Niowave Nabs $195,000 Cyclotron Contract, Hires Five and Seeks More

Niowave Inc. of Lansing will produce 10 Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) cavities under a new $195,000 contract with the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) at Michigan State University (MSU).
 
But even before that, the growing company hired five researchers. One was lured from Vanderbilt University in Tennessee. Another, an MSU graduate, had a job offer in Chicago but chose to remain here, Jerry Hollister, chief operating officer, says. Since October, Niowave has doubled its total number of employees to 45.

The company is seeking more employees, accelerator physicists and engineers for permanent staff and postdoctoral positions.

“We’ll take a look at anybody with the qualifications. We can train a degreed engineer,” Hollister says.
 
The five-year-old company projects 2009 sales of $5 million. It will begin to make a profit by year end, having recovered its start up costs.

Niowave is an economic engine for the Capital region.

“Every dollar we have ever earned has come from outside the state,” Hollister says.

Growth has been such that the company, now housed in the former Walnut Street School, is seeking 25,000 to 75,000 sq. ft. in the Capital region to expand its manufacturing space. The company’s headquarters will remain at the former school.

Niowave’s contract with the cyclotron laboratory at MSU includes the production of four subassemblies for each SRF cavity. The lab is constructing a superconducting linear accelerator for rare isotope beam research.
 
Founded in 2005, Niowave researches, develops and manufactures superconducting particle accelerators for domestic and overseas customers. Clients include research labs, universities, those in medical fields, and defense.  The company was recently named among the “Michigan 50 Companies to Watch.”

Source: Jerry Hollister, Niowave

Gretchen Cochran, Innovation & Jobs editor, may be reached here. 

All Photographs © Dave Trumpie