Three Little Companies — the Birth of a Major Australian Scientific Instrument Industry

Abstract

The atomic absorption spectrometer revolutionized chemical analysis in the 1960s. Invented by Alan Walsh of the CSIRO Division of Chemical Physics, its manufacture in Australia began with three small Melbourne companies making the necessary optical, mechanical and electronic components. Subsequently, one of these companies, Techtron Pty Ltd, made a complete instrument and became a major supplier to the international market. Techtron expanded rapidly and in 1967 was sold to a large US company, Varian Associates Inc., which still operates as Varian Australia Pty Ltd and manufactures atomic absorption spectrometers and other scientific instruments at Mulgrave, Victoria.