Research Instruments

You might not guess it from its name, but Cornwall based, Research Instruments (RI) has helped create more bundles of joy than perhaps any other company in the world.

That’s because it’s a leading maker of micromanipulation equipment used in-vitro fertilisation (IVF).

These astonishingly accurate and sensitive devices have helped thousands of people overcome fertility problems that only a few years ago would have been insurmountable.

When the company started out in 1968, IVF was still very much a speck in a petri dish, and RI began by making equipment to handle micro-electronic components. Then, at a meeting of the British Association, a leading fertility specialist saw a demonstration of this equipment and realised that it also had applications in his field. Within a few years, RI was selling micromanipulation devices to IVF centres all around the world.

Research Instruments is also responsible for developing a new product that has changed IVF forever. IVF Witness eliminates human error throughout the IVF procedure and gives ultimate peace of mind to both the IVF unit and the patient. Fertility clinics have begun using this electronic tag to prevent mix-ups over IVF samples.  The product was developed following a series of high profile cases where women had ended up with another patient's baby.

RI now sells mainly to hospitals and clinics, and is the leading supplier of IVF micromanipulation equipment in the UK. It exports 80% of its production, with Asia, Russia and Europe major markets.  Research Instruments is now a world leader in its field.

The company employs 51 staff with over 50% of its employees at graduate level. A high proportion of staff are recruited locally, with the company providing training in the highly specialised processes that it uses.

Bill Brown, Managing Director says; “A huge part of our success is having great staff. The fact is you can have great products and a great location – but if your staff don’t leave the right impression on your customers, you’ll limit your business.”