William Burgess – 16 in 2016

VP of Operations, Power Technology Incorporated
20-Year Saline County Resident

From the simple beginnings inside a home garage in 1969 to a global high tech company, William Burgess and his family have built Power Technology Incorporated into one of the leading providers of laser products.

“We specialize in laser products that are typically embedded in other products, traditionally in the analytical equipment business,” Burgess said.

Power Technology specializes in the design, development and manufacturing of lasers for a range of products and applications in fields that include science, biomedicine, industrial, defense and security. “We exported to about two dozen countries last year,” he said. “We have international distributors in 12 countries that cover roughly 20 different countries between them.”

Recently, Power Technology began using its laser technology in a more mainstream application enjoyed by the general public. In December, the company installed Arkansas’ first laser illuminated projector inside a movie theater. The company’s Illumina Cinema Laser System was installed at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater in downtown Little Rock, placing the cinema in rare company among an elite group powered by laser light.

“Theaters are losing ticket sales to the living room,” Burgess said. “We now have HD up to 4K televisions in the living room, coupled with surround sound. The delivery systems have improved, so ticket sales to theaters have fallen off.”

By upgrading the projector to a laser, the colors are more vivid and 3D films are brighter. “The laser light source can last 20,000 to 30,000 hours,” he said. “By comparison, xenon bulbs (the industry standard) may only last 800 hours. They’re expensive lamps, running between $800 and $1,500. If you’re replacing those three to four times a year, it suddenly makes sense to invest in a longer-lasting laser technology.”

In addition to providing advanced laser technologies to industry leaders across multiple fields, Burgess is also always on the lookout for the best and brightest to join his team.

Toward finding those prospective employees, he volunteers as a mentor to students in the engineering department at Bryant High School. He also serves on advisory boards for the school, as well as the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

“(Power Technology) is unique in Arkansas,” he said. “It’s not agriculture or aerospace. It’s a little different being a high-tech company in area known predominately as flyover country. Our long-term goal is the continue growth and expansion of company while continuing to create jobs,” he added.