Company Announcements

Nikon and JEOL announced a business alliance in February, including market and technology developments. Areas of cooperation include correlative microscopy. Nikon also made an investment in JEOL.

In April, Anasys licensed a US Department of Energy Oak Ridge National Laboratory technology that allows for simultaneous chemical and physical characterization through the combination of AFM and MS.

JPK Instruments opened an office in Shanghai, China, in May and appointed Ragona Scientific as a distributor for the eastern US and Canada.

First quarter FEI sales grew 2.3%, 1.4% organically, to $226.3 million (see IBO 4/30/14). Acquisitions contributed 1.1% to sales growth, and currency headwinds were 0.2%. Industry sales grew 7.4%, 6.7% organically, to account for 47% of revenues. Science revenue fell 1.9%, 2.8% organically, to make up 53%. Total sales in the US/Canada and Asia-Pacific/Rest of World grew 5.2% and 3.5% excluding currency to make up 32% and 38% of revenues, respectively. European sales declined 1.9% on a currency-neutral basis to make up 30%. Adjusted operating profit rose 8.5% to $74.1 million. The company lowered its 2014 revenue growth outlook from 10%–14% to 8%–10% due to the shortfall in first quarter revenues.

In May, Leica Microsystems and MBF Bioscience partnered to offer Leica’s microscopes fully integrated with MBF’s Neurolucida and Sterio Investigator software in the US for analyzing cells in neuroscience research.

Product Introductions

ND-MDT launched in February the Titanium AFM, stating it’s the first AFM with a self-aligning, multiple-purpose cartridge for fast, automated tip exchange. It features a 38-probe cartridge and new HybriD Mode suited for nano-mechanical testing.

In March, Zeiss introduced the Zeiss Promotech imaging system for materials analysis. It enables the connection and access of multiple microscopes through the Matscope imaging app. It is offered in four stand variations.

Hiden Analytical introduced a modular range of UHV secondary ion MS-based surface and surface diagnostics tools.

JEOL and Nikon introduced the MiXcroscopy technique for the integration of FE-SEM and optical microscopy, featuring their respective JSM-7000 series and ECLIPSE LV-N series.

In April, Oxford Instruments Asylum Research introduced the MFP-3D Infinity AFM, featuring higher resolution and new software features, including the Fast Force Curve Mapping mode for high-speed capture and analysis of force-distance curves.

In May, JEOL launched the JEM-ARM300F TEM, which can achieve a resolution of 63 pm in scanning TEM image mode at an accelerating voltage of 300 kV. The annual sales target is 10 units.