Spotlight on Exhibitor – Niton UK
Thursday, 18 April 2019
What has been your organisation’s biggest achievement in 2018/19?
In 2018 of all Thermo Fisher Scientific world distributors, Niton UK was awarded Star Performer for surpassing our sales target by 20%. Customers included Exxonmobil, ELG and University of Birmingham.
Finalist in the National Recycling Awards 2018 for leading the way in extracting value from waste metals and plastics
What products/technology will you be showcasing at Ceramics UK Adv Mat show?
Handheld materials analysers using X-Ray fluorescence, Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy LIBS and Raman spectroscopy
What technologies or materials do you specialise in?
Spectroscopic analysis of metal alloy, precious metals, ores and minerals, hazardous materials and polymers
If visitors should know one thing about your company and experience, what would it be?
Niton UK’s goal is to maintain its position as the leading supplier of innovative handheld XRF and OES analysers for analysing metal alloys, precious metals, polymers and other solid phase material. Niton UK sales and service teams achieve this by providing the highest quality service to industry, government and academia throughout the UK and Eire.
What might surprise people about your work and applications with advanced materials?
Our smallest lightest handheld instrument weighs under 1.6kg yet measures alloys to below 10ppm accuracy
Niton UK is the market leader for handheld XRF instruments. What sets Niton UK apart from its competitors?
Acclaimed local UK service centre, state-of-the-art portable spectrometry, ISO registered, privately owned…
What are the unique features of Niton’s XRF instruments? How do they differ from other handheld instruments on the market?
Smaller, faster, more accurate, more precise, up to 10 hour battery life, locally serviced & supplied
Your handheld analysers provide instant elemental analysis, allowing users to diagnose many different types of condition. What is the highest profile/ambitious/ exciting project you have seen your products being used on?
Restorers at the Imperial War Museum Duxford have been using a Niton handheld X-Ray fluorescence analyser while restoring an iconic V-bomber which saw service at the height of the cold war. In 2018 the museum bought a Niton XL3T 955 handheld XRF analyser to screen artefacts, parts and materials for hazardous elements such as lead in paint and solder and arsenic in preservatives. The curators and other museum employees, not to mention visitors, must be protected from these hazardous materials. However, during a restoration project involving the Victor XH648, the Niton has also been used to identify the alloys from which the aircraft was built. If restorers pick the same or a similar alloy to repair a corroded part they can avoid causing more damage. Additionally, knowing precisely which material was used to build an aircraft component not only ensures the safety of curators and visitors, but also helps museum staff determine the provenance and improve how well they can tell the story of the aircraft.
Alternative projects below – please ask for more info
Testing metal components of cladding on highrise buildings now essential in the light of the Grenfell disaster (IBIS – XL2 GOLDD),
Contributing to the circular economy by sorting reclaimed steels at ELG Sheffield (XL5 & other XLs) or sorting plastics (Buhler Sortex, Metalrok)
Testing bronze in Prince Albert’s statues on Osborne House on the IOW (XL3)
Do you have any new product development plans that you can tell us about?
In 2019 Niton UK has launched a joint venture with global instrument manufacturer TSI inc to distribute their portable laser-induced breakdown spectrometers the ChemLites that bring lab-grade analysis into the field.
We have just launched a new more robust analyser in the XL2 range, the XL2 Plus. It has the Proguard to protect its detector from puncture by sharp objects, and is IP54 rated for its resistance to dirt and water. This instrument is ideal for the toughest industrial and field environments.
Niton UK is the only approved UK based service facility dedicated to handheld XRF instruments. How important is this heritage to your customers? What advantages does it give you as a company?
Fast efficient service is crucial to our customers, whether it be to buy, calibrate, repair or install an instrument or training users. This is made possible by basing the company near our customers in the UK. See the latest testimonials at http://www.nitonuk.co.uk/case-studies/
Our fully staffed service centre benefits from highly qualified, locally based customer service technicians who support UK customers with instruments manufactured in the USA by global scientific instrument suppliers: Thermo Fisher Scientific and TSI inc.