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News
March
2006: MIT order an nkd-8000 for display materials research.
January
2006: Aquila appoints new UK distributor.
September 2005: New nkd user base in India.
30th
August 2005: New representation in Israel.
15th
August 2005: The nkd shines in Singapore.
July
2005: New distributor and demonstration facility in Japan.
June
2005: Aquila appoints International Sales Manager.
May 2004:
Aquila & Millbrook Shine At SVC Conference.
January
2004: New Representatives for USA – East Coast.
December
2003: Millbrook Order Intake at Record Level.
November
2003: New Distributor in Singapore.
June
2003: Applications Engineer Joins Aquila.
April
2003: Aquila merges with Millbrook Scientific Instruments.
March 2006: MIT order an nkd-8000 for
display materials research.
Aquila is proud to announce a recent order
for an nkd-8000 to the prestigous Massachusetts Institute of Technology
(MIT). The nkd 8000, to be installed at the Research Laboratory of
Electronics, will advance MIT's research into the optical properties of
thin films, including semiconducting polymers and will significantly
increase their analysis capabilities in this area.
This order has come at a time of increased
business for the Millbrook group, which has just announced sales to The
University of Melbourne, The Illinois Institute of Technology in
Chicago, the Institute of Chemical Engineering and High Temperature
Chemical Processes (ICE-HT), based in Greece and Winnats Scientific
Services in the UK.
Commenting on the most recent orders Dr
Peter Stefanini, Executive Chairman, said: " We are delighted to have
received the first order through our new US joint venture and to have
made our first sale in Australia. Millbrook’s global reach is
increasing and the range of applications for our sophisticated
instruments is broadening all the time".
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January 2006: Aquila appoints new UK
distributor.
Aquila is delighted to announce the
appointment of Omniscan Ltd as our distribution agent for the UK and
Ireland.
Omniscan, headed by Dr. Russell Evans,
provides innovative measurement solutions for academic and industrial
customers. Dr. Evans has considerable application experience in thin
film measurement and surface analysis, allowing him to provide
customers with the best possible advice and a tailored solution to
their measurement requirements. We are pleased to have the additional
benefit of Omniscan’s experience and support in the UK for
all our new and existing customers.
For more information please contact:russell@omniscan.co.uk
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September 2005: New nkd user base in India.
Aquila Instruments is pleased to announce
the installation this month, of an nkd-8000w into a significant
goverment research facility in northern India. This variable angle,
wide wavelength version of the system will provide measurements on thin
films for a wide variety of sample types. The superb flexibility of the
system, which makes it suitable for all their thin film applications,
was a major factor in the institutions' decision to purchase the nkd.
Local service support for the nkd is
provided by Polar Technologies in New Delhi.
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30th August 2005: New representaton in
Israel.
Aquila Instruments Ltd is pleased to
announce the appointment of PAZAMTECH as their new sales
representatives for Israel. PAZAMTECH, under the directorship of
Michael Storch, has been providing Industrial and Academic customers in
Israel with high tech solutions for 15 years. Michael's experience and
drive make him ideally placed to provide the best customer support for
the nkd in and this unique territory.
Contact details for PAZAMTECH and all other
Distributors can be found in the Contact section of this website.
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19th August 2005: The nkd shines in
Singapore.
Each year Aquila Instruments holds a number
of workshops at our distributor facilities around the world. Although
the format of the meeting can vary from event to event, most offer:
* Guest speakers from our international user
base.
* A guide to the fundamentals of Thin Film
Measurement
* Descriptions of more advanced
applications.
* A chance to meet users and Aquila experts
and discuss your applications in a relaxed and informal atmosphere
* The opportunity to have your own samples
measured.
This year has been exceptionally busy with
workshops well attended in Germany and most recently, Singapore and
Japan.
The Singapore workshop in August had so much
interest that it ran for 4 full days with visitors from a variety of
international companies and organisations. The applications of interest
ranged from InfraRed optics to Opthalmic lens QC and MEMS devices.
Visitors were given a demonstration of the nkd-7000 fitted with the new
confocal accessory for normal incidence reflectance measurements on
curved surfaces.
Future workshops are planned in Germany and
France later this year. For details of these upcoming events, please
contact Aquila or your nearest distributor.
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July 2005: New distributor and
demonstration facility in Japan.
Aquila is pleased to announce a further
extension to the nkd-Series distributor network in Asia with the
appointment of the Matsushita Techno Trading in Japan. Matsushita
Techno Trading (MTT) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Matsushita
Electric Industrial Co., Ltd, more commonly known in the west as
Panasonic. Matsushita supply a range of high tech solutions and
international products to the Japanese market and have been doing so
successfully for nearly 30 years. In 2004 they had a turnover of 200
million Yen. Their experience in selling fibre optic based
spectrometers makes them ideally placed to promote the nkd in the
Japanese market. Aquila is pleased to be working with a company as
technically capable as Matsushita and their enthusiasm for the nkd
assures us of its success in Japan. More information and contact
details can be found on the MTT website Matsushita Techno Trading.
Matsushita now have an nkd demo facility at their offices in Shibuya,
Tokyo.
To arrange for a demonstration or to attend
a workshop, please call Mrs. Masami Yamashita @ MTT on +81-3-5333-2391
or alternatively E-mail:
Yamashita@mttco.co.jp
Contact details for Matsushita and all other
Distributors can be found in the Contact section of this website.
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June 2005: Aquila appoints International
Sales Manager.
Aquila Instruments Ltd is pleased to
announce the appointment of Andrew Turner as International Sales
Manager. Andrew has held sales and technical positions throughout his
career and has a broad range of experience from the semiconductor and
photonics industries. He joins us from a leading UK distributor of
laser and opto-mechanical equipment.
"Andrew will be a valuable addition to the
company at this exciting time" says Managing Director David Lovering.
"His focus on sales and customer service will enable us to bring the
unique benefits of the nkd product to an ever increasing number of
customers".
In addition to being the main point of
contact for new customers, Andrew will manage technical sales and
provide distributor training and support. His appointment will greatly
enhance the service that Aquila provides to its distributors.
Andrew commented, "I'm looking forward to
meeting customers – existing and new and sharing with them
the many advantages of the nkd product. Along with the rest of team at
Aquila, I'll be striving to meet and exceed the expectations of our
customers to ensure that we become the number one choice for thin-film
measurement".
The nkd forms part of the Millbrook
Instrument PLC Group of nanometrology products.
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May 2004: Aquila & Millbrook Shine
At SVC Conference.
The unique capabilities of the Aquila nkd
Spectrophotometer proved attractive to delegates at the 47th Society of
Vacuum Coaters technical conference in Dallas, Texas. Aquila, part of
Millbrook Scientific Instruments plc, generated a high level of
interest in its nkd Spectrometer, which analyses thin-film coatings.
The instrument accurately measures total transmittance and reflectance
from which the powerful integrated software then determines the
thickness and refractive index of the coating.
The SVC conference draws delegates from the
US academic and industrial establishment and new confidence in the US
market could be clearly seen by the number of visitors to the
exhibition this year. The Aquila booth was particularly busy with the
nkd spectrophotometer generating overwhelming interest.
David Lovering, Aquila’s managing
director, said:
“The optical coating industry
forms a large part of our customer base and the decision to exhibit the
nkd at the SVC conference has been rewarded with the most positive
interest from US companies and research institutes. We
couldn’t be more pleased with the response. Over the coming
months we expect to turn the many leads generated by the show into
substantial sales”.
The exhibition was also a success for
Aquila’s sister company Millbrook Instruments Ltd. whose
MiniSIMS instrument generated a high level of interest following the
presentation of a paper entitled “Introducing the Millbrook
MiniSIMS - surface analysis for everyone” by
Millbrook’s Dr. Ben Cliff at the Innovators Showcase.
Dr. Peter Stefanini, Executive Chairman of
Millbrook, commented:
“The distribution and marketing
network for our scientific instruments has recently been re-organised
in the US: the substantial interest generated at the show is the first
tangible evidence that this reorganisation is proving successful.
Hitherto, we have been relatively unsuccessful in the USA, now we
expect to make substantial inroads in this important market.”
Millbrook recently announced record sales
for the year to 31 March 2004, its intention to list on AIM, and that
it was in talks with a prospective acquisition.
Enquiries to:
Dr Peter Stefanini
Executive Chairman
Millbrook Scientific Instruments PLC
Tel: 01254 699606
Dr David Lovering
Managing Director
Aquila Instruments Limited
01223 832599
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January 2004 New Representatives for USA
– East Coast.
Aquila is pleased to announce the
appointment if the Vacuum Solutions Group Inc. as their representative
for the East coast of America. The Vacuum Solutions Group have many
years experience in the optical coating market and will provide
valuable direct contact for new and established Aquila customers. This
follows the success of the nkd Spectrophotometer in the US market, with
several prominent installations. Contact details can be found on the
Distributor page.
Further appointments for representatives on
the west coast and mid United States will be announced shortly. In the
meantime all enquiries for these regions are being handled directly by
Aquila Instruments UK.
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December 2003: Millbrook Order Intake at
Record Level.
The Millbrook Group has recently received
five new orders for its innovative scientific instruments valued at a
total of £380,000, comprising three orders for the Millbrook
MiniSIMS and two orders for the Aquila nkd-7000 spectrophotometer. This
brings the level of orders in the pipeline to the highest in the
Company's history.
Orders for the MiniSIMS have been received
from Corus, the leading international steel and aluminium producer, and
from two leading universities in Asia - the University of Nanchang in
China and the University of Kyungpook in South Korea. Nanchang and
Kyungpook universities are buying the MiniSIMS for the investigation of
surface properties of materials, mainly in the area of electronics.
Corus intends to use the instrument for developing its coated steel
products.
In the same period Aquila has also won
orders in Asia for its nkd7000 spectrophotometer at the University of
Wuhan in China and the University of Hanyang in South Korea. The Wuhan
order followed a visit to an Aquila demonstration facility at the
Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics.
On the strength of its performance in 2003,
Millbrook recently won an Export Award from the East Lancashire Chamber
of Commerce for success in developing new markets.
Commenting on the orders received, Dr Peter
Stefanini (Executive Chairman) said:-
"The hard work by our sales team and our
distributor network in the Far East is paying off. This is easily the
best position we have enjoyed in terms of orders on our books since the
company was founded. The Asian market is proving hugely exciting for us
and we will continue to work hard to develop it further. We are also
delighted to add Corus to our list of leading industrial users of the
MiniSIMS."
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November 2003: New Distributors in
Singapore.
Aquila is pleased to announce a further
extension to the nkd-Series distributor network in Asia with the
appointment of APP Industrial Systems PTE Ltd of Singapore.
APP will now be providing excellent sales
and service support for the nkd in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.
Contact details for APP and all other
Distributors can be found in the Contact Us section of this website.
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June 2003: Applications Engineer Joins
Aquila.
Aquila Instruments Ltd is pleased to
announce the recruitment of Louise Stonebridge as Senior Applications
Engineer. Mrs Stonebridge joins Aquila from Obducat CamScan (Scanning
Electron Microscopes), where she held a position as Product Specialist.
Louise has held technical and marketing positions throughout her career
and her experience includes laser research and ink jet printer
development.
"Louise's experience with the design,
development and manufacture of high-precision instrumentation from both
the technical and commercial aspects, makes her a valuable addition to
the company" says Managing Director David Lovering. "Her focus on the
customer and valuable expertise will be of enormous benefit to the nkd
product team".
She will contribute to the development work
on the nkd and manage technical sales and distributor relations within
Aquila.
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April 2003: Aquila merges with Millbrook
Scientific Instruments.
In April of this year, Aquila Instruments
Ltd, joined the Millbrook Scientific Instruments PLC group.
The acquisition by Millbrook, has many benefits for both companies.
Millbrook's vision is to become a leading supplier of compact
affordable scientific instruments for quality control, failure analysis
and troubleshooting applications. To this aim it intends to expand its
product portfolio and create a more diverse product base that covers a
wide range of user needs. The Aquila product range fitted the profile
very well.
Aquila offers Millbrook new inroads to the
new multi billion pound optical and engineering market and brings
impressive new technology already proven in the workplace, with an
established blue International chip customer base.
Millbrooks trading subsidiary, Millbrook
Instruments Ltd, manufactures a unique and innovative desk-top surface
analysis instrument, known as the MiniSIMS. This product is used in
research and quality control for the chemical analysis of solid
surfaces using Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS).
Aquila and Millbrook share market
similarities and a common customer base in industry and academia.
David Lovering has been appointed to the
Millbrook board in his capacity as Managing Director of Aquila. Peter
Stefanini, Terry Bowman and John Eccles have been appointed to the
Aquila board.
With Millbrook's support and in house
expertise Aquila is in an ideal position to meet the growing demands of
the optical coatings industry for research and production support. The
change also brings greater financial stability, which can only benefit
out existing and future customers.
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