Beckman Coulter Inc. is a

Danaher Corporation Danaher Corporation is an American globally diversified conglomerate with its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The company designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services. The company' ...

company that develops, manufactures, and markets products that simplify, automate and innovate complex biomedical testing. It operates in two industries: Diagnostics and Life Sciences. For more than 80 years, Beckman Coulter Inc. has helped healthcare and laboratory professionals, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, universities, medical schools, and research institutions worldwide. The company eventually grew to employ over 12,000 people, with $5.8 billion in annual sales by 2017. It is currently headquartered in Brea, California. Beckman Coulter was acquired by

in 2011.

History

Founded by

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

professor

Arnold O. Beckman Arnold Orville Beckman (April 10, 1900 – May 18, 2004) was an American chemist, inventor, investor, and philanthropist. While a professor at California Institute of Technology, he founded Beckman Instruments based on his 1934 invention of th ...

in 1935 as National Technical Laboratories to commercialize a

pH meter A pH meter is a scientific instrument that measures the hydrogen-ion activity in water-based solutions, indicating its acidity or alkalinity expressed as pH. The pH meter measures the difference in electrical potential between a pH elect ...

that he had invented. In the 1940s, Beckman changed the name to Arnold O. Beckman, Inc. to sell oxygen analyzers, the ''Helipot'' precision

potentiometer A potentiometer is a three-terminal resistor with a sliding or rotating contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider. If only two terminals are used, one end and the wiper, it acts as a variable resistor or rheostat. The measuring instrum ...

, and spectrophotometers. In the 1950s, the company name changed to Beckman Instruments, Inc. In 1954, Beckman Instruments acquired

ultracentrifuge An ultracentrifuge is a centrifuge optimized for spinning a rotor at very high speeds, capable of generating acceleration as high as (approx. ). There are two kinds of ultracentrifuges, the preparative and the analytical ultracentrifuge. Both cla ...

maker Spinco (Specialized Instruments Corp.). The Spinco division went on to design and manufacture a broad range of laboratory

centrifuge A centrifuge is a device that uses centrifugal force to separate various components of a fluid. This is achieved by spinning the fluid at high speed within a container, thereby separating fluids of different densities (e.g. cream from milk) or ...

s. In 1955, Beckman established the seminal

Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory was a pioneering semiconductor developer founded by William Shockley, and funded by Beckman Instruments, Inc., in 1955. It was the first high technology company in what came to be known as Silicon Valley to w ...

as a division of Beckman Instruments to begin commercializing the semiconductor

transistor upright=1.4, gate (G), body (B), source (S) and drain (D) terminals. The gate is separated from the body by an insulating layer (pink). A transistor is a semiconductor device used to Electronic amplifier, amplify or electronic switch, switch ...

technology invented by

alumnus

William Shockley William Bradford Shockley Jr. (February 13, 1910 – August 12, 1989) was an American physicist and inventor. He was the manager of a research group at Bell Labs that included John Bardeen and Walter Brattain. The three scientists were jointl ...

. Because Shockley's aging mother lived in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

, the Shockley Laboratory was established in nearby

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, it has a population of 82,376. Mountain View was integral to the early history and growth of Silicon Valley, and is the ...

, and thus, "

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...

" was born. In 1961, Beckman acquired Offner Electronics, a company founded by inventor Franklin F. Offner. In 1982, the company merged into

SmithKline GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the ten ...

to form SmithKline Beckman, with Arnold Beckman as vice chairman, but regained its independence in 1989 after SmithKline merged with ''Beecham Group'' to form SmithKline Beecham (now part of GlaxoSmithKline). In 1995, the company acquired Hybritech, Inc. from

Eli Lilly Eli Lilly (July 8, 1838 – June 6, 1898) was an American soldier, pharmacist, chemist, and businessman who founded the Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical corporation. Lilly enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War and ...

. In 1996, the company acquired the Sanofi portion of

Sanofi Pasteur Sanofi Pasteur is the vaccines division of the French multinational pharmaceutical company Sanofi. Sanofi Pasteur is the largest company in the world devoted entirely to vaccines. It is one of four global producers of the yellow fever vaccine. ...

Diagnostics. In 1998, the company acquired ''Coulter Corporation'', a company founded by Wallace H. Coulter, the inventor of the Coulter counter. Beckman, thereafter, changed its name to Beckman Coulter. By 2003, the company has more than 200,000 systems operating in laboratories around the world. In 2005, the company acquired Diagnostic Systems Laboratories (DSL) based in

Webster, Texas Webster is a city in the U.S. state of Texas located in Harris County, within the Houston–The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan area. Its population was 12,499 at the 2020 U.S. census History The community was founded in 1879 by James W. ...

. In 2006, the company acquired Lumigen and Agencourt Bioscience. In 2007, the company acquired the Flow Cytometry Business Group of Dako North America, Inc. In 2009, the company acquired Lab-based Diagnostics business of Olympus Corporation Japan. That same year, the company moved its world headquarters from Fullerton, California to the newly renovated facility in Brea, California. In February 2011, Danaher announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Beckman Coulter. On June 30, 2011, Danaher finalized the acquisition of Beckman Coulter. On September 12, 2012 Danaher acquired Iris Diagnostics and its parent company IRIS International, Inc. as leader in Urinalysis Diagnostic to further boost Danaher's Diagnostic business within Beckman Coulter. On February 1, 2015, the company finalized the acquisition of MicroScan from Siemens Healthcare. On January 3, 2019, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences announced the acquisition of Labcyte, Inc., a privately held manufacturer of acoustic liquid handlers. On May 2, 2019, Beckman Coulter finalized their acquisition of EDC Biosciences, a privately held manufacturer of acoustic liquid handlers.

Locations

Though each location specializes in distinct areas of the company, many projects are worked on by teams in multiple locations working together remotely. Besides their headquarters in Brea, California, Beckman Coulter serves worldwide & some of the major locations include

USA

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

* Carlsbad, California *

Chaska, Minnesota Chaska is a city and the county seat of Carver County, Minnesota, United States. An outer ring suburb of the Twin Cities, Chaska is home to the Hazeltine National Golf Club and is known for its historic downtown area located on a bend of the ...

* Danvers, Massachusetts *

Florence, Kentucky Florence is a home rule-class city in Boone County, Kentucky, United States. Florence is the second largest city located in Northern Kentucky, after Covington, and part of the Greater Cincinnati Metropolitan Area. The population was 31,946 at ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

* Irving, Texas * Loveland, Colorado *

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Schaumburg, Illinois Schaumburg ( ) is a village mostly in Cook County and partly in DuPage County in northeastern Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 Census, the population was 78,723. Schaumburg is around northwest of the Chicago Loop and northwest of O'Hare ...

Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618. As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its southern border with Detroit. The city was original ...

West Sacramento, California West Sacramento (also known as West Sac) is a city in Yolo County, California, United States. The city is separated from Sacramento by the Sacramento River, which also separates Sacramento and Yolo counties. It is a fast-growing community; the ...

Porterville, California Porterville is a city in the San Joaquin Valley, in Tulare County, California, United States. It is part of the Visalia-Porterville metropolitan statistical area. Since its incorporation in 1902, the city's population has grown as it annexed n ...

United Kingdom

High Wycombe High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye, Buckinghamshire, River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, ...

Canada

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Germany

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, i ...

Munich, Germany Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Italy

Cassina de' Pecchi Cassina may refer to: Places in Italy * Cassina de' Pecchi, in the province of Milan *Cassina Rizzardi, in the province of Como * Cassina Valsassina, in the province of Lecco *Cassina Amata, in the province of Milan *Cassina Nuova, in the province ...

Ireland

* Clare *

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

Switzerland

Nyon Nyon (; outdated German: or ; outdated Italian: , ) is a municipality in Nyon District in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometers north east of Geneva's city centre, and since the 1970s it has become part of the Ge ...

Japan

Mishima, Shizuoka Mishima City Hall is a city located in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 109,803 in 49,323 households, and a population density of 1800 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography ...

Ariake, Tokyo is a district in Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan. It is best known as the region adjacent to and directly east of Odaiba. Ariake is subdivided into four ''chome'' and comprises part of the Tokyo Bay Landfill No. 10 and Tokyo Rinkai Satellite City Center ...

Brazil

Alphaville, São Paulo Alphaville, São Paulo (, ) is an affluent district split between the municipalities of Barueri and Santana de Parnaíba suburbs of São Paulo. The Alphaville concept is a real estate and gated community development in Brazil, constituted by a ...

* Palhoça, Santa Catarina

China

* Suzhou, JiangSu Province * Dalian, LiaoNing Province *

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

India

Bangalore, Karnataka Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

Russia

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

Turkey

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

South Africa

Midrand Midrand is a former municipality in central Gauteng, South Africa. It is situated in-between Centurion and Sandton and now forms part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. History Midrand was established as a municipality in 1 ...

Australia

* Sydney

United Arab Emirates

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

Egypt

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

* Giza

France

* Villepinte *

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

New Zealand

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

Russia

Sri Lanka

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

Asia Pacific

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

References

External links

Beckman Coulter DiagnosticsBeckman Coulter Life SciencesBeckman Historical Collection

Science History Institute The Science History Institute is an institution that preserves and promotes understanding of the history of science. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it includes a library, museum, archive, research center and conference center. It was f ...

br>Digital Collections
(Digitized corporate records of Beckman Coulter, Incorporated, as well as personal papers of American scientist and industrialist

Arnold Orville Beckman Arnold Orville Beckman (April 10, 1900 – May 18, 2004) was an American chemist, inventor, investor, and philanthropist. While a professor at California Institute of Technology, he founded Beckman Instruments based on his 1934 invention of th ...

) {{Authority control Electronics companies of the United States Laboratory equipment manufacturers Research support companies Manufacturing companies based in Greater Los Angeles Companies based in Brea, California Electronics companies established in 1935 Danaher subsidiaries Superfund sites in California 1935 establishments in California 2011 mergers and acquisitions