History of Reichert Technologies Life Sciences
Reichert Life Sciences' technological advancements of today—such as our new 4-channel surface plasmon resonance system, the Reichert4SPR—stem from a rich legacy of innovation and quality stretching back 150 years. It all began in 1838 with development of the first American-made microscope by Charles Spencer and eventual founding of the C. Reichert Optical Company in Vienna. Having created almost every breakthrough in refractometry, establishing industry standards for over a century, we proudly stand by the Reichert brand as synonymous with leading edge products and services—now and in the future.
TIMELINE
1838 - Charles Spencer founds Spencer Optical in Canastota, NY. Builds the first American-made microscope. Wins gold medal in 1878 International Exposition in Paris for Excellence in Microscopy.
1876 - C. Reichert Optical Company founded in Vienna for manufacturing microscopes.
1890 - Spencer Lens Company opens shop in Buffalo, New York and begins manufacturing a full line of precision instruments in 1895.
1935 - Spencer Lens is acquired by American Optical (AO), which had its beginning in 1833.
1945 - Spencer Lens is renamed AO Scientific Instruments Division.
1949 - Lighted hand-held refractometer 1961 - Patented liquid-filled prism that adjusts automatically for temperature compensation
1969 - First temperature-compensated hand-held refractometers
1975 - First digital readout and temperature compensation on a benchtop refractometer, the Abbe Mark II
1983 - Scientific Instruments becomes AO Reichert Scientific, a division of Warner Lambert.
1985 - Introduced the Auto Abbe, a patented automatic refractometer with a linear scan array and multiple channel programmability.
1986 - AO Reichert becomes part of Cambridge Instruments and is renamed Reichert Jung.
1990 - Cambridge Instruments and Wild-Leitz merge, forming the Leica Group.
1996 - Introduced the AR600 automatic refractometer with sapphire prism.
1999 - Introduced the ARIAS 500 the first semi-automatic transmitted light refractometer.
1999 - Introduced the patented Brake-Chek to measure the boiling point and % concentration of water in brake fluid.
2001 - Introduced the AR200 as the first portable automatic refractometer with computer interface capability plus the accuracy and range of a laboratory instrument.
2002 - Leica Analytical Instruments and Reichert Ophthalmic Instruments merge under new ownership as Reichert, Inc.
2002 - Introduced the SR7000, an affordable benchtop Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) instrument for biotech and analytic chemistry that presents data in real time.
2003 - Reichert establishes a bonded warehouse and service center for its Analytical Instruments in Seefeld, Germany in order to support our key markets in Europe.
2004 - Reichert introduces the TS Meter-D clinical digital hand-held refractometer, the benchmark for measuring concentrations of USG and plasma protein.
2005 - The Reichert UNISTAT Bilirubinometer provides point-of-care measurement for total serum bilirubin in neonatal infants.
2007 - Reichert introduces the r2max series precision automatic digital benchtop refractometers, capable of measurement to 6 significant places. Reichert also introduces the r2mini pocket digital refractometer, the world’s most compact at 100g. From benchtop to hand-held, Reichert offers real performance and value. Brings to market the Abbe Mark III, which provides the features of a manual transmission Abbe as well as advanced digital and software features not found on other instruments in this class.
Reichert introduces the r2i300 compact automatic digital benchtop refractometer that delivers exceptional performance at a remarkable value in this category.
Reichert introduces a two-channel Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) spectrometer for the study of molecular interaction in biology and chemistry.
2011 - SR7500 Dual Channel SPR system is introduced offering the highest precision of any Reichert SPR system for determining kinetics and affinities for a variety of biomolecular interactions.
TIMELINE
1838 - Charles Spencer founds Spencer Optical in Canastota, NY. Builds the first American-made microscope. Wins gold medal in 1878 International Exposition in Paris for Excellence in Microscopy.
1876 - C. Reichert Optical Company founded in Vienna for manufacturing microscopes.
1890 - Spencer Lens Company opens shop in Buffalo, New York and begins manufacturing a full line of precision instruments in 1895.
1935 - Spencer Lens is acquired by American Optical (AO), which had its beginning in 1833.
1945 - Spencer Lens is renamed AO Scientific Instruments Division.
1949 - Lighted hand-held refractometer 1961 - Patented liquid-filled prism that adjusts automatically for temperature compensation
1969 - First temperature-compensated hand-held refractometers
1975 - First digital readout and temperature compensation on a benchtop refractometer, the Abbe Mark II
1983 - Scientific Instruments becomes AO Reichert Scientific, a division of Warner Lambert.
1985 - Introduced the Auto Abbe, a patented automatic refractometer with a linear scan array and multiple channel programmability.
1986 - AO Reichert becomes part of Cambridge Instruments and is renamed Reichert Jung.
1990 - Cambridge Instruments and Wild-Leitz merge, forming the Leica Group.
1996 - Introduced the AR600 automatic refractometer with sapphire prism.
1999 - Introduced the ARIAS 500 the first semi-automatic transmitted light refractometer.
1999 - Introduced the patented Brake-Chek to measure the boiling point and % concentration of water in brake fluid.
2001 - Introduced the AR200 as the first portable automatic refractometer with computer interface capability plus the accuracy and range of a laboratory instrument.
2002 - Leica Analytical Instruments and Reichert Ophthalmic Instruments merge under new ownership as Reichert, Inc.
2002 - Introduced the SR7000, an affordable benchtop Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) instrument for biotech and analytic chemistry that presents data in real time.
2003 - Reichert establishes a bonded warehouse and service center for its Analytical Instruments in Seefeld, Germany in order to support our key markets in Europe.
2004 - Reichert introduces the TS Meter-D clinical digital hand-held refractometer, the benchmark for measuring concentrations of USG and plasma protein.
2005 - The Reichert UNISTAT Bilirubinometer provides point-of-care measurement for total serum bilirubin in neonatal infants.
2007 - Reichert introduces the r2max series precision automatic digital benchtop refractometers, capable of measurement to 6 significant places. Reichert also introduces the r2mini pocket digital refractometer, the world’s most compact at 100g. From benchtop to hand-held, Reichert offers real performance and value. Brings to market the Abbe Mark III, which provides the features of a manual transmission Abbe as well as advanced digital and software features not found on other instruments in this class.
Reichert introduces the r2i300 compact automatic digital benchtop refractometer that delivers exceptional performance at a remarkable value in this category.
Reichert introduces a two-channel Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) spectrometer for the study of molecular interaction in biology and chemistry.
2011 - SR7500 Dual Channel SPR system is introduced offering the highest precision of any Reichert SPR system for determining kinetics and affinities for a variety of biomolecular interactions.