Page 22 - Shimadzu Journal vol.4 Issue1

Topics

Shimadzu Establishes Innovation Centers in the U.S.
and China to Promote Joint Research and Development

The SSI Innovation Center, Columbia, Maryland, U.S. (left), and the China MS Center, Beijing, China (right)

To further promote joint research and development projects with share of its core products, centered on mass spectrometers, and to
leading academic and research institutions, Shimadzu Corporation has further improve the Shimadzu brand image.
established the SSI Innovation Center at its U.S. subsidiary, Shimadzu
As of fiscal 2015, the China MS Center has a staff of ten, a number
Scientific Instruments, Inc. (SSI), Maryland, U.S., and the Shimadzu
that will be expanded as the need arises. By the end of 2016, the
China Mass Spectrometry Center (hereinafter the China MS Center) at
Center plans to invest a total of more than 460 million yen in research
the Beijing branch of its Chinese subsidiary, Shimadzu (China) Co., Ltd.
and development.
In North America, Shimadzu Corporation has been participating in
Due to increasing research investment in cutting-edge fields, as well as
joint research projects in such areas as clinical medicine, food safety,
demands for speedy solutions to food safety and environmental issues,
and environment testing involving the use of Shimadzu's main
the mass spectrometry market in China is expected to expand. In 2016
products, such as chromatographs and mass spectrometers. To foster
Shimadzu expects the scale of the mass spectrometry market in China
more joint research and collaborative projects with customers, SSI was
to increase by approximately 1.3 times the value in 2013. Therefore,
reorganized to establish the SSI Innovation Center for the purpose of
the goal is to succeed in the market through the activities of the China
providing feedback to product development operations as quickly as
MS Center and improve our business performance. In addition, results
possible.
obtained at the China MS Center will be fed back to Shimadzu in
The SSI Innovation Center comprises three groups with a current total Japan and deployed to other regions, thereby leveraging the results in
of 26 employees. These groups include Strategic Collaboration product and application development at various sites around the
Development, Research and Development, and Application world.
Development. R&D investment of 20 million dollars is planned over the
The general manager of the Analytical & Measuring Instruments
next five years.
Division, Shuzo Maruyama, said: “Due to the concentration of clinical
In the United States, the state of Maryland is home to Johns Hopkins medicine and healthcare research institutions like the NIH in North
University, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer America, and particularly in the Northeast United States, it is an ideal
Institute (NCI), and many other leading academic and research location for developing applications for our analytical and measuring
institutions and companies. It is a particularly ideal environment for instruments in those fields. As for the China MS Center, research
developing deeper partnerships in the field of clinical medicine. activities in mass spectrometry in China have impacts internationally,
contributing significantly to its development. Under such
The China MS Center was established for the purpose of joint research
circumstances, Shimadzu will work to contribute further to mass
and development with researchers in China to advance mass
spectrometry technology in China and globally, through the activities
spectrometry (MS) technology. The laboratories are equipped with
at this Center. To take maximum advantage of Shimadzu's strengths
high-end Shimadzu MS systems including liquid chromatograph mass
and advantages in markets around the world, we plan to establish
spectrometers and gas chromatograph mass spectrometers. The
similar facilities based on a global innovation center concept in other
Center will participate in the formulation of official analytical methods
regions as well. We expect these facilities will serve as a driver of new
through new application development, and develop and improve
product development for the Analytical & Measuring Instruments
high-end mass spectrometry systems. By providing solutions better
Division.”
matched to the Chinese market, Shimadzu aims to expand the market
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