An Idea was Born
In 1993, OMAX Corporation became the first company to make abrasive waterjet machining more precise, affordable, and easy to use. We are proud that the revolutionary work we have done has helped make abrasive waterjet machining one of the most versatile manufacturing technologies today. Now, two decades later, we are the global leader in advanced abrasive waterjet systems and have made it possible for virtually anyone to go as far as creating high-precision complex 3D parts on our machines.
Mission
To provide precise, easy-to-use, cost-effective, standardized, reliable, and high quality abrasive-jet machining systems to the manufacturing industry, with strong after-sale services.
One Company, Everything You Need
At OMAX we keep everything under one roof to provide you with U.S. engineered and manufactured products and a company you can trust. From our home here in Kent, Washington, we are able to offer everything from fully tested abrasive waterjets and accessories, to in-house customer service.
Innovative Visionaries
Meet our Founders
When Dr. John Cheung, and Dr. John Olsen founded OMAX Corporation, they already had decades of experience working with abrasive waterjet technology. Upon establishing the company, they developed and combined a new motion control technology with proprietary software to create an accurate, affordable abrasive waterjet machine that was unlike anything else on the market. Today, these two innovators remain highly engaged in product development and work closely with company engineers to continuously introduce new technology for an ever-evolving industry.
Decades of Experience and Expertise
We have the largest in-house waterjet systems R&D team in the world and engineering staff with hundreds of years of combined waterjet technology experience. It does not stop here, as our technical support and customer service teams also bring decades of abrasive waterjet know-how to our customers.
R&D and Engineering
to find out
over 550 years
Service & Support
to find out
over 400 years
Software
to find out
over 100 years
Awards & Milestones
Great things happen when you are committed to continuous technology improvements, helping customers become more profitable, and focusing on the greater good of the manufacturing industry. Here are some of the awards and milestones we have accomplished.
Download our list of significant achievements (.pdf) »
- Frost & Sullivan Product Value Differentiation Award (2004-2005)
- OMAX helped over 210 startup companies achieve their goal
- 1st to work with STEM High School Robotics program
- 1st non-EDM machine featured on the cover of EDM Today
- Received three Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies Awards
- 1st Fortune 500 company bought an OMAX machine in 1995
- 1st in the industry to introduce waterjet to high schools
- 1st with the most precise large format bridge waterjet
- Introduced extreme precision waterjet in 2004
- The most extensive array of accessories in the industry
- Retrofittable accessories - obsolescence is obsolete
- Advanced direct drive pumps with 1000-hour operation
- Introduced OMAX Mobile JMC for DoD for theater use
- 100% reliability composite piercing with drill accessory
- Our Tilt-A-Jet is the only taper elimination cutting head
- OMAX machines are in over 150 educational institutions
We're Here for You
Just call, email or visit. Contact us »
Headquarters
21409 72nd Ave S, Kent, WA 98032. United States
Telephone: 1-800-838-0343 or 253-872-2300
Fax: 253-872-6190
Email us »
Training
Participate in comprehensive learning opportunities that maximize your investment. Learn more »
Event Schedule
See our technology in action and chat with our
applications experts at trade shows, open houses and seminars.
See event dates »
Sales Network
Our domestic and global sales network is ready to help you find the right waterjet technology for your needs.
Technical Support
Have a question or concern about your waterjet? We’re just an email or phone call away. Learn more »
In the News
Get the scoop on our latest products, technology advancements and company happenings. Read press releases, articles and more »
Dr. John Cheung
CEO
Dr. Cheung's history with waterjets and abrasive waterjets goes back to the beginning of the modern industry. After graduating with a PhD in Mechanics and Materials, Dr. Cheung started working with waterjets in 1973 as a research engineer in the United States Bureau of Mines.
Dr. Cheung led early feasibility studies on abrasivejet cutting and drilling for mining and construction applications, and ten years later was president of Flow Industries (from 1982 to 1987).
In addition to being an accomplished engineer, Dr. Cheung also has extensive business experience, having founded or co-founded:
- ADMAC, Inc. (merged with Flow Systems to form
- Flow International in 1987)
- UTILX
- FlowDril
- and of course OMAX
Dr. Cheung is experienced in product development and managing start-up technology-based companies through initial public offering (IPO). Financing projects included seed capital, venture capital, R&D Partnerships, corporate bonds, bank loans and IPO. Management experience includes project management, engineering management and general management as well as start-up, acquisition and divestiture of business entities in foreign countries.
Dr. John H. Olsen
VP of Operations
Key individuals pioneer the future of emerging industries. The waterjet and abrasivejet industry counts Dr. John H. Olsen of the OMAX Corporation among its innovative visionaries.
From the beginning of his career, Dr. Olsen was interested in liquids and how they moved. His 1966 doctoral thesis in the field of Fluid Mechanics at MIT was a harbinger of things to come in this nascent industry. In 1970, he established a research and development partnership that brought waterjet technology to a small company called Flow Research.
Today, Flow Research spin-offs account for more than $300 million in revenues.
The technology is commonly used in countless and diverse industries: paper, automotive, aerospace, food, metalworking, oil and gas, utility excavation, concrete scarifying and cleaning, and many more.
Dr. Olsen's initial technology focus was in the design, development and manufacture of the high-pressure pump. His work has included the most successful commercial designs of both the original intensifier pump and the advanced direct drive pump.
Dr. Olsen's success in introducing waterjet technology to the industry led him to see the even greater potential for abrasivejets in the average machine shop. But programming the jet's behavior had to be made simple.
The revolution in personal computing power made Dr. Olsen's vision a reality. He founded the OMAX Corporation in 1993. Since then, OMAX has become the leading developer and manufacturer of easy-to-use machine tools based upon the abrasivejet cutting process.
With over a dozen patents, and nearly as many publications to his name, Dr. Olsen continues to be a driving force in the waterjet and abrasivejet industries. He is currently the Vice President of Operations of the OMAX Corporation in Kent, Washington.