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Incom is born
With a tiny office in Southbridge, MA. and a fledgling staff of four, INCOM is born. Entrepreneurial spirit, combined with a novel approach to fiber optic manufacturing and a desire to innovate served as the foundation of the newly formed company. -
The first year
With a meager budget, the leaders of INCOM spend the first few years of business focusing on purchasing manufacturing equipment, establishing customer relationships and building drums and drawing flexible fiber for light applications. -
Dominance in the digital x-ray industry
By the beginning of 1973, INCOM successfully manufactures its first fiber optic faceplate, a product that becomes a core focus for the company and eventually paves the way for INCOM's state-of-the-art development and dominance in the digital x-ray industry. -
New era of growth
After several years of building the business and slowly increasing sales, the unexpected loss of a major customer necessitates a financial overhaul. After painstaking negotiation, in which Anthony M. Detarando played an instrumental role, the Detarando family in 1976 acquires a majority stake in the company, signaling a new era of growth, investment, and innovation. -
INCOM enters a new market
Capitalizing on the vast capabilities of the company's faceplates for Cathode Ray tubes, INCOM enters a new market with dental curing tips. INCOM becomes the most relied upon manufacturer of light guides and eventually expands this technology to include light guides and tapers for endoscope illuminators. -
Paves the way for modern-day printer technology
INCOM further develops a fiber optic CRT product that writes on photographic paper, allowing newspapers, books and magazines to be automatically typeset. This new technology becomes a mainstay for INCOM and all but eliminates the one-metal-letter-at-a-time approach to printing, paving the way for modern-day printer technology. -
INCOM helps facilitate U.S. superiority in night warfare
INCOM's foray into night vision is launched in 1985 when the company begins to produce a fiber optic taper for image intensification in a viewer used by U.S. Army combat tanks. Next came the IRIS system, a technological breakthrough that helped facilitate U.S. superiority in night warfare. -
The development of the revolutionary MEGAdraw process
1986 marks the development of the revolutionary MEGAdraw process. With applications ranging from image intensification to x-ray imaging, this process (exclusive to INCOM) positions the company for future growth and provides a major competitive advantage. -
Jay and Michael Detarando join INCOM
With the business rapidly expanding, Anthony Detarando's sons, Jay and Michael join INCOM and begin to take and active role in running the company. Jay is put in charge of Quality Control while Michael takes on Sales & Marketing. -
INCOM becomes a trusted supplier to the U.S. government
INCOM responds to tightened government requirements for night vision equipment by utilizing its patented MEGAdraw process to develop the most blemish-free, low distortion, zero-shear fused fiber optic components available for night vision goggles, helmet-mounted displays and cameras. INCOM quickly becomes a trusted supplier to the U.S. government, a relationship that continues today. -
INCOM expands
A significant milestone for INCOM occurs in 1994 when the company purchases a competitor's fused fiber optics business. This represents a turning point for INCOM, opening up even more markets and providing expanded access to existing markets. -
25th Anniversary
INCOM celebrates 25 years of innovation with an eye toward further growth and expansion. -
First Million Dollar Month
After experiencing several years of record sales and profits, INCOM celebrates its first million-dollar month in May 2001. For the next decade, the company continues to invest heavily in people, capabilities and technology going from about 100 employees in 45,000 square ft. of manufacturing space to over 250 employees in over 95,000 square ft. in two locations. -
Incom manufactures the largest diameter fiber optic tapers ever made
In 2003, Incom manufactures the largest diameter fiber optic tapers ever made. These tapers capture huge imaging areas up to 200 mm in diameter with very high and unprecedented resolution, becoming the dominant enabling technology in x-ray crystalography. Incom tapers and faceplates also play an increasingly vital role in the digital revolution in medical x-ray technology, electron microscopy and high speed DNA sequencing. -
The Development of Microcapillary and Microwell fiber optic faceplates
A 2006 Small Business Innovation Research grant (SBIR) from the National Science Foundation facilitates the development of Microcapillary and Microwell fiber optic faceplates. With their dense patterns of miniature tubes, wells, and passages, these faceplates allow for high speed, high density sampling. -
INCOM assists in the development of a desktop-sized particle accelerator
Again in 2010, INCOM Is awarded a small business innovative research grant to work in conjunction with the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Collaborating with Stanford University, INCOM is challenged with assisting in the development of a desktop-sized particle accelerator, ground breaking work that is still in progress today. -
40th Anniversary
As INCOM celebrates its 40th Anniversary, it continues to embrace innovation with an energy and spirit of a company founded just yesterday. A world leader in commercial fused fiber optics, INCOM moves forward with unbridled passion by exploring, discovering and manufacturing products that impact ordinary people in extraordinary ways.
