Member Mondays with Hypertherm - New Hampshire Tech Alliance

This week’s Member Monday features Hypertherm, a leading manufacturer of plasma, waterjet, and fiber laser cutting products located in Hanover, New Hampshire. The employee-owned company provides its innovative products to various manufacturers worldwide such as The Boeing Company, Mercedes Benz, and Harley Davidson. Hypertherm’s products are used to construct and repair vehicles, heavy equipment, infrastructure, and more. To learn more about Hypertherm visit their website HERE and check out the interview below.

Every week, we will be spotlighting members of NHTA to bring awareness to the entrepreneurs, businesses, and innovators of New Hampshire’s expansive tech community. Be on the lookout every Monday for an opportunity to learn more about the exceptional members of the Alliance.

Why was NH chosen as the home of your company/branch?

Hypertherm’s location in Hanover, New Hampshire can be traced back to Dartmouth College. Our founder, Dick Couch, graduated from the school’s Thayer School of Engineering. After graduation, he began researching plasma cutting technology with a former professor of his at another Hanover-based company called Creare. Eventually, the time came for Mr. Couch to venture out on his own. He decided at that time to simply move across the street from Creare and start Hypertherm there.

What are some recent accomplishments or milestones of your company?

On a product side, one of our most notable accomplishments is the introduction of an entirely new class of plasma cutting technology called X-Definition™ plasma. X-Definition plasma was and is a big deal to the metalworking and fabricating industry because it significantly improved the quality of parts cut with plasma. Hypertherm engineers had to develop a number of new patent-pending processes like Vented Water Injection™ (VWI), plasma dampening, and vent-to-shield technologies to achieve results like squarer cut edges, less angularity, and excellent surface finish on non-ferrous metals like aluminum and stainless steel. We also recently introduced new consumables to speed up jobs that require the separation of two metals. These consumables, called FlushCut, feature an opening on the side of the nozzle rather than the very tip. This side nozzle opening essentially bends the plasma arc so it exits the torch at an angle nearly parallel to the workpiece. On the business side, a recent milestone includes the celebration of our 50th anniversary in 2018. We are also proud of the progress made in reaching our 2020 environmental goals including a waste to landfill rate of less than 1 percent.

Tell us a fun fact about the company.

Fun fact: Hypertherm is owned by all of us who work here. Mr. Couch, along with his wife and business partner Barbara, chose to sell their stake in the company back to everyone who works here making us an employee-owned company. They decided to do this to guarantee Hypertherm remained an independent company living its core values and pursuing the long-term interests of our customers, associates, and communities.