Worcester Business Journal

www.wbjournal.com • Worcester Business Journal • 2 022 Economic Forecast 19 IPG founder Valentin Gapontsev dies at 82 Valentin Gapontsev, founder, chairman, and former CEO of IPG Photonics in Oxford, has died at the age of 82, the company announced Oct. 25. A cause of death was not immediately disclosed. Gapontsev founded what would become IPG in 1990, and has served as the company's chairman since its inception. He served as CEO until April of this year, when he was replaced by Eugene Scherbakov, the company's chief operating officer and managing director of IPG Laser GmbH, senior vice president, Europe and director. "Valentin's passing is a tremendous loss for the IPG community and the larger photonics world. Valentin's technical innovations, strategic vision for the capabilities of fiber lasers and entrepreneurial drive transformed the laser industry and industrial automation to the point where lasers are finally cost-effective, reliable and effective tools that have mass applications in global industrial production," Scherbakov said in a statement. "Recognized as the Father of the Fiber Laser Industry, his leadership and unique strategies enabled IPG to be at the forefront of rapid technological developments, and will continue to inspire us to strive for greatness in all that we do." Under Gaptonsev's leadership, IPG grew to employ 6,000 people across more than 30 facilities worldwide. Gapontsev was a highly successful businessman, reportedly worth $2.8 billion, according to the 2021 Forbes billionaire list. According to IPG, he is the named inventor on over 100 patents and over 200 scientific papers. During his career, he received a myriad of accolades for his work and achievements. Among them, he was awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Industrial Products and Services in New England in 2006, and in 2009, he was awarded the Arthur L. Schawlow Award by the Laser Institute of America. In 2011, he received the Russian Federation National Award in Science and Technology. Top manufacturing stories from 2021 Adult-use 2021 cannabis sales surpass $1B Adult-use cannabis retail sales in Massachusetts surpassed $1 billion for the year by the start of business Oct. 14, according to updated data from the Cannabis Control Commission. On Oct. 14, the regulatory body reported $1.01 billion in year-to-date sales. All-time gross sales since adult-use cannabis retailers opened in November 2018 now sit at $2.1 billion. e state first hit $1 billion in all-time adult-use cannabis sales in October 2020, indicating the rate of sales has more than doubled in the last year. Year-to-date medical cannabis sales to both patients and caregivers, in turn, came in at $238 million as of Oct. 7. MIT-founded fusion energy firm to build 47-acre Devens campus A Cambridge firm developing fusion energy said in March it'll build a 47-acre site in Devens in the latest boost for the community's development efforts. Commonwealth Fusion Systems said it will occupy a campus to be developed by King Street Properties of Boston, which already announced separate plans for Devens first detailed last year. Construction of the CFS site, at 111 Hospital Road off the community's main thoroughfare, Jackson Road, will start this spring. e site will also include CFS's offices and advanced manufac- turing operations. e mostly wooded property is now owned by MassDevel- opment and has long been pitched as a potential major life sciences or research and development site. Construction is expected to cost $300 million. CFS is working in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technolo- gy to design and build what it says is the world's first net energy fusion device, a technology based on plasma physics and superconducting magnets. Siblings (from left) Jon, Ellen & Marc Rosen- feld own the CommCan marijuana dispensary in Millis. 800-262-1001 | iccreditunion.org Insured by NCUA We've got your business covered. Small to large and anything in between – Business Solutions We Would Like to Congratulate Our 2021 Winners! THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Hospital of South Deerfield Mercadante Funeral Home & Chapel of Worcester Melody L. Beach Consulting Group of Southbridge More Info at cne.bbb.org Valentin Gapontsev W

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