Corvallis startup will open ‘smart windows’ factory in Salem, using technology developed at HP

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Startup Corvallis plans to rent 20 people to a new factory staff in Salem, where it will produce “smart windows” based on technology that was originally developed in the HP Inc. laboratory.

The five-year-old electrokinety crown applies the film to the glass window to darken them, or change their color, to adjust the interior lighting or save energy. Solar-powered window technology can automatically adjust or controlled wirelessly by building managers.

Crown eraded his technology to the commercial building manager and had an agreement to supply the window to the Houston office building this year. The company licenses its technology from HP, which has a sophisticated research laboratory in Corvallis and Vancouver.

The new Salem factory, in room 27,000 square feet, will cut and assemble window inserts and apply electrokinetic films made at the Crown facility in Corvallis.

The crown has employed 31, two-thirds of them in Oregon, including some of the former HP employees. The corvallis head office company is in advanced technology building and the manufacture of the Institute at Oregon State University.

Crown began trading its shares in public in public in 2020 than pursuing investment from venture capitalists. The company is now registered with the Nasdaq Exchange. It’s an unusual route for startup with minimal income, because it becomes a public carrying significant regulatory costs and pressure investors.

The company reported revenue in its last fiscal year, which ended on March 31, and operating losses of $ 19.4 million. The crown supporters include Hudson Pacific Properties, who plan to use Oregon Company technology in several buildings.

The crown stock traded around $ 2.50 per share, giving a market value company around $ 35 million.