Zygo Sets Up Product Development Unit in Simi

Zygo Corp., a Middlefield, Conn.-based producer of measurement instruments for industrial, scientific and aerospace applications, has established a product development division in Simi Valley.

The unit, called the Zygo Flying Height Test Division, will develop and market products for the data-storage industry. It is working on a “flying height tester” for use in the production of high-performance hard-disk drives.

“Our objective is to provide an instrument which accurately measures the distance between the head and the surface of a disk down to contact,” said Russell Pavlat, director of engineering at the new facility on Los Angeles Avenue.

The flying height tester, being developed in cooperation with Zygo’s research group in Connecticut, obtains measurements through non-traditional technology, Pavlat said.

He said the new unit will be staffed by nine engineers and support personnel. They began moving into the 4,300-square-foot design center early this month.

Joe J. Wallace, the division’s general manager, said growth of the data-storage industry has prompted an increased need for such equipment.

Zygo, founded in 1970, maintains regional offices in New York, Singapore and Northern California. The Simi Valley unit will be the firm’s Southern California base, Wallace said. Zygo had $24 million in sales in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30.