use distributors or sales representatives, except in special cases. Pitfalls Marketing and pricing are often serious problems. Even established instrument companies can misgage the size of the market for a new instrument. Market information is very difficult to obtain in this industry. I t is also easy to put the wrong price tag on an instrument and scuttle its chances. Production has not been a major problem to firms breaking into the business. While most have their own production facilities, even this isn't necessary. Du Pont has several fabricating shops in the Wilmington area under contract to manufacture to Du Pont specifications. Later, the firm may decide to phase into manufacturing. Du Pont's Instrument Products Division faces a couple of novel problems due to the competitive business of its parent company. The division has to prove to other chemical firms that it will not carry back their confidential process and research information to Du Pont's operating division. The division foresees no problem in convincing customers of its integrity. Competition is a two-edged sword and Du Pont's Instrument Products Division may also have to come to terms with the problem of getting the parent firm to release instruments for commercialization which the manufacturing divisions may prefer to keep under wraps. For example, an instrument may give Du Pont a big edge in product quality. Management may object to permitting competition to have the same advantage in its product quality. Du Pont doesn't have a general rule which blankets this potential situation. Each case will be judged on its own merits. The analytical chemist today has much to gain from the various forces at play in the instrument industry. He stands before a cornucopia of new instruments spurred along by R&D efforts on the one hand, and vigorous commercial exploitation by the instrument community on the other. END •
AO® TS METER the
A GOLDBERG REFRACTOMET£i%
Serum, plasma or urine determinations quickly and accurately... from a single drop THE NEW AO TS METER* requires just one d r o p of sample t o provide immediate, accurate determinations of total solids, specific gravity, refractive index, protein concentration o r water concentration in serum, plasma and urine. MINUTE SAMPLE REQUIRED: As little as 0.02 ml . . . a single d r o p . . . of sample is sufficient for the most precise determinations. TEMPERATURE COMPENSATED: Unique, hermetically-sealed liquid prism eliminates error due to temperature changes. Samples, whether at body or refrigerated temperatures, can be read immediately when the ambient temperature of the instrument is between 65-95° F. URINE SPECIFIC GRAVITY: N o more "Q.N.S." reports. Ideal for pediatrics, oliguric patients and in collections from ureteral catheters. Readings are consistently obtained with a degree of accuracy, speed or reproducibility significantly better than those obtained with urinometers, the fallingdrop method or with instruments uncompensated for temperature. SERUM PROTEINS: Ideal for rapid screening of serum proteins. Samples as small as those obtained from a microhematocrit tube are ample. DIRECT READINGS: You make an immediate analysis directly from the built-in scale . . . readings to 0.1 percent total solids . . . without references to graphs, tables or thermometer readings. "'Total Solids Meter. This method of analysis using the Goldberg Refractometer was developed in close cooperation with Dr. A. V. Wolf, Head of the Department of Physiology, University of Illinois, College of Medicine, Chicago, III.
® American AO Optical COMPANY INSTRUMENT DIVISION, BUFFALO IS, NEW YORK Circle No. 19 on Readers' Service Card
VOL.35,NO.8,JULY1963·31A
