Barr Associates was founded in 1971 by Edgar E. Barr, one of the most highly respected names in the optical filter industry. Ed was a pioneer in the production of optical filters in the 1950's. Many of his ideas and concepts are still being used today, not only at Barr Associates, but throughout the industry.

Today, Barr Associates carries on the proud heritage of the Barr name. We feel very strongly that our success and growth have been the direct result of building upon Ed's philosophy of doing business. That philosophy is to work closely with customers to provide the highest quality product at a fair price, supported by responsive and continuing service. Ed Barr accepted no compromises in his work and neither do we.

For over 25 years, design engineers using optical filters have brought their most difficult design challenges to Barr Associates. In the beginning, they came to us because our founder, Edgar E. Barr, was a pioneer in the field. Today, they keep coming back to us... time after time, new product design after new product design... because of the mutually beneficial partnerships we've developed over the years.

Our customers know they can depend on Barr Associates to provide practical, cost-effective solutions that meet their real goals and objectives... not just their original specifications. In many instances, this means a close interaction between the customer's design engineer and the Barr design team to refine project definitions, to recommend alternative approaches, and to suggest improvements to the customer that will result in better performance.

Besides our Partnership Attitude, several other factors make Barr Associates unique in the optical filter industry. First, we offer no "off-the-shelf" products. We recognize that every design project has its own unique requirements and deserves a customized, one-of-a-kind solution that provides the highest level of performance. What makes us different is that we can offer this no-compromise solution at a very competitive price.

The second differentiator between Barr Associates and others in the field is that we have no sales force. In our view, the role of the sales person is to take orders for products... which is perfectly fine for companies with catalogs and standard products. But because our goal is to fit our product solution to your exact requirements, you work directly with the design engineer or product manager who can best coordinate your project. Senior management at Barr Associates becomes involved right at the beginning to put together the most qualified and experienced team for your particular application challenge.