Waters Corporation (‘Waters’), a global company in analytical instruments and software, pioneers innovations in chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis serving life, materials and food sciences.
Waters operates directly in over 35 countries and has products available in more than 100 countries. The company primarily designs, manufactures, sells, and services high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC, and together with HPLC, refer...
Waters Corporation (‘Waters’), a global company in analytical instruments and software, pioneers innovations in chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis serving life, materials and food sciences.
Waters operates directly in over 35 countries and has products available in more than 100 countries. The company primarily designs, manufactures, sells, and services high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC, and together with HPLC, referred to as LC) and mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products, and comprehensive post-warranty service plans. These systems are complementary products that are frequently employed together (LC-MS) and sold as integrated instrument systems using common software platforms. In addition, the company designs, manufactures, sells, and services thermal analysis, rheometry, and calorimetry instruments through its TA InstrumentsTM (TA) product line. The company is also a developer and supplier of advanced software-based products that interface with the company’s instruments, as well as other manufacturers’ instruments.
The company’s products are used by pharmaceutical, clinical, biochemical, industrial, nutritional safety, environmental, academic, and governmental customers working in research and development, quality assurance, and other laboratory applications. LC is a standard technique and is utilized in a broad range of industries to detect, identify, monitor, and measure the chemical, physical, and biological composition of materials, and to purify a full range of compounds. MS technology, principally in conjunction with chromatography, is employed in drug discovery and development, including clinical trial testing, the analysis of proteins in disease processes (known as proteomics), nutritional safety analysis, and environmental testing. LC-MS instruments combine a liquid phase sample introduction and separation system with mass spectrometric compound identification and quantification. The company’s thermal analysis, rheometry, and calorimetry instruments are used in predicting the suitability and stability of fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, water, polymers, metals, and viscous liquids for various industrial, consumer goods, and healthcare products, as well as for life science research.
Business Segments
The company determined that it has two operating segments: Waters and TA.
The Waters operating segment is primarily in the business of designing, manufacturing, selling, and servicing LC and MS instrument systems, columns, and other precision chemistry consumables.
The TA operating segment is primarily in the business of designing, manufacturing, selling, and servicing thermal analysis, rheometry, and calorimetry instruments.
The company’s two operating segments have similar economic characteristics, product processes, products and services, types and classes of customers, methods of distribution, and regulatory environments. Because of these similarities, the two segments have been aggregated into one reporting segment for financial statement purposes. Operations of the Wyatt business are part of the Waters operating segment.
Waters Products and Markets
High-Performance and Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography
HPLC is a standard technique used to identify and analyze the constituent components of a variety of chemicals and other materials. As a result, HPLC is used to analyze substances in a wide variety of industries for research and development purposes, quality control, and process engineering applications.
The most significant end-use markets for HPLC are those served by the pharmaceutical and life science industries. In these markets, HPLC is used extensively to understand diseases, identify new drugs, develop manufacturing methods, and assure the potency and purity of new pharmaceuticals. HPLC is also used in a variety of other applications, such as analyses of foods and beverages for nutritional labeling and compliance with safety regulations, and the testing of water and air purity within the environmental testing industry, as well as applications in other industries, such as chemical and consumer products. Waters also has in-vitro diagnostic labeled products that are used as general-purpose instruments for clinical diagnostic applications, such as newborn screening and therapeutic drug management, in countries where these products are registered. HPLC is also used by universities, research institutions, and governmental agencies, such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and their foreign counterparts that mandate safety and efficacy testing.
Waters had introduced a novel technology that the company describes as ultra-performance liquid chromatography, which utilizes a packing material with small, uniform diameter particles and a specialized instrument, the ACQUITYTM UPLCTM System, to accommodate the increased pressure and narrower chromatographic bands that are generated by these small and tightly packed particles. By using the ACQUITY UPLC System, researchers and analysts are able to achieve more comprehensive chemical separations and faster analysis times in comparison with many analyses previously performed by HPLC. In addition, in using the ACQUITY UPLC System, researchers have the potential to extend the range of applications beyond that of HPLC, enabling them to uncover more levels of scientific information. While offering significant performance advantages, the ACQUITY UPLC System is also compatible with the company’s software products and the general operating protocols of HPLC. For these reasons, the company’s customers and field sales and support organizations are well positioned to utilize this innovative technology and instrument.
Waters manufactures LC instruments that are offered in configurations that allow for varying degrees of automation, from component configured systems for academic teaching and research applications to fully automated systems for regulated and high sample throughput testing, and that have a variety of detection technologies, from optical-based ultra-violet absorbance, refractive index and fluorescence detectors to a suite of MS-based detectors, optimized for certain analyses.
Waters had introduced the DynaProTM ZetaStarTM instrument through its Wyatt TechnologyTM portfolio for nanoparticle analysis. The new instrument simultaneously enables dynamic and static light scattering, as well as dynamic and electrophoretic light scattering measurements, all in one device. By combining multiple light scattering techniques and automatically assessing data quality and performing adaptive data capture, the ZetaStar instrument delivers both increased sensitivity and faster measurements to aid the precise development of complex biologics, using extremely low sample volumes.
In 2024, the company introduced HPLC CONNECT software, an all-in-one software platform that enables full digital synchronization between Waters high- and ultra-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC/UPLC) systems and multi-angle light-scattering instruments (MALS) from its Wyatt Technology portfolio. The software delivers ease-of-use, greater efficiency, and higher confidence for scientists performing size exclusion chromatography and MALS (SEC-MALS) analyses for complex and critical biopharmaceutical innovations, including antibody-drug conjugates, other complex protein conjugates, and gene therapies.
The primary consumable products for LC instruments are chromatography columns. These columns are packed with separation media used in the LC testing process and are typically replaced at regular intervals. The chromatography column contains one of several types of packing material, typically stationary phase particles made from silica or polymeric resins. As a pressurized sample is introduced to the column inlet and permeates through the packed column, it is separated into its constituent components.
The company’s precision chemistry consumable products also include environmental and nutritional safety testing products, including Certified Reference Materials and Proficiency Testing products. Laboratories around the world and across multiple industries use these products for quality control and proficiency testing and purchase product support services required to help with their federal and state mandated accreditation requirements or with quality control over critical pharmaceutical analysis.
The new Waters XBridgeTM Premier GTx BEHTM size exclusion chromatography columns double the speed of measuring the potency and safety of adeno-associated viral (AAV). Combining the columns with light scattering technologies from its Wyatt Technology portfolio deepens the level of information acquired from a single experiment and optimizes the manufacturing of these novel gene delivery vehicles.
The company also introduced the AllianceTM iS HPLC System, the next-generation intelligent HPLC System, designed to reduce compliance risk by adding new levels of proactive error detection, troubleshooting, and ease-of-use. When combined with Waters compliance-ready EmpowerTM Chromatography Software and eConnectTM HPLC Columns, the Alliance iS HPLC System streamlines the task of making accurate and precise measurements by detecting and eliminating common errors. In doing so, the Alliance iS HPLC System helps quality control laboratories to consistently meet quality, safety, compliance, and on-time product delivery goals. This system also integrates with the cloud-native waters_connectTM System Monitoring Software, enabling real-time monitoring of the Alliance iS HPLC System and any other chromatography instruments controlled by Empower Software. In addition, Waters introduced the new bioprocess walk-up solutions designed to further simplify biologic sample preparation and analysis. This solution eliminated the need to send bioreactor samples to a central laboratory for analysis, making it even easier to accelerate upstream bioprocess development by up to six weeks over traditional methods.
In 2024, Waters introduced the new Oasis WAX/GCB and GCB/WAX for PFAS Analysis Cartridges with new design features that significantly streamline and expedite sample preparation and analysis of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). To help ensure accuracy and further confidence in test results, Oasis WAX/GCB and GCB/WAX Cartridges are QC-tested by an accredited laboratory for low residual PFAS, to reduce or eliminate any time spent troubleshooting potential assay contamination. The company also introduced the Alliance iS Bio HPLC System with new capabilities that address the operational and analytical challenges of biopharma quality control laboratories. The new HPLC system combines advanced bio-separation technology and built-in instrument intelligence features and is designed to help biopharma QC analysts boost efficiency and eliminate up to 40% of common errors, saving time lost by investigating the source of failed runs and out-of-specification results. In addition, Waters introduced the new GTxResolve Premier Size Exclusion Chromatography 1000Å 3-micron (3 µm) Columns. Waters has implemented a unique combination of novel packing materials and MaxPeakPremier High-Performance Surface technology into the columns to help scientists accelerate the development of gene-based therapeutics, including cell & gene, mRNA, and lipid nanoparticles.
Mass Spectrometry (MS) and Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
MS is a powerful analytical technology that is used to identify unknown compounds, to quantify known materials, and to elucidate the structural and chemical properties of molecules by measuring the masses of molecules that have been converted into ions.
The company is a technology and market leader in the development, manufacture, sale, and service of MS instruments and components. These instruments are typically integrated and used along with other complementary analytical instruments and systems, such as LC, chemical electrophoresis, and gas chromatography. A wide variety of instrumental designs fall within the overall category of MS instrumentation, including devices that incorporate quadrupole, ion trap, time-of-flight (Tof), magnetic sector, and ion mobility technologies. Furthermore, these technologies are often used in tandem to maximize the speed and/or efficacy of certain experiments.
The company offers a wide range of MS instrument systems utilizing various combinations of quadrupole, Tof, and ion mobility designs. These instrument systems are used in drug discovery and development, as well as for environmental, clinical, and nutritional safety testing. The overwhelming majority of mass spectrometers sold by the company is designed to utilize an LC system and a liquid compatible interface (such as an electrospray ionization source) as the sample introduction device. These products supply a diverse market with a strong emphasis on the pharmaceutical, biomedical, clinical, food and beverage, and environmental market segments worldwide.
MS is an increasingly important detection technology for LC. The company’s smaller-sized mass spectrometers, such as the single quadrupole detector and the tandem quadrupole detector (TQD), are often referred to as LC detectors and are typically sold as part of an LC system or as an LC system upgrade. Larger quadrupole systems, such as the XevoTM TQ MS System and Xevo TQ-S MS System, are used primarily for experiments performed for late-stage drug development, including clinical trial testing. Quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-Tof) instruments, such as the company’s SYNAPTTM G2-S HDMS System, are often used to analyze the role of proteins in disease processes, an application sometimes referred to as proteomics.
LC and MS are typically embodied within an analytical system tailored for either a dedicated class of analyses or as a general-purpose analytical device. An increasing percentage of the company’s customers are purchasing LC and MS components simultaneously, and it has become common for LC and MS instrumentation to be used within the same laboratory and operated by the same user. The descriptions of LC and MS above reflect the historical segmentation of these analytical technologies and the historical categorization of their respective practitioners. Increasingly in today’s instrument market, this segmentation and categorization is becoming obsolete as a high percentage of instruments used in the laboratory embody both LC and MS technologies as part of a single device. In response to this development and to further promote the high utilization of these hybrid instruments, the company has organized its Waters operating segment to develop, manufacture, sell, and service integrated LC-MS systems.
The company introduced the new Xevo G3 Q-Tof Mass Spectrometer with CONFIRM Sequence, a new oligonucleotide sequencing confirmation app for the waters_connect Software platform and an electrospray ionization source for the high-resolution SELECT SERIES MRT Mass Spectrometer.
The company has been a developer and supplier of software-based products that interface with both the company’s and other suppliers’ instruments. The company’s newest software technology for mass spectrometry is the waters_connect Software platform.
The company had introduced a new PFAS quantitation workflow enabled by enhancements to its waters_connect Software for quantitation software, and the company introduced Extraction+ TM Connected Device, a new software-controlled product for the Waters Andrew+TM Pipetting Robot that automates the preparation of biological, food, forensics, and environmental samples by solid phase extraction.
The company also had introduced the next generation Xevo TQ Absolute IVD Mass Spectrometer, expanding its family of MassTrakTM IVD LC-MS/MS Systems for clinical diagnostic applications. The powerful analytical performance of the Xevo TQ Absolute IVD Mass Spectrometer is up to five times more sensitive for quantifying clinical analytes. This sensitivity enables clinical laboratories to detect and measure trace level analytes within a sample at lower detection levels than previously possible. The new MassTrak LC-MS/MS IVD System includes the ACQUITY UPLC I-Class PLUS System with the Xevo TQ Absolute IVD Mass Spectrometer. The ACQUITY UPLC I-Class PLUS System is designed to deliver rapid and accurate sample analysis to enhance the sensitivity of any mass spectrometer and simplify the characterization of the most complex sample. The Xevo TQ Absolute IVD System provides more consistent instrument-to-instrument performance, with a user-friendly design that maximizes service uptime. Its innovative design is also 45% smaller and uses 50% less nitrogen gas and electricity than comparable tandem quadrupole-mass spectrometry systems, making it ideal for hospital labs and independent commercial labs with both sustainability and business growth goals to meet.
In addition, the company introduced the industry’s first targeted imaging mass spectrometer based on its Xevo TQ Absolute Tandem Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer, which is the most sensitive and compact mass spectrometer in its class. The new instrument combines the Waters DESI XS source with the Xevo TQ Absolute System and is five times more sensitive and five times faster than discovery-based imaging systems at precisely determining whether a particular small molecule drug product, and how much of it, reaches its intended target, such as a brain, liver, or lung, in a test subject. Further, the company announced new updates to its SELECT SERIES MRT System that increase its specificity and utility for UPLC-MS/MS metabolomics and drug discovery applications and for mass spectrometry imaging experiments. The MRT System now offers 50% higher resolution, making it capable of 300,000 FWHM resolution, a 3X faster scan rate, and parts-per-billion mass accuracy. These MRT System enhancements are designed to help research scientists unambiguously identify analytes of interest in samples of blood, urine, and tissue, contributing to a greater understanding of molecules and their mechanisms of action in numerous scientific fields. It is compatible with numerous MS imaging sources, including DESI and MALDI, and generates crystal-clear, high-resolution images without compromising mass spectral resolution or accuracy. Lastly, the company combined its BioAccord LC-MS System and the Waters Andrew+ Pipetting Robot, connecting via new protocols in OneLabTM Software to create fully integrated and easy-to-use bioprocess walk-up solutions. It is designed to enable less experienced LC-MS users to acquire critical quality attribute data for analysis of drug product and cell culture media.
Waters Service
Services provided by Waters enable customers to maximize technology productivity, support customer compliance activities, and provide transparency into enterprise resource management efficiencies. The customer benefits from improved budget control, data-driven technology adoption, and accelerated workflow at a site or on a global perspective. The company considers its service offerings to be differentiated from its competition, as evidenced by a consistent increase in annual service revenues. The company’s principal competitors in the service market include Revvity, Inc., Agilent Technologies, Inc., and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
The servicing and support of instruments, software, and accessories is an important source of revenue and represented over 35% of sales for Waters in 2024. These revenues are derived primarily through the sale of support plans, demand services, spare parts, customer performance validation services, and customer training. Support plans typically involve scheduled instrument maintenance and an agreement to promptly repair a non-functioning instrument in return for a fee described in a contract that is priced according to the configuration of the instrument.
The waters_connect System Monitoring is a new Software-as-a-Service application that enables laboratory managers and analysts to monitor the real-time status of any chromatography instruments, regardless of the manufacturer, running on Waters Empower Software. The waters_connect System Monitoring application was developed especially for high-volume quality assurance/quality control laboratories. The cloud-native application also helps lab managers utilize capital resources better by providing an understanding of instrument history and usage levels, and improve the productivity of their teams.
TA Products and Markets
Thermal Analysis, Rheometry, and Calorimetry
Thermal analysis measures the physical or thermodynamic characteristics of materials as a function of temperature. Changes in temperature affect several characteristics of materials, such as their heat flow characteristics, physical state, weight, dimension, and mechanical and electrical properties. Consequently, thermal analysis techniques are widely used in the development, production, and characterization of materials in various industries, such as plastics, chemicals, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, and electronics.
Rheometry instruments often complement thermal analyzers in characterizing materials. Rheometry characterizes the flow properties of materials and measures their viscosity, elasticity, and deformation under different types of loading or other conditions. The information obtained under such conditions provides insight into a material’s behavior during processing, packaging, transport, usage, and storage.
Thermal analysis, rheometry, and calorimetry instruments are heavily used in material testing laboratories and, in many cases, provide information useful in predicting the suitability and stability of industrial polymers, fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, water, metals, and viscous liquids in various industrial, consumer goods, and healthcare products, as well as for life science research. As with systems offered by Waters, a range of instrument configurations is available with increasing levels of sample handling and information processing automation.
TA has introduced the Powder Rheology Accessory, which enables the company’s Discovery Hybrid Rheometers to characterize the behavior of powders during storage, dispensing, processing, and end-use. The Powder Rheology Accessory provides relevant property and processing measurements for battery electrode coatings to prevent defects that cause cell failure, and pharmaceutical tablets to prevent instabilities of API blends.
Additionally, TA introduced Polymer Workflow Guided Methods, which provide walk-up and use functionality by codifying polymer workflows. Guided Methods leverage the power of TRIOS AutoPilot Software and enable novice users to quickly learn and use the instrument to set up test methods, run tests, and execute analyses across the company’s Thermal Analysis and Rheology product lines.
Later, TA introduced a new Battery Cycler Microcalorimeter Solution for high-resolution characterization of battery cells. The instrument and software combination enables non-destructive testing under real-world operating conditions and significantly reduces experiment time from months to weeks, while providing decisive insights for greater battery efficiency, safety, and stability.
In 2024, TA introduced the following new instrument systems:
Rheo-IS accessory for the Discovery Hybrid Rheometers. This new accessory for its Discovery Hybrid Rheometers is designed to enable simultaneous electrical impedance and rheological measurements, a critical capability for scientists working on new battery formulations.
Rapid Screening-Differential Scanning Calorimeter (RS-DSC), designed for biopharmaceutical developers. The RS-DSC is a high-throughput DSC for precise thermal stability testing of high-concentration biologic formulations specifically for antibody drugs and engineered proteins.
TA introduced the Discovery Core Rheometer, a streamlined, modern rheometer designed for routine manufacturing quality control and assurance laboratories.
TA Service
Similar to Waters, the servicing and support of TA’s instruments is an important source of revenue and represented more than 25% of sales for TA in 2024. TA operates independently from the Waters operating segment, though many of its overseas offices are jointly occupied with Waters to achieve operational efficiencies. TA has dedicated field sales and service operations. Service sales are primarily derived from the sale of support plans, replacement parts, and billed labor fees associated with the repair, maintenance, and upgrade of installed systems.
Global Customers
The company typically has a broad and diversified customer base that includes pharmaceutical accounts, other industrial accounts, universities, and governmental agencies. Purchase of the company’s instrument systems is often dependent on its customers’ capital spending or funding, as in the cases of academic, governmental, and research institutions, which often fluctuate from year to year. The pharmaceutical segment represents the company’s largest sector and includes multinational pharmaceutical companies, generic drug manufacturers, contract research organizations (CROs), and biotechnology companies. The company’s other industrial customers include chemical manufacturers, polymer manufacturers, food and beverage companies, and environmental testing laboratories. The company also sells to universities and governmental agencies worldwide. The company’s technical sales and support staff members work closely with its customers in developing and implementing applications that meet their full range of analytical requirements. During 2024, 58% of the company’s net sales were to pharmaceutical accounts, 31% to other industrial accounts, and 11% to academic institutions and governmental agencies. Although the company transacts business with various government agencies, no government contract is of such magnitude that a renegotiation of profits or termination of the contract at the election of the government agency would have a material adverse effect on the company’s financial results.
The company typically experiences seasonality in its orders that is reflected as an increase in sales in the fourth quarter, as a result of purchasing habits for capital goods of many customers who tend to exhaust their spending budgets by calendar year-end. The company does not rely on any single customer for a material portion of its sales.
Sales and Service
The company has one of the largest direct sales and service organizations focused exclusively on the analytical workflows offered by the company. Across these product technologies, using respective specialized sales and service workforces, the company serves its customer base with 79 sales offices throughout the world as of December 31, 2024, and approximately 4,200 field representatives in 2024. This investment in sales and service personnel serves to maintain and expand the company’s installed base of instruments. The company’s sales representatives have direct responsibility for account relationships, while service representatives work in the field to install instruments, train customers, and minimize instrument downtime. In-house and field-based technical support representatives work directly with customers, providing them assistance with applications and procedures on company products. The company provides customers with comprehensive information through various corporate and geographic-specific internet websites and product literature and also makes consumable products available through electronic ordering facilities and a dedicated catalog.
Manufacturing and Distribution
The company assembles a portion of its LC instruments at its facility in Milford, Massachusetts, where it performs machining, assembly, and testing. The Milford facility maintains quality management and environmental management systems in accordance with the requirements of ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485:2016, ISO 45001:2018, and ISO 14001:2015, and adheres to applicable regulatory requirements (including the FDA Quality System Regulation and the European In-Vitro Diagnostic Directive). In addition, the company outsources the manufacturing of certain LC instrument systems and components to well-established contract manufacturing firms in Singapore. The company’s Singapore entity is ISO 9001:2015 certified and manages all Asian outsourced manufacturing as well as the distribution of all products from Asia.
The company primarily manufactures and distributes its LC columns at its facilities in Taunton, Massachusetts, and Wexford, Ireland. In February 2024, the company completed an expansion of its Taunton manufacturing facility, with the expansion occurring between 2018 and 2024. The Taunton facility processes, sizes, and treats silica and polymeric media that are packed into columns, solid phase extraction cartridges, and bulk shipping containers in both Taunton and Wexford. The Wexford facility also manufactures and distributes certain data, instruments, and software components for the company’s LC, MS, and TA product lines. The company’s Taunton facility is certified to ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015. The Wexford facility is certified to ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485:2016/EN ISO 13485:2016, and ISO 14001:2015. VICAM manufactures antibody-linked resins and magnetic beads that are packed into columns and kits in Milford, Massachusetts. The company manufactures and distributes its Analytical Standards and Reagents and Environmental Resource Associates (ERA) product lines at its facility in Golden, Colorado, which is certified to ISO 9001:2015 and accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2017, ISO/IEC 17034:16, ISO/IEC 17043:2010, and TNI Standard Vol. 3:2016. Some ERA products are also manufactured in the Wexford, Ireland facility, which is also accredited to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 and ISO/IEC 17034:2016.
The company manufactures and distributes its MS products at its facilities in Wilmslow, England, and Wexford, Ireland. In 2024, Waters opened a new facility in Birmingham, England. Each stage of this supply chain is closely monitored by the company to maintain high quality and performance standards. The instruments, components, or modules are then returned to the company’s facilities, where its engineers perform final assembly, calibrations to customer specifications, and quality control procedures. The company’s MS facilities are certified to ISO 9001:2015, ISO 13485:2016/EN ISO 13485:2016, and ISO 14001:2015 (Wexford only) and adhere to applicable regulatory requirements (including the FDA Quality System Regulation and the European In-Vitro Diagnostic Directive).
TA’s thermal analysis, rheometry, and calorimetry products are manufactured and distributed at the company’s New Castle, Delaware, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Lindon, Utah, and Hüllhorst, Germany facilities. Similar to MS, elements of TA’s products are manufactured by outside contractors and are then returned to the company’s facilities for final assembly, calibration, and quality control. The company’s New Castle facility is certified to the ISO 9001:2015 standard and the Eden Prairie facility is certified to both ISO 9001:2015 and ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standards, and the Lindon facility is certified to ISO 9001:2015.
All instrument manufacturing for Wyatt products takes place at its facilities in Santa Barbara, California. The company’s Wyatt facility in Santa Barbara, California is certified to ISO 9001:2015.
Research and Development
The company’s research and development expenditures for 2024 were $183 million.
Competition
In the markets served by Waters, the company’s principal competitors include Agilent Technologies, Inc., Shimadzu Corporation, Bruker Corporation, Danaher Corporation, and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. In the markets served by TA, the company’s principal competitors include PerkinElmer, Inc., NETZSCH-Geraetebau GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Malvern PANalytical Ltd., a subsidiary of Spectris plc, and Anton-Paar GmbH.
In recent years, the company’s principal competitors for consumable products have included Danaher Corporation, Merck KGaA, Agilent Technologies, Inc., General Electric Company, and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
Regulations
The company is subject to rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which require disclosure as to whether certain materials (tantalum, tin, gold, and tungsten), known as conflict minerals, which may be contained in the company’s products, are mined from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoining countries.
History
Waters Corporation was founded in 1958. The company was incorporated as a Delaware corporation in 1991.
