New name for Williams

A Brewster factory that makes high-tech films for use in products from lights to phones is changing its name.

Williams Advanced Materials, a subsidiary of Brush Engineered Materials, will become Materion beginning March 8.

Williams Advanced Materials is headquartered in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. It acquired the Brewster operation in 1998 as part of its acquisition of Brewster-based Pure Tech Inc.

The Brewster facility makes thin-film products for such end-use applications as hard disk drives for gaming systems, LED lighting and handheld cellular devices. The plant employs some 70 people.

“We are excited about the name change,” said Tom Kimble, director of operations at the Brewster plant. “As a result of a number of acquisitions over the years, the company has done business under a lot of different names. This unification and rebranding as Materion is designed to increase awareness of the company and the breadth of our capabilities. Locally, it will help people see us as part of a much larger global business.”

Richard Hipple, chairman, president and CEO of Williams, said in a prepared statement: “We are often competing against large global players that enjoy strong brand recognition. That has made it difficult to position the company as a single, unified organization. We find that even some long-time customers are not aware of the full scope of our capabilities.”

Market sectors include defense, medical, telecommunications, aerospace and energy.

The company”™s early history was in mining and metals. Its shift to technology-fueled products began 20 years ago.

Williams places annual sales at $1.2 billion and its annual growth rate since 2002 at 17 percent.