The story
Avo Photonics was founded in 2003 by a group of engineers and laser physicists led by Dr. Joseph L. Dallas, co-creator of NASA's Space Lidar Technology Center. Avo was acquired by Halma, p.l.c., in 2011 as part of their global photonics division.
From Wikipedia’s article on Avo Photonics, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4