Ocean Optics Sells its 50,000th Spectrometer

Pioneering Developer of Miniature Fiber Optic Spectrometers Marks Major Milestone

Dunedin, Fla., January 2005 – Ocean Optics, a pioneering developer and market leader in the manufacture of miniature spectrometers and optical-sensing components, recently sold the 50,000th spectrometer since its first commercial sale in April 1992.

Founded in 1989, Ocean Optics manufactures miniature fiber optic spectrometers and accessories, optical sensors, optical fibers, and thin films and optics. Its palm-sized fiber optic spectrometer – “the world’s first miniature fiber optic spectrometer” -- has spawned dozens of imitators and enabled thousands of optical-sensing applications across a variety of industries and disciplines.

NanoDrop Technologies, a Delaware-based supplier of UV-Vis instrumentation for measuring very small volumes of samples such as nucleic acids and DNA staining materials, purchased Ocean Optics’ 50,000th unit. “It is particularly appropriate that NanoDrop purchased No. 50,000,” said Leeward Bean, Vice President of Sales for Ocean Optics. “They represent our target audience very well: researchers with a great idea, the passion to make something of it, and a need for the size, cost and flexibility that our spectrometers provide.”

Ocean Optics will recognize NanoDrop’s place as purchaser of spectrometer No. 50,000 at a presentation on Feb. 11, 2005 at Ocean Optics’ headquarters in Dunedin, Fla.

From its humble beginnings as a garage-shop operation with just a handful of products, Ocean Optics has grown to four locations worldwide with nearly 900 spectrometers and accessories. Its spectrometers have been used in thousands of applications, from the volcanologist who duct-taped the spectrometer to a bicycle helmet as he ventured inside an active site to monitor sulphur dioxide, to the NASA researcher who strapped the spectrometer to a reentry rocket to measure its exhaust plume.

In June 2004, Ocean Optics became part of Halma p.l.c., a leading safety and environmental technology group based in the United Kingdom. Halma is a holding company of more than 50 worldwide subsidiaries that develop and manufacture products that enhance public safety and minimize hazards at work.

Contact an Ocean Optics Applications Scientist