The Owens Design Team
John Apgar, Chairman
“When Bill Owens founded Owens Design in 1983, his vision was to create a company where talented engineers and technicians worked together to design and build manufacturing equipment for the emerging high technology companies of the day. Since that time, Owens has developed custom equipment for every new wave of technology emerging from Silicon Valley, from hard disk drives, semiconductors, solar cells, energy storage, medical devices and consumer mobile products.
“After Bill retired in 2003, we have continued to build on our core values of mutual respect, transparency, collaboration, and commitment to quality. I am very proud that we continue to grow our company and our customers’ trust to solve their most demanding equipment problems, which, in turn, has allowed us to attract and retain the industry’s most talented equipment development professionals. Today, we can boast a knowledgeable and committed workforce of over 70 people in our 45,000 ft2 Fremont, CA facilities.
“Looking forward, I see an exciting future continuing to help our customers manufacture their emerging technologies and creating long lasting partnerships based on the highest levels of commitment and integrity.”
Bob Fung, CEO
“John invited me to join Owens Design in 2003 to develop and grow the engineering team. Since that time, our team has completed hundreds of design and build projects working with some of the most exciting companies in the Silicon Valley. We have grown our engineering capacity, expanded our software capabilities, and strengthened our expertise in a variety of new process technologies. Through it all, I am proud that we have stayed true to our core values of respect, caring, collaboration and excellence while continuing our record of 100% delivery.
“In early 2016, I took on the role of President. I am dedicated to growing our company, enabling the success for existing and new customers, and providing growth, challenges and opportunities for our people.”
Etoli Wolff, VP of Sales
“About 15 years ago, while working at a startup as an engineering director looking for a competent supplier I ran into the Owens Design team. Since that time I started using Owens services and was amazed about the expediency and professionalism with which they addressed our challenges. In early 2014, John and Bob invited me to join the ranks to expand our markets and develop our customer base.
“Through the years I have seen the company grow and take on incredible challenges in markets as SEMI, Display, Biomed, Emerging Technologies and at the same time making our company a good place to work for our employees. I am really proud to work with such a talented group of people and looking forward to an even brighter future.“
Tony Smith, VP of Engineering
“Working at Owens Design for over 20 years, it still excites me to see client’s “ideas” and “goals” come in the front door and leave on a truck as complex pieces of machinery. To me, the joy isn’t just in solving our customer’s technical challenges, but in working with them to deliver a solution that meets all of their needs — budget constraints, internal tool acceptance, time to market, how to ramp manufacturing, difficult process implementation…every situation and challenge is unique.
“I am convinced this happens so consistently due to the culture which Owens has at its core — a unique blend of respect and care for each other, engineering discipline, creativity, and personal responsibility. In this atmosphere our employees can thrive, taking pride and a sense of joy in their amazing accomplishments.”
Lori Runyan, VP of Program Management
“Shortly after Bill Owens hired me as a Mechanical Design Engineer, I encountered a new experience working directly with customers. I found it rewarding to create and execute plans to bring their equipment to “life,” and my role in managing projects emerged.
“Program Management has since grown to become a critical part of our product development process. We now have five Program/Account Managers to support customers with all program phases from concept and proposal through equipment delivery and service. I am dedicated to deeply understanding the needs and challenges of both Owens Design and our customers to collaboratively strategize, craft and deliver effective business and technical solutions.”
Owens Design Team