For Inneos, being part of the Lake Tahoe community means more than having a high-tech manufacturing facility in the region. It means investing in the people, organizations, culture, and the local economy that make Tahoe a special place to live and work.
That is why, since the Tahoe Knight Monsters hockey team launched their inaugural season in 2024, Inneos has been proud to support the team as a sponsor. What began alongside the arrival of professional hockey in the Tahoe region has grown into a partnership that reflects Inneos’ commitment to being an active member of the local community.
A Partnership That Started With the Knight Monsters
The Tahoe Knight Monsters began ECHL play during the 2024-25 season, bringing professional hockey to the newly opened Tahoe Blue Event Center in Stateline, Nevada. The team was created with a goal that extends beyond hockey: bringing people together and making a positive impact in the Tahoe community.
For Inneos, that mission resonated immediately.
Inneos has operated in Zephyr Cove, Nevada, for over 25 years, making the company a part of Tahoe’s business and manufacturing community. Today, the small-but-closeknit Zephyr Cove facility is one of Inneos’ U.S. operations, supporting the company’s vertically integrated approach to designing, manufacturing, and testing photonics products.
Supporting the Knight Monsters gives Inneos an opportunity to connect with the community outside of the laboratory and manufacturing floor. Hockey provides a shared passion and experience that brings employees, families, customers, neighbors, and visitors together, creating a natural way for a technology company to participate in the place it calls home.
Celebrating the People Who Serve Tahoe
One of the most meaningful parts of the partnership is Inneos’ sponsorship of First Responders Weekend.
Each year, the Knight Monsters dedicate a weekend to recognizing local law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMTs, and other first responders. Inneos has sponsored the event since the team’s inaugural season, helping make First Responders Weekend a recurring part of its community involvement.
This particular event is about more than a hockey game. Inneos’ products and technology are integrated into the United States military as well as local medical facilities, making the opportunity to recognize those who perform mission-critical work every day especially meaningful. First Responders Weekend gives Inneos and the Tahoe community a chance to come together and acknowledge the people who work on the front lines to protect and support our community.
In 2026-27, First Responders Weekend will once again feature Inneos as the presenting sponsor, with the Knight Monsters hosting a weekend dedicated to local heroes. The weekend includes the Guns ‘N Hoses hockey games, giving local first responders an opportunity to compete on the ice before the Knight Monsters take the rink. For Inneos, supporting this event is a natural extension of the company’s commitment to the people and communities that rely on mission-critical technology every day.
A Personal Connection to Tahoe
The relationship between Inneos and Tahoe also has a personal dimension.
The company’s Founders have longstanding ties to the Tahoe region. Inneos’ current CEO and Founder, Brian Peters, has been coming to the north shore of Tahoe since 1974, prior to taking up residency in the region. What started as a cabin built by hand by neighbors and shared collectively for summer and winter vacations has evolved into a tradition that has transcended four generations. But Brian is not the only “local.” Inneos has over a dozen employees who have resided in the Tahoe-Reno-Carson-Minden area, some since the ’90s.
That history makes the company’s Zephyr Cove facility especially significant. Inneos’ relationship with Tahoe is not simply the result of selecting a location for a manufacturing operation. It is connected to the company’s leadership and its broader history in the region.
Today, Inneos continues to manufacture advanced optical components and systems at its U.S. facilities, including its Zephyr Cove operation. The company designs and manufactures technologies used to move high-bandwidth data through demanding environments, while maintaining a commitment to U.S.-based manufacturing and vertically integrated production.
That technical work may take place behind the scenes, but Inneos believes its presence in Tahoe should be visible in another way, too: through meaningful participation in the community.
More Than a Sponsorship
Sports partnerships can be about visibility, but Inneos sees its relationship with the Tahoe Knight Monsters as something more lasting.
The partnership provides a way for Inneos to support local events, celebrate the people who serve the community, and give employees an opportunity to participate in the excitement surrounding professional hockey in Tahoe.
Most importantly, it reflects a broader philosophy at Inneos: strong connections matter.
The company also believes in building strong connections with its customers, employees, partners, and communities. Its own company story describes those relationships as connections built to last, with integrity and purpose.
The Tahoe Knight Monsters partnership is one example of that philosophy in action.
As the Knight Monsters continue to grow their presence in Tahoe, Inneos is proud to grow alongside them, continuing to support First Responders Weekend and looking for new opportunities to contribute to the community surrounding its Zephyr Cove facility.
From photonics to professional hockey, the connection may not be an obvious one at first. But for Inneos, it is simple: when you are part of a community, you should be part of its story.
And in Tahoe, Inneos is proud to be part of that story.
