Our Company
Founded in 1991 as a 100% employee-owned company, Chroma Technology is a leading manufacturer and OEM supplier of highly precise optical filters using thin-film coating technology. Our reputation is built on our dedicated customer service, including free technical and applications support. We remain committed to serving the scientific and technical communities in their pursuit of the scientific endeavor.
Chroma’s product portfolio provides solutions for industries ranging from the life sciences and agriculture to manufacturing, inspection, security and aerospace. The broad array of applications served include fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, biomedical instrumentation and surgical devices, machine vision, multi spectral imaging, remote sensing, LiDAR, colorimetry and astronomy.
Profile
Company Type:
Employee-Owned
Founded:
May 1991
Locations:
Vermont, US
Olching, Germany
Xiamen City, China
Yokohama, Japan
President:
Paul Millman
Industry:
Biotechnology
Employees:
200+
As a certified B-Corp., Chroma Technology seeks to change its share of our world by example.
We believe we demonstrate how a for-profit company can exercise capitalism to the benefit of people and the environment. We think that the profits of honest work, ingenuity and sweat equity can be shared equally; that workers can be owners without having to be entrepreneurs; that the gap in pay between the highest and lowest paid employee needn’t be a chasm; that health care costs shouldn’t interfere with providing health care and that, though our hair may turn gray as we approach retirement age, it needn’t be from anxiety about how to afford retirement.
Each employee has a share of the responsibility for Chroma’s success, and each earns a fair share of the rewards.
Where We Live and Work
Vermont is where Chroma calls home. Like Chroma, Vermont is unique. And like our famous maple syrup, New England-style IPAs, dairy farms, artisanal cheeses, covered bridges and spectacular scenery, Vermont is genuine and independent. Here you will find a palpable sense of place and community. What you won’t find much of are crime, traffic congestion, smoggy skies, billboards, shopping malls and urban sprawl. Vermont routinely ranks among the top 5 healthiest states to live in (United Health Foundation).
Outdoors is where you will find many of us, even in the winter. Vermont is a bicycling mecca for many, with the beautiful Green Mountains and rolling hillside farms serving as a backdrop to many challenging and scenic routes. For adrenaline junkies, mountain biking doesn’t get much better, and we’re also home to an established mountain and trail running community. When the weather turns cold, enjoy the best skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing in the East. Home to the first downhill ski slopes and ski jumps in America, Vermont routinely produces U.S. Olympic medal winners and is home to many nationally acclaimed ski resorts.
Add a career with Chroma to four seasons of outdoor activities and a healthy work/life balance is waiting for you.
Commitment to People
Chroma is 100% employee owned: each employee has a share of the responsibility for Chroma’s success, and each earns a fair share of the rewards. We value the economic and social needs of the individual as well as the needs of the company as a whole. This is how we create the committed, involved and healthy employee body that is key to achieving our mission. As an employee-owned company, Chroma is able to offer an extremely generous package of benefits and compensation.
Compensation & Benefits
- Profit sharing (both cash and stock)
- Full coverage for medical and dental
- Generous retirement plans
- Employee events
- Personal and professional development
Wellness
Employees can contribute to flexible spending accounts and take advantage of wellness opportunities:
- Reimbursement of up to $32/month for gym memberships/fitness classes and on-site wellness activities.
- 80hrs vacation time, 89hrs sick/personal time, 10 paid holidays, parental leave, bereavement, disability
Culture & Engagement
Employees' personal and professional development is supported via regular access to training and conferences, as well as a formal education assistance benefit. A sense of community is fostered with regular employee social events, including on-site BBQs and off-site parties.
Experiences in Employee Ownership
“Experiences in Employee Ownership” is a project Sam Edwards developed while performing historical research at and for Chroma Technology Corp. in the Fall of 2016. While Chroma was the primary participant organization, several others were included in the project throughout the Northeast. One of the goals of the project is to highlight the world of employee ownership in ways that realistically shade it with both the bad and the good, the easy and the difficult, and the entirely possible ways that people are currently reshaping our economy.
Jay Reichman Interview
Interview by Sam Edwards
Paul Millman Interview
Interview by Sam Edwards
Dick Stewart Interview
Interview by Sam Edwards
Wendy Cross Interview
Interview by Sam Edwards
Francis Kebbell Interview
Interview by Sam Edwards
Supporting Our Communities
Chroma Technology is an active and caring member of the community in which we live as well as the scientific and technical communities that we serve. We are committed to taking a proactive role in both social responsibility and environmental sustainability in all facets of business. We give back to these communities by providing jobs, offering financial support to local nonprofit service agencies, sponsoring educational opportunities for students of science and technology, and promoting employee ownership.
Giving Back
We walk the walk. Chroma carries our mission into the communities in which we live and work, sharing the responsibility and the rewards for the better of the whole.
Education & Awards
Honoring our comitment to supporting the sciences, we award a grant to a promising young scientist who demonstrates inguinty and innovation in imaging every year. We also encourage students from the Bellows High School to pursue further education by granting scholarships to those who plan to attend a two or four year college program in STEM.
Anne Heidenthal Award
View past award recipients
Robert B. Edmunds Scholarship
View past award recipients
Investing in Shared Values
Our home is in both in the Southern Vermont area and in the larger scientific community. We give back to both through charitable donations and volunteer efforts within our local community, and providing numerous sponsorships to scientific and academic programs.
Local Communities
Over 100 local organizations
Scientific Communities
Supporting researchers worldwide
Energy Efficiency
By investing in energy efficiency when it built its new facility in Rockingham in 2003, Chroma Technology is now saving money as well as protecting the environment.
- 475,000 kw-hours of electricity saved
- 6,000 gallons of propane per year
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) - 75.1 tons
- Nitrogen Oxide (NO) - 90.7 lbs
- Carbon Monoxide (CO) - 11.9 lbs
- Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) - 1.1 lbs
- Nitrous Oxide (N20) - 5.4 lbs
- Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) - 3 lbs
Socially Responsible Partners
We partner with organizations who align with our comitment to social responsibility.
Proactive Sustainability
Chroma invests time and resources in developing innovative ideas to help reduced the overall impact on the environment. Here is a sampling of a few of Chroma's innovative environmental projects.
- Retaining Pond
- Recycled Packaging
- Packaging Peanuts
Left: Arial view of Chroma's 2003 facility. In 2018 Chroma added 25,000 sq ft, nearly doubling our footprint. Top right: front view of Chroma Bottom right: Retaining pond built on site to minimize errosion to a nearby bank.
Accolades & Recognition
