Cynosure To Stay In Westford, Double Workforce
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After considering a move to Burlington following the acquisition of Palomar Medical Technologies earlier this year, Westford-based Cynosure has decided to stay in town, signing a 13-year lease at the Westford Corporate Center. The company is currently renovating additional space there to accommodate the Palomar workforce.
When Westford-based Cynosure Inc. announced it would acquire its competitor, Palomar Medical Technologies, in March, it seemed to spell the end for the aesthetic laser manufacturer’s presence in town.
Cynosure had leased space in the Westford Corporate Office Park since 2005, but in acquiring Burlington-based Palomar, Cynosure would also take ownership of its 130,000-square-foot building in Burlington.
According to Timothy Baker, Cynosure’s chief financial officer and chief operating officer, it seemed to follow that the company would move its existing employees into that space.
CFO: We Didn’t Want To Be In Real Estate
But after Normandy Realty Partners, owner of the park, made Cynosure a “very attractive” 13-year lease deal that would allow it to expand its footprint and move all former Palomar employees into the buildings at 3 and 5 Carlisle Rd., the company changed plans, notifying investors during a July conference call that it would maintain its current headquarters.
Rather than head southeast to Burlington with 150 employees, about 150 will be relocated to Westford beginning in 2014. The move should be complete by June, according to Baker.
Baker said Normandy’s lease proposal, which was brokered by commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, wasn’t the only reason Cynosure reconsidered.
“The more we looked at it … based on our culture, we didn’t want to be in the real estate business,” Baker said. He added that the change in commute is negligible for Palomar employees, while a move to Burlington would have increased commuting time for many of Cynosure’s Westford-based employees, mostly due to heavier traffic.
Cynosure reaped $25.8 million in the sale of Palomar’s Burlington office building. The company signed an agreement that allows employees to continue working there as Cynosure’s expanded headquarters is prepared in Westford, according to Baker. That includes finishing 13,000 square feet of unfinished space in its current building, as well as 60,000 square feet in a building across the way. In total, Cynosure will occupy 144,541 square feet when the project is complete.
One-Stop Shopping
The Westford headquarters will house the full gamut of operations, from marketing and sales to engineering and manufacturing of Cynosure’s lasers, according to Baker. Cynosure also has a facility in Fremont, Calif., as well as 12 offices throughout Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
Now that the company plans to stay in Westford for the next 13 years, the company is now focusing on capitalizing on the broader product platform it secured through the Palomar acquisition, a deal that cost Cynosure $287 million.
“It really allows us to be more of a one-stop shop…for light-based technology,” Baker said.
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