Specializing in analysis, measurement and control instruments, HORIBA was founded by the late Dr. Masao HORIBA in 1945. On the other side of the world, JOBIN YVON, a French manufacturer of analytical spectroscopic systems and components with a history dating back to 1819, caught the attention of Dr. Horiba.
“Our founder was looking for innovation and he learned about this company through its global reputation, so it was his dream to collaborate and acquire it,” said James Thepot, president of HORIBA France SAS. “In 1997, when the opportunity presented itself, his son, Mr. Atsushi Horiba, acquired JOBIN YVON, and the company became part of the HORIBA Group.”
A year earlier, Mr. Atsushi Horiba purchased ABX SA (today, HORIBA ABX SAS), a hematology analyzer manufacturer specialist and one of the leading in vitro diagnostic devices and reagent manufacturers.
These acquisitions are the pillars on which HORIBA’s expansion into medical diagnostics instruments, systems and scientific instruments are founded.
“ABX was a French niche company manufacturing high-end products, and Mr. Horiba wanted to complement the original offer with these products to customers,” said Thepot. “These two investments were his French dream and led to further investments in the country.”
In 2012, Mr. Horiba continued to invest in our country and the 7,500-square-meter HORIBA Europe Research Center was established in Palaiseau. The facility hosts the company’s scientific engineering team and is part of the Saclay Plateau Research and Innovation Cluster.
The Saclay facility was also selected to host HORIBA’s Automotive Test Systems’ activity in France, a great location for vehicle innovation, so close to key car and equipment manufacturers established in the region,” said Thepot. “We have seen the Paris-Saclay cluster develop since then and are proud of its reputation.”
Supplying over 200 types of scientific instruments to universities, research institutes, governments and manufacturers, HORIBA France SAS has a global market share of 30 percent.
Thepot concludes, “The investments we made in France in the ‘90s led to the group’s expansion and remain the foundations on which we will grow our business in the future.”
Interestingly, HORIBA will celebrate the 200th anniversary of JOBIN YVON next year, the year after celebrating the 160th anniversary of Japan-France diplomatic relations.
