A GROUND-breaking microscope developed in west Belfast has had sales enquiries from more than 50 countries - including several Nobel Prize winners.
High performance scientific digital camera maker Andor Technology, which occupies a 50,000 sq ft site in Springvale business park, has developed the Benchtop Confocal Microscope (BC43), which is represents disruptive technology in the industry.
And following a multi million pounds investment into research and development of the ground breaking microscope, which had R&D support from Invest NI, the BC43 is going global.
Its development has also created 10 additional jobs at Andor, which already has more than 400 staff in 16 offices worldwide.
The company current has 70 unique product solutions and 10,000 customers in 55 countries, and last year it had sales of more than £57 million.
Andor's director of engineering Claire Greenwood said: “We are targeting new markets with our BC43 product and are seeing interest in regions we have not previously sold microscopes into.
“Since its launch, we’ve received sales enquiries from over 50 countries and have sold units to Saudi Arabia, the US, China, Japan and South America.
“The product has been particularly well received by pharma organisations and smaller universities, many of which do not have the space or budget for larger, more complex and expensive systems.
“This initial success has encouraged us to set an ambitious export sales figure of £20 million in the first three years and we are confident that we can achieve this.”
The plug-and-play confocal system is a super-compact unit rich in features and benefits, making it the ideal microscope for early-stage researchers and experienced microscopists alike.
With no requirement for a darkroom, researchers can access confocal technology on the same bench as their samples. This, coupled with the fast-learning curve, allows individual users and entire labs to become much more productive, without compromising results.
Spun out from Queen’s University in 1989, Andor Technology has matured into one of the world’s most innovative companies in the photonics industry, measuring light down to a single photon and capturing events occurring within one-billionth of a second.
Dr Vicky Kell, Invest NI’s director of innovation, research & development, said: “Andor is committed to carrying out targeted strategic research and development to maintain and strengthen its market position, and the success of the BC43 product to date and its potential for future worldwide sales are testament to the wisdom of that approach.”
