Munich, Germany 11/30/12; Tokyo, Japan 12/3/12—Konica Minolta Optics has acquired German firm Instrument Systems effective December 1 for an undisclosed amount. Instrument Systems provides LED light source and other lighting-related measurement systems based on spectroscopy. Headquartered in Munich with 99 employees, the company’s fiscal 2012 sales grew 26.8% to €30.3 million ($40.4 million = €0.75 […]

Radnor, PA 12/4/12—VWR International has acquired France-based Labonord and Belgium-based Switch for undisclosed amounts. Labonord supplies consumables and chemicals, including histology products. Switch manufactures cytology and histology reagents and dyes under the Q-Path brand, which are sold in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Labonord is a Switch distributor.

Solid phase extraction (SPE) is among the most widely used sample preparation techniques for chemical and biological analyses. SPE is used to purify a compound by concentrating liquid phase components onto a solid phase substrate and extracting the target analytes. Greater sample complexity and more sensitive instrumentation have driven the need for SPE advancements. Also […]

Instrument and laboratory product companies have been building manufacturing facilities in developing nations for years (see IBO 3/15/11). Such facilities offer more than lower manufacturing costs, as they encompass several components of a company’s strategy for the country and surrounding region. Among these components are expanding local R&D, offering local products and services, and meeting […]

Tokyo, Japan 12/10/12; Tokyo Japan 12/12/12; Tokyo, Japan 12/12/12—Hitachi High-Technologies and SII NanoTechnology, a unit of Seiko Instruments, have announced that the companies’ merger will proceed (see IBO 5/31/12, 8/15/12). The acquisition is expected to be completed by January 1, 2013. The announcement follows the decision by the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) that the […]