Edinburgh Instruments booming on back of Bric nations' research drive

TECHNOLOGY firm Edinburgh Instruments is enjoying a sales boom as the emerging "Bric" nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) buy its laser and spectrometry products to use in their own research drives.

The Livingston-based company, which was the first spin-off from Heriot-Watt University in 1971, has doubled its turnover in the past five years and plans to double again in the next four, taking it to more than 12 million a year.

Chief executive Alan Faichney said India, China and Brazil all have formal government policies to increase their research output.

"As a result of that, there's quite a booming market in the sale of scientific instruments to new universities in those countries," he said. "The Russian market is starting to open up as well."

Faichney, an experienced chief executive with a background in oil & gas, was brought in last year as part of a Scottish Enterprise-led drive to capitalise on the growing international demand for the firm' products.

Edinburgh Instruments has always been an exporting company, but until recently its main markets were in Europe and North America. Now, a third of its sales are to the Bric nations, with that proportion set to increase. China alone, which has been growing its research capability for more than a decade, accounted for 20 per cent of sales last year.

The biggest growth area is in spectrometers, used in chemistry and material sciences. Emerging nations are using them in a drive to produce more efficient solar cells and the development of low powered lighting.

Faichney said: "We had a record year to the end of March and we're predicting even faster growth this year. Our target for this year is to raise out turnover from about 6.2m to about 7.5m. We are looking to double the turnover in the next four years."

The firm has hired ten new staff in the past 12 months, and now employs 65 people.

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