Beckman Instruments,now known as Beckman Coulter Inc., is a company that makes scientific measuring instruments. Founded by Caltech professor Arnold O. Beckman in 1935 to commercialize a pH meter that he had invented, the company eventually grew to employ over 3500 people, with $2.3 billion in annual sales by 2003. Its current headquarters are in Fullerton, California.
In 1955, Arnold Beckman established the seminal Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory as a division of Beckman Instruments to begin commercializing the semiconductor transistor technology invented by CalTech alumnus William Shockley. Because Shockley's aging mother lived in Palo Alto, California, the Shockley Laboratory was established in nearby Mountain View, California, and thus, "Silicon Valley" was born.
The company merged into SmithKline to form SmithKline Beckman,with Arnold Beckman as vice chairman,but regained its independence when SmithKline merged with Beecham Group to form SmithKline Beecham (now part of GlaxoSmithKline).The current name dates from after the acquisition of Coulter Laboratories.
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