NEW XRF CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE

Rigaku Corporation (Japan) is pleased to announce the formation of a new research and development, manufacturing, sales, service and support subsidiary - Applied Rigaku Technologies, Inc. (ART) - dedicated to Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) and related elemental analysis technologies.

This new U.S.-based "EDXRF Center of Excellence" is located in an all new 20,000 square foot facility in the northwest quadrant of Austin, Texas. As an affiliated company of the Rigaku XRF product group based in Osaka, Japan, ART will participate in the co-development of novel and cost-effective X-ray based analytical instruments and techniques to better serve the metrology requirements of the company’s expanding global customer base. The objective of this innovative organization structure is to provide - industry, academe and governments - worldwide access to the latest in X-ray analytical technologies while delivering to customers a partnership-level service and support experience.

Commenting on the establishment of Applied Rigaku Technologies, Rigaku Chairman and CEO Mr. Hikaru Shimura said that "the hallmark of Rigaku management is to provide solutions to our customers based on careful observation of how their needs are changing … and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy is the latest example of that commitment." The new organization is lead by Mr. Robert Bartek, President, who has a 20 year background in XRF and related analytical instrumentation. In commenting on the establishment of the new organization, Mr. Bartek elaborated that "it is a profound opportunity to be part of the Rigaku organization … a company with an impressive history of continuous scientific innovation … bringing to market customized analytical solutions to better serve the industry."

The core team assembled by Mr. Bartek includes an impressive group of talent with more than 100 years of collective analytical instrumentation experience. The customer relationship experience will be managed by Mr. Doug Keene as head of sales and Mr. Scott Fess in product management. Leading R&D, engineering, production, and service efforts will be Mr. John Harlan, Mr. Andy Heilveil, Mr. Randy Hill, Mr. Kevin Krompart, Mr. Ronny Reese and Ms. Marianne Hess.