Cairn Research Ltd. is an independent scientific instruments manufacturer based in Faversham in the UK. We mainly produce instrumentation for fast, sensitive optical measurements, with our equipment being found around the......Cairn Research Ltd. is an independent scientific instruments manufacturer based in Faversham in the UK. We mainly produce instrumentation for fast, sensitive optical measurements, with our equipment being found around the world in laboratories using fluorescent indicators as tools to monitor cellular ion concentrations. Our customer base is primarily prestigious researchers with demanding scientific goals, and their input has encouraged our expansion into experimentally related areas, such as electrophysiology, with our Optopatch patch clamp amplifier becoming increasingly popular. The company was set up in 1985 by Dr Martin Thomas, who had previously combined his interests in research and commerce by accepting an offer to join an industrial research laboratory. Martins industrial experiences led him to believe that a small company with a "can-do" philosophy, unimpeded by external interference, could compete effectively with much larger organisations. Thus Cairn was conceived, and to meet the requirement of independence, the business has always been self-financing. We purchased our existing premises in 1989 and the company has grown steadily in the time we have been here. In recent years we have been looking for a new location to allow further expansion, and earlier this year we succeeded in obtaining relevant planning permissions for a new, much larger site. With construction now in progress, we expect to occupy the new buildings in the spring of 2003. Cairn has a very active R&D programme, and we are assisted in this by the use of professional development software for specialist design work. We have workstations for Vutrax for electronic design and component layout Zemax for optical design and development and SolidEdge for 3D modelling and drafting. To complement this we have in-house mechanical engineering facilities, which are used extensively for both research and development and custom design projects. The nature of our research programme helps us to provide the best possible customer support, as it is usually possible to speak to the person who actually designed a product or system to answer questions or solve problems. In addition to manufacturing our own proprietary research equipment we are experienced in providing complete integrated systems based around our hardware and high quality components from other suppliers. We have good working relationships with the top manufacturers of research microscopes, regularly supplying microscopes from Olympus, Zeiss, Nikon and Leica. In the fluorescence imaging field we work with companies such as Universal Imaging, Roper Scientific, Kinetic Imaging and Hammamatsu to provide comprehensive solutions. We guarantee that whether you choose to buy a single component or an entire system from Cairn, you will get the same high level of service and support.