SCHOTT to acquire Australian microfluidic expert MINIFAB

SCHOTT, an international technology group in the areas of specialty glass and glass ceramics, has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire Australian microfluidic company MINIFAB — a move that is expected to allow both partners to significantly enhance their portfolios in the diagnostics market.

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Melbourne, MINIFAB is a contract-engineering firm with 150 employees that provides custom development and manufacturing of polymer microfluidic and micro engineered solutions to international blue chip companies and start-ups in the field of diagnostics, medical devices and environmental monitoring. SCHOTT, meanwhile, is a leading supplier of glass substrates for microarrays and microfluidic components made of glass. By setting up centres of excellence for polymer in Australia and glass in Germany, both will be able to serve their existing customer bases as well as new customers even more effectively in the future.

“MINIFAB’s expertise in business development is unprecedented in the industry,” said Dr Heinz Kaiser, the member of the SCHOTT Board of Management responsible for the diagnostics business. “The combining of our internationally renowned glass development and technology expertise together with MINIFAB’s comprehensive polymer technology suite will enable customers from the diagnostics industry to choose from a broad variety of options for their individual applications.”

“SCHOTT and MINIFAB share a great passion for excellence in highly precise solutions for breakthrough diagnostics applications that improve the daily lives of millions of people,” said Michael Wilkinson, Executive Director and Acting CEO of MINIFAB. “Joining forces will give us the unique possibility to expand our international footprint. Our engineers, bioscientists and manufacturing experts are excited to work with the glass experts from SCHOTT to develop even better diagnostics solutions for the future.”

Image courtesy of SCHOTT.

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