Chancellor opens new mass spectrometry HQ

Tatton MP George Osborne joined Waters CEO Doug Berthiaume to mark the official opening of the Waters Mass Spectrometry Headquarters in Wilmslow this week, which saw its new, custom-built facility confirm the company’s commitment to innovation and the expanded usage of mass spectrometry.

Mass spectrometry is an analytical chemistry technique that can be used to determine the elemental make up of a molecule and its chemical structures. The new facility in Wilmslow has been designed and equipped to accelerate innovation in the field.

The new headquarters took less than two years to construct and brings together Waters’ existing mass spectrometry centres in the region along with more than 500 employees.

The 2000m² building includes state of the art customer demonstration laboratories, research and development capabilities and an expanded manufacturing capacity.

The site was constructed with sustainability elements throughout, including rain water harvesting tanks, solar panels and heat recovery systems.

What’s more unusual is that the site also is home to a number of Pipistrelle bats which were found during the initial site survey, and now enjoy the use of a newly-built bat house as part of Waters’ commitment to sustaining the local area.

Brian Smith, Vice President of Mass Spectrometry Operations at Waters commented: “Our new Waters Mass Spectrometry Headquarters in Wilmslow marks our continued investment in the region and dedication to the North West.”

He added: “The new facility has been specially designed to enhance collaboration and drive innovation, building on the research and scores of patents that we have already accomplished in the field, right at the heart of where mass spectrometry first began, here in Manchester.”

George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Tatton MP, commented: “I am delighted to open the new Waters Corporation offices in Wilmslow, after I helped perform the ground-breaking back in June 2012. It is a fantastic site that provides many excellent local jobs and I wish them every success here in the future.”

The technology on offer will enable scientists to analyze tiny quantities of substances and chemical components, often within complex mixtures, to find out what they are composed of at the molecular level.

This technique applies to a spectrum of fields and has a huge impact on our quality of life, safeguarding food and water supplies as well as protecting the environment and advancing healthcare.

The new site is the latest in a network of specialist technology and engineering firms in the North West that continue to lead the field in mass spectrometry.

The region’s rich history started with John Dalton’s Atomic Theory in the early 1800’s, which laid the foundations for mass spectrometry to develop. The North West is now seen as a global research and development hub, with innovations here making their way into laboratories right around the world.

Waters’ mass spectrometry technologies have advanced significantly over the past few years, especially with the introduction of a new range of more advanced instruments, such as the SYNAPT^® and Xevo^® ranges of mass spectrometers.

For more than 50 years, Waters Corporation has created business advantages for laboratory-dependent organisations by delivering practical and sustainable innovation to enable significant advancements.

Pioneering a connected portfolio of separations science, laboratory information management, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis, Waters had a revenue of almost $2 billion in 2013, and is driving scientific discovery worldwide.