Instrument Companies Showing Record Sales and Revenue in 2007

The expanded markets and increased demand for advanced instrumentation is proving lucrative for leading instrument manufacturing companies. Several manufacturers are reporting record growth in 2007. With analytical and life science markets providing excellent growth, many companies are posting record sales and improved profitability.

Thermo Fisher Scientific had a record Q3 with revenues of $2.40 billion, mainly as a result of its merger with Fisher Scientific in November 2006. “We are excited to report a record third quarter,” said Marjin Dekkers, president and CEO of Thermo Fisher Scientific. “We had solid revenue growth, led by high demand for life science and air quality instruments, specialty diagnostics products and biopharma services, as well as excellent adjusted EPS results. In addition, we continued our long track record of significant margin expansion by remaining focused on improving our operating performance.”

Agilent Technologies, Inc. has reported orders of $1.48 billion for the fourth fiscal quarter, 6 percent above one year ago. Revenues during the quarter were 9 percent above last year. "Agilent had a good fiscal fourth quarter, especially considering the continued divergent trends of our markets," said Bill Sullivan, Agilent president and CEO. "Bio-analytical markets were strong in both Chemical Analysis and Life Sciences, and across all geographies. Electronic measurement markets were very mixed, with strength in aerospace/defense and wireless R&D, a flat profile for wireless handset and electronic manufacturing test, and weakness in computer and semiconductor markets."

Sullivan noted that the Bio-Analytical segment grew at a double-digit pace for the sixth consecutive quarter, and that the segment operating margin was at a record level. "We are seeing sustained strength in our new Liquid Chromatograph, Mass Spectroscopy and Gas Chromatograph platforms, and Stratagene integration activities continue to go well.

Bruker BioSciences Corp. experienced a 25 percent revenue increase for the third quarter of 2007, compared to the third quarter of 2006. During the first nine months of 2007, revenue increased by 21 percent to $363.8 million, compared to revenue of $300.2 million during the first nine months of 2006.

Commenting on the third quarter, Frank Laukien, president and CEO, said, "We are pleased with our top-line performance in the third quarter, with all three operating divisions delivering double digit growth year-over-year. Moreover, we continue to improve gross profit margins and leverage our operating expenses, resulting in year-over-year improvements to our operating income margin."

Waters Corp. has reported a sales increase of 17 percent in Q3 2007 over Q3 2006, and for the first nine months of the year, the company saw and sales increase of 16 percent over the first nine months of 2006.

Driven by new technologies, improved capabilities and expanding markets, it appears that instrument companies, particularly those in analytical and life science, will continue to see strong sales and revenue growth in the near future.

Bruker BioSciences Corp. has entered into definitive agreements to acquire the companies of the privately held Bruker BioSpin group for $388 million in cash and for 57.5 million in Bruker BioSciences shares, valued at $526 million. The transaction is subject to Bruker BioSciences shareholder approval, customary regulatory approvals and financing, and is expected to close in early 2008. Frank Laukien, president and CEO of Bruker BioSciences, said, "This business combination will enable us to better leverage the Bruker brand and to increase our capabilities even further in many of the markets and geographies that we serve. We expect that a combined single public Bruker company will be beneficial to our customers, employees and suppliers, and will be advantageous to all Bruker BioSciences shareholders through significantly improved operating margins, net income margins, EPS and cash flows."

Bruker BioSpin designs, manufactures and distributes enabling life science and analytical research systems based on magnetic resonance core technology. Bruker BioSpin's technology platforms include nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), research MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), as well as superconducting magnets and superconducting wire. Bruker BioSpin is the worldwide technology and market leader in NMR, EPR and pre-clinical MRI, as well as in related superconducting magnet technology. For more information, please visit www.bruker-biospin.com.

The new combined company, consisting of Bruker BioSciences and the Bruker BioSpin group, is expected to be renamed Bruker Corp. and will have expected 2007 pro forma revenue in excess of $900 million, and over 3,700 employees serving its customers worldwide.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Launches New Total Sulfur Analyzer Providing Accurate Analyses for Improved Refinery Efficiency

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has launched a new Total Sulfur (TS) analyzer, the Thermo Scientific TS 4000. Further expanding on the TS 3000 routine analyzer, the TS 4000 incorporates the patent pending Thermo Scientific True Total Sulfur (TTS) technology, removing nitrogen interference thus providing true total sulfur results. This novel TTS technology is capable of determining trace level sulfur in Cetane Improver, offering high productivity performance allowing for accurate and precise analysis of sulfur levels in automotive fuels. The unique versatility, robustness and sensitivity of the analyzer make it ideally suited for a range of refinery and petroleum sample types with a high nitrogen concentration.

The unique TTS technology has been developed by researchers at Thermo Fisher in response to new regulations including the ASTM D5453 methodology implemented by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These regulations dictate strict limitations on the sulfur content levels in automotive fuels. Ultra-low sulfur diesels are already in use across much of Europe and Asia, and are expected to become a viable alternative to mainstream fuels by 2010.

The TTS technology defines the amount of nitric oxide (NO) added to the sample in the furnace, inhibiting the formation of SO 3, which cannot be detected using UV-F. This results in higher yield combustion of sulphur dioxide (SO 2), which can then be detected using UV-F. Featuring the TTS technology, and configured with a UV-F detection system, the Thermo Scientific TS 4000 analyzer is capable of detecting sulfur at extremely low levels in liquids solids and gas samples.

The design of the Insitec Voyager has evolved in response to solicited customer feedback and increasing demand for the consultancy service. Built for single person operation, the new unit is easily dismantled for transportation and can be assembled without the need for hand tools. It is simple to connect to the process, easy to clean and now has more communications options.

Insitec Voyager is a laser diffraction-based particle size analyzer for dry streams with particles in the size range 1 to 1,000 microns. Its flexibility and mobility make it particularly suitable for production facilities with multiple lines and/or for commissioning, optimization and troubleshooting applications. Measuring particle size up to four times per second, Insitec Voyager provides a continuous stream of real-time data for optimal control and understanding.

RS Safety Instrumented System

Yokogawa Electric Corp. has released an enhanced version of the ProSafe-RS Safety Instrumented System, the ProSafe-RS R1.03. To meet the latest safety instrumentation needs of the oil, petrochemical and other industries, the remote optical communications capability has been enhanced and a digital output module and a simulation test function have been added to this new version.

There is a growing emphasis on operational safety in the oil, natural gas, petrochemical and other industries that arises from the need to ensure a safe workplace and be a responsible corporate citizen by protecting the environment. Although distributed control systems (DCSs) and safety instrumented systems have conventionally been kept separate, high-level integration of their functions is increasingly required to strike the right balance between operational efficiency and safety.

To meet these needs, Yokogawa’s ProSafe-RS Safety Instrumented System has continuously strengthened its functions to work in conjunction with the CENTUM CS3000 R3 Integrated Production Control System. In particular, these enhancements have strengthened functions that improve efficiency by enabling instrumentation rooms to be placed in one central location.

By using optical bus repeaters, the ProSafe-RS controller and the I/O modules can now communicate at distances up to 50 km over a fiber optic cable. This enables the instrumentation rooms for individual processes and the safety instrumented controllers scattered throughout a large-scale plant to be placed in a single location. Furthermore, this increase in the communications range enables the monitoring and control of field devices for safety instrumentation that are installed in wellhead areas and other remote locations. In addition, a high-current digital output module for long distance wiring has been added to the module lineup.

A simulation test function has been added that uses software to test the communication with DCSs, operation monitoring and communication between safety instrumented system controllers. With this function, these simulations can even be run when a connection with the hardware has not been established, improving engineering work efficiency. However, to carry out these simulations a separate test software package for the CENTUM CS3000 R3 is required.

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