacturing for a while. The company was founded in 1982, but when I joined the company in 1997, I really grew the contract manufacturing part of it. About a year and a half ago, I led a buyout of the company and began planning to move to a new facility.

I graduated from the University of Maryland Baltimore County so I already had a connection there. UMBC is a powerhouse of math, science and engineering. We wanted to be engaged with the university, the professors and the students, to work with them and collaborate with them. Also, it’s beneficial to be in a park where there are other technology companies, especially startup companies who can rely on us for access to high-tech manufacturing they would not otherwise be able to afford.

The Baltimore area is such a great place for technology. We want Potomac Photonics to be a digital fabrication hub in Maryland. 

Q. How is collaboration part of your business model? 

A. This whole technology is about people more than anything else. Our goal is to bring people together from industry, government and academic institutions. It’s important to come together and discuss how to really push the limits of high-tech manufacturing. This will make the State of Maryland more competitive.

Last month, during our ribbon cutting for the new facility at UMBC, we held a Digital Fabrication Summit. I felt like we were at the center of the digital fabrication universe.  3D Systems Corporation CEO Avi Reichental delivered our keynote address. We had Dr. Neil Gershenfeld, Director of the MIT Center for Bits and Atoms and founder of the FabLab concept; and Kegan Fisher, founder of Sols, also spoke. Many companies that could be considered competitors attended and now we’re working on ways to collaborate.

We give tours of our new facility constantly and we’ve begun free workshops open to anyone interested. We’ve also worked with students to offer services at a 30 to 50 percent discount. Already a Boston University student has worked with us for materials related to stem cells and we’ve helped a student at the University of California, Berkley with a micro fluids project.

My feeling is that this is such a growing area and there’s so much to learn, you will benefit far more from collaboration than from competition.

Potomac Photonics cuts the ribbon to its new facility at the
bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park.