BEAM Spotlight Series: Dave Litwinovich — Three Decades of Engineering Excellence

As part of our BEAM Spotlight Series (BEAM: Engineering), we’re proud to highlight the people behind the precision—those who quietly push boundaries and build the systems that keep Andover Corporation moving forward. Few embody that spirit more than Dave Litwinovich, our Vice President of Technology, who has spent nearly three decades transforming not just our engineering department, but the entire foundation of our production capabilities.

A 27-Year Evolution

Dave’s journey with Andover began where many innovations do—on the ground floor. He started in our coating department, learning the intricacies of thin-film deposition firsthand before becoming a one-man engineering team. Over time, he helped build the department into the structured, high-performing group it is today. Now in a leadership role, Dave continues to guide and empower that team while staying closely involved in the systems and processes that keep Andover’s production moving forward.

His approach to leadership is as impactful as it is humble. Dave leads by example, blending hands-on mentorship with room for independent problem-solving. “I try to give our engineers direction, support, and room to solve problems themselves,” he explains. “Sometimes they make mistakes—but often, they come up with solutions I never would’ve thought of.” His mentoring style is quiet but powerful: supportive, knowledgeable, and unafraid to let others learn by doing.

Automation: From Trial to Transformation

In the early days, Dave was a one-man engineering department—designing, maintaining, and improving Andover’s coating systems by himself. That changed when Joshua Jones, now our Operations Manager, joined the team. Together, they were given the space and trust to tackle a major challenge: automating Coating Chamber 7.

The process took nearly a year, filled with setbacks and hands-on problem-solving, but it laid the groundwork for something larger. Once they established a repeatable automation model, they expanded it across the facility—evolving from a single automated chamber to a nearly fully automated coating process.

“By designing and building the systems ourselves, we can really optimize yields and capabilities for the chambers,” Dave explains. “It also allows us to use similar parts from chamber to chamber, which helps with redundancy and makes things easier to troubleshoot when something fails.”

This approach has become one of Andover’s key strengths: in-house chamber design, automation, and vertical integration. From vacuum welding to high-sensitivity monitoring systems, every part of our coating operation is built and controlled under one roof.

The result?

• Faster turnaround times
• Reduced cost of production
• Improved consistency and scalability
• The ability to run production 24/7 without sacrificing quality

Each improvement enhances value, delivery speed, and product performance for our customers. What began as a small-scale project became a cornerstone of how Andover delivers high-precision optics quickly, reliably, and at scale.

What Drives Him

Even with all his success, Dave remains grounded by his original motivation: the joy of solving problems and watching others grow. “Every day, a customer brings us a new challenge,” he says. “Figuring out how to solve that—and watching our team grow in the process—that’s what makes it all worth it.”

And while he enjoys cutting-edge technology such as our Sidai automated chamfering cell, Dave still treasures a century-old Ford wrench that’s helped build many of the chambers we use today. That blend of old-school grit and new-school automation perfectly sums up his philosophy—and the spirit of Andover.

This feature marks our latest installment in the BEAM Spotlight Series, focusing on the people driving Andover’s engineering excellence forward.

A big thank-you to Dave for sharing his time, insights, and the story behind the systems that power our production floor.

Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes stories from the team who make precision optics possible.