Semitool to Sykes – Ray Thompson brings family and former Semitool employees to diner

Thompson describes himself as a "bearings-and-seals kind of guy," who thinks in terms of "stainless steel, Teflon and aluminum." But while he is comfortable with engineering, he’s beginning to better understand hash browns.

Nearly a year ago, Ray Thompson was finalizing a deal to sell his high-tech firm Semitool to a California-based company for $364 million.

Today, he’s trying to figure out hash browns. And he’s finding he knows a lot more about microchips and robots than fried potatoes.

Thompson once ran one of the Flathead Valley’s biggest employers, but after Semitool was sold to Applied Materials Inc. last December, he found enough time to pursue an endeavor he had considered years earlier: the purchase of Sykes in downtown Kalispell.

By Myers Reece

Full Story: http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/semitool_to_sykes/20055/