Malvern and PANalytical to merge and Neogen buys Quat-Chem

First, Malvern Instruments and PANalytical are to merge from the start of 2017.

Both are operating companies within the Materials Analysis segment of Spectris – an instrumentation and controls company.

PANalytical supplies X-ray instrumentation and software for materials analysis and Malvern Instruments for materials and biophysical characterisation technology.

Reason for merger​

Spectris said the merger aligns with its strategy of involving the provision of services, software and related activities alongside the supply of equipment.

Paolo Carmassi has been appointed president of the merged operating company.

Carmassi brings experience in global high-technology business management. He was, most recently, operating partner at CSTS Healthcare, a privately held software business developing artificial intelligence for personalised therapies in oncology.

Peter van Velzen, president of PANalytical and Paul Walker, president of Malvern, will be retiring, as planned. 

Eoghan O’Lionaird, business group director responsible for the Materials Analysis segment, said: “Joining the two companies will enable us to leverage new resources to further grow our service offering and add even more value to our clients and customers. ​

“This aligns closely with the Spectris strategy of a shift in emphasis towards the provision of complete solutions to our customers, allowing us to better deliver this to our Malvern and PANalytical customers.”​

Neogen to buy Quat-Chem​

In other news, Neogen has acquired a chemical company specializing in the development, manufacture and sale of agricultural, industrial and food processing biocidal hygiene products, including cleaners and disinfectants.

UK-based Quat-Chem manufactures disinfectant and cleaner products for dairy hygiene and poultry and swine biosecurity applications.

The company sells globally with a focus on the UK, European Union, Middle East and a particular focus on China. Annual revenues are $12m.

“Quat-Chem’s broad line of products, chemical manufacturing facilities, personnel and existing business made the company an attractive acquisition opportunity for us,”​ said Dr Jason Lilly, Neogen’s VP of corporate development.

Quat-Chem is headquartered in Rochdale, England and operations will be managed by Neogen’s Scotland-based subsidiary. The site will work with the nearby Lab M location.

The firm has a history in nitrogen-based chemistry, as an international supplier of the biocidal active benzalkonium chloride, as well as amine oxide, a surfactant.

Dr Rubinah Chowdhary, Quat-Chem’s scientific director, said demand for safe, performance tested disinfection products offers considerable potential.

“Quat-Chem’s product development activities and its manufacturing capabilities in Europe provide a complementary fit to Neogen’s expanding biosecurity business. The importance of biosecurity is internationally recognized as critical to safe-guarding livestock health and food safety.”​

The acquisition is the latest in expanding the biosecurity business, which began in 2003 with its buy of rodenticides, cleaners and disinfectants from ConAgra and continued with the 2008 deal for DuPont’s biosecurity product line, the 2014 addition of Chem-Tech and 2016 acquisitions of Preserve International and Virbac’s rodenticides.

Q Laboratories acquires Bruker MALDI Biotyper​

Finally, Q Laboratories has added another tool to its microbial identification capabilities by acquiring the Bruker MALDI Biotyper.

The technology classifies and identifies microorganisms (including yeasts and fungi) based on proteomic fingerprinting using MALDI-TOF (Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight) mass-spectrometry with possible turnaround time of one day.

Q Laboratories has recently opened a microbial identification laboratory as part of a facility expansion. It will house the Bruker MALDI Biotyper as well as traditional biochemical identification technology and will allow for additional microbial identification capability in the future.

The firm can provide microbiology and analytical chemistry laboratory services including method development and validation, pathogen screening, indicator organism enumeration, nutritional analysis, raw material qualification, challenge studies and shelf life/stability testing.