PRIOR SCIENTIFIC
100 years under the microscope POWERED BY INSIDE INDUSTRY
Celebrating 100 years
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100 YEARS UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Founded as a manufacturer of routine microscopes, Prior Scientific, celebrating its 100th anniversary during 2019, is today considered a world leader in precision components and scientific instrumentation. The Cambridge-based company specialises in microscope automation, microscopy and tailored, custom solutions. Jack Salter spoke to CEO Thomas Freda, who stated Prior’s commitment to quality and reliability ensures that it continues to be a leader in precision optical and electro-mechanical equipment and instrumentation.
CEO Thomas Freda
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eading scientific instrumentation companies and research institutions across the world have benefitted from Prior Scientific’s engineering expertise and experience over the past century. With manufacturing bases in the UK and US, as well as regional offices in Germany, Japan and China, Prior has the facilities to be a leading developer of precision motion, automation and optical systems, sub-systems and components. “Our main headquarters is in Fulbourn, a village in Cambridgeshire, where we have a vertically integrated factory employing about 85 people. We then have a further 20 people at an additional, smaller-scale manufacturing base just outside of Boston in the US,” said Prior CEO Thomas Freda. “We’re able to assemble and manufacture products in both the UK and the US, which allows us to have greater flexibility depending on where our customers are coming from.” More recently, Prior also acquired Queensgate Instruments, a leading nanotechnology equipment company based in Paignton, adding to the company’s overall capacity.
100th anniversary celebrations A rare achievement in the recent business climate, 2019 marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of Prior Scientific. “Only one in every 10,000 companies in the US makes it to 100 years, so it’s something to celebrate as a company,” smiled Mr Freda. “We had a big event in Cambridge in May, and in October, we held an event that coincided with the Society for Neuroscience.” Prior is a very different company from what it was 100, 50 or even ten years ago, evolving from merely an educational micro-
scope manufacturer into a trusted producer and supplier of precision positioning equipment, opto-mechanical devices and customdesigned OEM products. “One of the key things that happened was that BT (British Telecoms) came to Prior quite a while ago looking for a specialised microscope, so we developed this customisable optical system which was big business for Prior in the 1990s,” explained Mr Freda. “The company also built a motorised stage for a local company testing bacteria in milk, and that set the company up to start building these precision XY stages, which has become the core of Prior’s products ever since.” Prior today produces a wide range of XY stages for inverted and upright microscopes. For a long time, Prior was just automating research microscopes with its XY stages and other automation products, but it has since expanded and started producing other microscope automation equipment including optical products, fully-automatic optical microscopes and Piezo nanopositioning systems. “With the acquisition of Queensgate Instruments we now have very high-speed, high-accuracy, high-resolution Piezo-type movement devices, as well as very small movement, nanometre and sub-nanometre resolution devices,” Mr Freda noted.
Constant development Product development is a core part of Prior’s strategy, from improving its core products to developing new products, and taking both new and existing products to new markets. “We’re constantly trying to improve our products and constantly looking at what the competition is doing, talking to people at trade
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C & T HARNESSES Everyone at C & T Harnesses would like to offer our congratulations to Prior Scientific on a fantastic achievement of 100 years in business. We are proud suppliers of various electronic cable assemblies to Prior Scientific, and we look forward to many more years of partnership with this innovative company.
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SP3 PLUS SP3 Plus has been a proud supplier to Prior Scientific for a number of years. We have recently worked closely with the company’s optical engineers to create some bespoke optics for exciting new projects. Many congratulations to Prior Scientific on their 100th anniversary! We look forward to continuing this close collaboration.
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HT SERVO LIMITED HT Servo Limited is a leading supplier of motion control components and sub-systems to OEMs, with particular emphasis placed on precision optical, electro-mechanical equipment and instrumentation. HT Servo Limited is extremely pleased to be celebrating the 100th anniversary with Prior Scientific. We will remain a leading supplier of superior-quality, highly customised motion control components for low-medium volume manufacturers in the scientific/instrumentation sector. editorial mention
E JOHNSON AND SONS E Johnson and Sons has been in business since 1974, specialising in precision sheet metal components for the telecoms, medical, highclass audio and scientific industries. We have thoroughly enjoyed the last 11 years working with Prior, and we would like to offer our congratulations on the company reaching its 100-year anniversary. We look forward to supporting Prior for the next hundred years!
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RENISHAW Renishaw has been a key supplier to Prior Scientific for over 20 years, delivering innovative position encoders for highly repeatable motion control. We join them in celebrating their centenary and look forward to continuing our relationship over the years to come.
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IKO NIPPON THOMPSON EUROPE BV Happy 100th anniversary to Prior Scientific from IKO, a proud partner since 1993. IKO is known for its high-quality product range and when reliability and precision is a must, this is our forte. Whether it is needle bearings, linear guides or precision positioning tables, we can help you find a solution.
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SHEARLINE PRECISION ENGINEERING Congratulations to Prior Scientific on their 100th anniversary! With our wide range of machining and sheet metal capabilities, combined with decades of experience, Shearline Precision Engineering is proud to be working collaboratively with Prior Scientific. We look forward to supporting them for many more years to come. Contact us today to find out why Shearline should be your firstchoice manufacturing, assembly and supply partner. editorial mention
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shows all over the world and evaluating a lot of new technology that we can incorporate into our products,” stated Mr Freda. A new product Prior has come out with, for example, is the new Laser Autofocus, a unique microscope accessory allowing the user to focus on bioscience and life science samples. As part of the company’s push towards OEMs in recent years, another of Prior’s new products, the OpenStand, has been marketed more towards original equipment manufacturers whose parts and equipment may be marketed by another manufacturer.
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We do business at a very reasonable cost because our goal as a manufacturing company is to have long-term relationships
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OEMs have been a strategic target for the company, and highlight Prior’s ability to build anything from small components to full, complete systems – all finished with OEM labels if requested. “We’re generally marketing to OEMs or companies that need their own customised optical systems, so they can take this OpenStand, for example, and get all their software and drivers
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done whilst we work on their customised optical electromechanical systems,” Mr Freda explained. “We also have a new nanopositioning Piezo objective positioner, so we are always developing our extensive product range.” As well as being a niche business in the instrumentation sector, Prior is set apart by its huge range of products in different areas. “We have expertise in precision positioning, electromechanical devices, Piezo devices and optical devices,” Mr Freda affirmed. “We are different from our competitors as we’re able to put together complete systems and put that all together into one package for our customers.”
In-house manufacturing Considering Prior manufactures a lot of its own key parts, Mr Freda said the ability to build anything from small components to fully complete systems is something Prior considers a real strength, particularly in terms of its relationship with customers. This approach, he said, engenders strong communication with clients, and keeps them all completely in the loop and onboard when it comes to new products, concepts and ideas.
“We do business at a very reasonable cost because our goal as a manufacturing company is to have long-term relationships, and we want to manufacture these products for our customers for a long time,” he said. “It’s a risk from our point of view in that we don’t charge a lot for the development, but it allows our customers to get a lot of value and gives us an opportunity to get in on the ground floor with these companies, so that’s part of our strategy.” One of the challenges for Prior, however, is that it can take a long time for the company to reap the financial fruits of its work. “In the time from when we start on a project through to when we see the financial benefits of it, it can typically take a year or two or three,” Mr Freda said, “but we have a large pipeline of people we’re talking to and a lot of potential products so that’s a big area of growth for us.” Going forwards, Prior is still looking at further organic growth through the products it makes, as well as new customers, new OEMs and acquisitions. “We’re always looking for the right fit for us so we can continue to grow and have the right products for our customer base,” concluded Mr Freda. n
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