Sat on a hilltop encompassed by trees in Wilton, an approximately 260 year old red barn houses the pieces for ion gun systems, electron gun systems, cathodes, multi-CF hardware, detectors and eV parts, as well as the tools to make this equipment.
For 57 years, the Kimball Physics campus has stood in Wilton and over the years, the company has acquired many other old and traditional New England homes to build their products and provide offices for scientists.
In May, Dr. Charles “Chuck” Kimball Crawford, the founder of Kimball Physics passed away. Since then, Abigail LePage, president and CEO, has become the owner and has no plans to leave the charm New England has to offer.
“We don’t want to leave the hill. It’s part of who we are, so we’ll figure it out,” LePage said.
Despite past struggles with access to energy and lack of an industrial friendly environment, the Kimball Physics team continues to work with what they’ve got.
Chuck’s legacy
Crawford graduated from the Massachusetts Institution of Technology in 1962. During his time as a graduate student, he worked work electron beam optics and vacuum technology at the beginning of both fields which influenced his business later on.
He worked as a professor for eleven years, and during that time started to develop a cost-effective and more efficient modular vacuum instrument which directly shaped the production of eV Parts at Kimball Physics.
Eventually, Crawford founded Kimball Physics on the hilltop in Wilton on acres owned by his family since 1801 and named his company after Kimball Heights Farm, his family’s farm found at the top of the hill.
For over 50 years, he worked to expand his business and develop the science and technology behind charged particle beams and UHV vacuum system components.
About six years ago, he stepped away from the company leaving LePage in charge, and in spring he passed away at 88-years-old.
“A lot of us feel pretty strongly that he built this wonderful business, which we all get to come to every day, or at least five days a week,” LePage said.
As a team, Kimball Physics wants to protect and continue his legacy of combining the advancement of humankind with “doing good physics”.
“We try to keep that going in honor of him, and because also our products are needed,” LePage said.
Expansion
When wondering around the Kimball Physics campus, its hard to find a building that looks like it holds tools or equipment used for science.
Down the road from the old red barn, Mrs. Wood’s home has become the micromanufacturing department of Kimball Physics after it was bought by Crawford.
With cathodes made in the main house, the garage is used for testing the temperature and strength of the product before its sent to the customer.
“It’s amazing what goes on in a little house,” LePage said.
Most recently, adding to the list of hard-to-find-industrial- buildings, the company is expanding to a bunker previously owned by the founder. Invisible to the road, the new building almost doubles the space Kimball Physics currently uses.
With a fireproof concrete building, LePage said they are excited for a more traditional, industrial environment to work in. While the building is still under development, Kimball Physics plans to build their large scale disc cathodes in the new space.
LePage takes the helm
Starting at Kimball Physics in 1998 as a laboratory technician, LePage worked her way up to president and CEO of the company in 2020. This means leading the team is not new to LePage.
In addition to being able to talk about their work and products for hours, LePage feels confident in her coworkers.
“I’m excited. We have such a great team … I think we have the energy. We’re motivated, so I’m excited for what’s coming,” she said.
With the new space from the bunker and over 40 acres of land, LePage said down the line Kimball Physics could continue to grow to house their equipment and products.
“If we’ve grown that much and have to do that, that’d be a good thing,” she said.
For now, LePage feels happy with the way things are, but like her predecessor, she’s excited by growth in their field while continuing to respect the New England wilderness around them.
“We’re up here in the beautiful nature and we don’t want to be messing it up,” LePage said.