What Precision Glass & Optics does

Precision Glass & Optics (PG&O) is a privately-held precision optics manufacturer founded in 1985 and headquartered in an 18,000 sq. ft. optical manufacturing facility in Santa Ana, California. The company fabricates precision optical components (windows, mirrors, beamsplitters, prisms, corner cube retro-reflectors, integrator rods) and applies thin-film optical coatings — anti-reflection, hot/cold mirrors, ITO, bandpass, dielectric, and metal coatings — across a spectral range of 250nm to 2,500nm. Manufacturing capabilities include cutting, grinding, polishing, CNC machining, waterjet cutting, laser engraving, annealing, drilling, scribing, and optical assembly, supported by three large coating chambers including a 72-inch chamber capable of processing substrates up to 24 inches in diameter, with polishing precision to λ/20 flatness, parallelism to 1 arc second, and tolerances to ±0.0005 inches.

PG&O operates a B2B sales-led model targeting industrial, defense, aerospace, medical, and scientific markets. Revenue is generated through one-time sales of precision optical components and glass substrates, professional services for custom fabrication, and recurring custom coating jobs, with a quote-based pricing model administered by an inside sales team. The company differentiates primarily through a 48-hour expedited delivery program on standard optics, vertical integration across materials, fabrication, and coating, and a multi-vertical customer base spanning military/defense, avionics, aerospace/astronomy, medical/biomedical, solar, digital cinema, life sciences, automotive, and homeland security. Quality systems are aligned with ISO 9002, MIL-I-45208A, and MIL-PRF-13830B military standards, supporting qualification into defense and aerospace supply chains.

Name

Precision Glass & Optics

Legal name

Precision Glass & Optics

Website

https://pgo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Precision Glass & Optics (PG&O) is a privately-held U.S. manufacturer founded in 1985 that fabricates precision optical components and applies thin-film optical coatings (250nm–2,500nm) for military, aerospace, avionics, medical, and scientific customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Precision Optical Components

NAICS

Glass and Glass Product Manufacturing (32721)

SIC

Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827)

akta.pro primary industry

Optoelectronic Components (LEDs, photodiodes, optocouplers, optical sensors) (IMAGAJAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Optoelectronics & Photonics (LED/Laser/Optical ICs) (HDAHAAAH)

Keywords

• Precision optics manufacturing
• Thin film optical coatings
• Glass fabrication services
• Optical components supply
• Custom optical solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Ana

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Precision Optical Components: Sale of precision and commercial optical components including windows, mirrors, beamsplitters, prisms, and assembled optics. Components fabricated from square, rectangular, and circular parts to complex shapes.
2. Thin Film Optical Coatings: Precision thin film coatings including dichroic, dielectric, and metal coatings applied to customer substrates. Spectral range from 250nm to 2.5 microns.
3. Glass Fabrication Services: Custom fabrication services including cutting, grinding, polishing, scribing, CNC machining, drilling, annealing, and tempering. Services range from prototype through high-volume production.
4. Optical Materials and Glass Substrates: Sale of optical materials and glass substrates including BK7, fused silica, heat-reflecting mirrors, ITO, and specialty glasses from manufacturers such as Schott, Ohara, Hoya, and Tosoh.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Precision Glass & Optics (PG&O) manufactures and supplies precision optical components, thin film optical coatings, and glass fabrication services from its 18,000 sq. ft. facility in Santa Ana, California. The company produces prisms, mirrors, windows, beamsplitters, retro-reflectors, and assembled optics with spectral range coverage from 250nm to 2500nm, serving military, aerospace, medical, and industrial markets with custom and standard solutions.

Product overview

Precision Glass & Optics (PG&O) is a global supplier offering comprehensive turnkey optical solutions through an integrated portfolio of precision optics, thin film coatings, and glass fabrication services. The core product line includes precision optical components such as prisms (dove, equilateral, Littrow, penta, rhomboid, right angle, roof, wedge), mirrors, windows, beamsplitters, and corner cube retro-reflectors. Supporting services include thin film optical coatings (anti-reflection, hot/cold mirrors, ITO, bandpass, metal coatings) from 250nm to 2500nm, commercial glass fabrication (CNC machining, grinding, polishing, drilling, scribing, tempering), and optical materials sourcing. The 48-Hour Optics expedited service provides rapid turnaround on standard items. The company operates from an 18,000 sq. ft. facility in Santa Ana, California, with three large coating chambers including a 72-inch chamber, offering capabilities up to 36 inches diameter with precision tolerances to ±.0005 inches and flatness to λ/20.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Precision Optics High-quality precision optical components including corner cube retro-reflectors, cube beamsplitters, dove prisms, equilateral prisms, integrator rods, Littrow prisms, mirrors, penta prisms, rhomboid prisms, right angle prisms, roof prisms, wedge prisms, and windows. Serves industrial, military, aerospace, and scientific markets requiring precision optical assemblies.
• Thin Film Optical Coatings Precision optical thin film coatings including anti-reflection, beamsplitters, hot and cold mirrors, indium tin oxide (ITO), bandpass, long-wave pass (LWP), short-wave pass (SWP), neutral density, and maximum reflector coatings operating from 250nm to 2500nm spectral range. Applied to customer substrates up to 24 inches diameter.
• Commercial Glass Fabrication Glass fabrication services including waterjet cutting, laser engraving, annealing, CNC machining, drilling, optical grinding and polishing, diamond bandsawing, slicing, and scribing with tolerances to ±0.0005 inches. Accommodates parts from prototype through high-volume production.
• Optical Materials and Glass Substrates Sale of optical materials and glass substrates including BK7, fused silica, heat-reflecting mirrors, ITO, plate beamsplitters, mirror aluminized glass, ultraviolet cold mirrors, and specialty glasses such as Borofloat, PPG-Starphire, AF-37, Eagle2000, B-270, plus infrared and sapphire optics. Sourced from manufacturers including Schott, Ohara, Hoya, and Tosoh.
• 48-Hour Optics Expedited 48-hour turnaround service for fabricated glass and thin film coated optical materials. Available for squares, rectangles, and circles from 0.500 inches to 24.000 inches with thickness from 0.020 inches to 0.250 inches. Minimum total order of $450.
• Infrared and Sapphire Optics Finished infrared optics operating from 0.75 µm to 15 µm and sapphire optics designed for broad-spectrum tasks under extreme environmental conditions. Manufactured for defense, aerospace, and industrial applications requiring durable optics.
• Off-the-Shelf Coatings Ready-made thin film coatings including crown anti-reflection, heat-reflecting mirrors, cold mirror plates, mirror aluminized glass, ultraviolet cold mirrors, and plate beamsplitters for immediate availability.

Quantifiable outcome

• 48-hour turnaround on wide variety of optical materials including mirrors, windows, microsheets, and coated substrates
• +4 more outcomes

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Newport Corporation (MKS Instruments): Newport (within MKS Instruments) is a broad incumbent offering precision optics, motion control, and laser components across research and OEM markets, with overlapping catalog of windows, mirrors, prisms, and thin-film coated optics for the same industrial/scientific customer base as PG&O.
• SCHOTT AG: SCHOTT is a global specialty glass manufacturer producing optical materials (BK7, fused silica, IR glasses) that PG&O both sources as raw substrates and competes with in finished optical components — a much larger incumbent in the upstream optical materials value chain.
• Coherent Corp: Coherent (formerly II-VI Incorporated) is a diversified photonics platform producing laser optics, precision components, and thin-film coatings spanning materials, networking, and aerospace/defense — a much larger incumbent with overlapping precision optics and coating product lines.

Direct peers

• Sydor Optics: Sydor Optics specializes in precision flat optics, custom thin-film coatings (UV through IR), and substrate fabrication for defense, laser, and aerospace applications — a closely comparable specialty fabricator competing against PG&O in IR/UV coating and precision window markets.
• Rocky Mountain Instrument (RMI): RMI manufactures precision optical components including IR and visible optics, laser mirrors, and custom thin-film coatings for military, aerospace, and laser system manufacturers — directly competing with PG&O in IR optics, sapphire, and defense/avionics market segments.
• Lambda Research Optics: Lambda Research Optics supplies high-precision laser optics, lenses, prisms, mirrors, and custom thin-film coatings for laser, medical, and metrology applications — a comparable specialty optics fabricator with similar coating and substrate finishing capabilities to PG&O.
• Edmund Optics: Edmund Optics manufactures and distributes precision optical components, lenses, prisms, mirrors, beamsplitters, and thin-film coatings with a global catalog serving industrial, biomedical, semiconductor, and research customers — directly overlapping PG&O's precision optics, coating, and fabrication offering.
• Abrisa Technologies: Abrisa Technologies provides custom optical coatings, precision glass fabrication, and surface-finished glass substrates for industrial, military, and aerospace customers — directly comparable to PG&O's thin-film coating, IR-transparent, and turnkey optical fabrication capabilities.
• CVI Laser Optics: CVI Laser Optics (within Iridian Spectral Technologies / IDEX photonics group) designs and manufactures precision laser optics, polarizers, and custom thin-film coatings serving research, industrial laser, and aerospace customers — overlapping PG&O's beamsplitter, coating, and laser optics offering.
• Thorlabs: Thorlabs manufactures a broad portfolio of photonics components including optical components, prisms, mirrors, windows, custom coatings, and substrate fabrication for research, OEM, and industrial customers — overlapping PG&O's prism/mirror/window and thin-film coating product set.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Precision Glass & Optics