Pictured above: Directors Richard Drake, Jonathan Eaton and
Stuart Knight
Sales at Northampton-based HORIBA Instruments are soaring,
thanks to strong demand in solar energy, LED technology and the
automotive sector.
The company, which sells analytical and control equipment, saw
turnover triple in 2010 to close to £50 million, with sales
continuing to grow, up 15 per cent in the year to April 2011.
To meet growing demand, HORIBA has engaged new sales and service
staff at its UK headquarters on Moulton Park, and will expand
further with additional recruitment in its service, design and
calibration departments.
Stuart Knight, Director at HORIBA Instruments, said: "The photo
voltaic market has quadrupled in the past two years, and the LED
market has done the same in just a year. We took the decision to
get into these markets early in response to fluctuating demand in
the European semiconductor manufacturing industry, and it has paid
off.
"We have also benefited from a resurgence in investment in
automotive research and development, and our testing systems are
contributing to the development of new automotive
technologies."
The spectacular results are mainly propelled by the company's
Semiconductor and Automotive Testing Systems (ATS) segments.
It diversified beyond the semiconductor industry into providing
control equipment to manufacturers of photovoltaic cells and LED
technologies, and now supplies major manufacturers in both of these
sectors.
Meanwhile, the ATS segment is responding to increasing demand
from leading research and development companies in the automotive
sector where specialist testing equipment provides a competitive
advantage.
In a new growth area, the UK operation is now developing sales
for a niche range of hand-held instruments, building on HORIBA's
worldwide range of scientific products, which include systems for
elemental analysis and materials characterisation. The hand-held
range includes products for measuring nitrates in soil, radiation
in the goods and local environment, and checking the level of gloss
on materials such as marble and polished surfaces.
HORIBA is looking for engineers in Northampton with experience
in instrumentation, mechanical and electrical engineering,
particularly in the fields of automotive, environmental analysis or
air pollution monitoring.