This year Nikon celebrates 100 years! Of course, we want to be part of the celebration. To find out more about how Nikon Instruments sees its development and success, we interviewed Sumio Eimori, the head of Nikon Instruments.

What have been the most interesting projects/events in recent years at Nikon Instruments?

The introduction of a new inverted microscope Ti2. The inverted microscope is one of the most important microscopes available for live cell imaging. Nikon always leads the technology of inverted microscopes and has done so for the past 30 years. Even the previous model Ti is the best inverted microscope.

What are you most looking forward to in the coming year?

Nikon is constantly developing new technologies and products that are very useful to researchers. Nikon always provides valuable information, service and high quality support to researchers. We are also very keen to listen to the opinions and ideas of researchers which for us, also for the future gives us very valuable information for our future development. All the above is very important until now but also for the future. We will further strengthen the above points.

Which milestones at Nikon are the three most important in your opinion over the last 100 years?

Importantly for the whole of Nikon, just after the Second World War came imaging for business. Then we have the Semiconductor business that started in 1980 and in recent years we have the growing digital camera business that started in 2000.

What personal qualities do you consider to be primary for being employed by Nikon?

Be proactive – keep an open mind and be knowledgeable in order to act quickly and alertly. Communication skills are essential – harmonize different skills by thinking out of the box and communicating effectively with others. Seek new knowledge – learn more through self-study and out of curiosity. Act with integrity – work diligently and responsibly.

What is most important to us at BergmanLabora as a reseller and supplier of Nikon Instruments?

BergmanLabora is a very knowledgeable and reliable partner for Nikon microscopy in Sweden. Nikon is very pleased to work with BergmanLabora. We think BergmanLabora does a great job working with researchers in Sweden; by providing technical support, by providing informative information and by communicating well. BergmanLabora already works a lot with customer support and we want them to continue to put customers first.

History of Nikon Instruments Nikon Story – Instruments Division

Today, Nikon is a world-renowned brand, firmly established as the market leader in optical instrumentation and the only microscope company to manufacture its own glass, ensuring the very best quality assurance throughout production. With over 90 years of expertise in the field, Nikon has always been at the forefront of optical and technological innovation, fostering creativity and reliability as part of its global mission statement.

The Nikon story began back in 1917 when three Japanese optical manufacturers merged to form Nippon Kogaku KK (‘Japan Optik’), producing precision optical glass. In 1925, the brand expanded to produce the first microscope with a rotating interchangeable objective – the Joico microscope. The next few decades brought considerable growth to the microscopy division, pioneering polarizing and stereo microscopes were introduced in addition to products for the increased measurement and inspection market. In the 1970s, the CF Optical system was formed and Nikon introduced Optiphot and Labophot microscopes. In the 1980s, Nikon launched more than 80 new products and the first test tube baby in the United States (1981) was developed using a Nikon inverted Diaphot microscope.

The 1990s saw the introduction of the Eclipse range of infinite optics. Science has progressed at record speed. Dolly the sheep was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell using a Nikon Diaphot microscope in the process. The new millennium saw the birth of digital imaging solutions for microscopy and Nikon once again led the market in providing superior and practical cameras for these applications.

The introduction of the DS camera series and the Coolscope contributed to further progress in the transmission of images. One never knows what will happen in the future but what is evident is the pace at which changes are now taking place. Applications and disciplines that were once completely separate are now coming closer together in areas such as Lab-on-Chip and Biophysics. These have led to the development of unique interdisciplinary products including the AZ100, N-SIM and N-STORM plus the confocal range of microscopes that now enable the use of ground-breaking techniques such as nanocrystal and GaAsP technology. Cell studies now require the ability to study live, in situ cellular interactions and movements where Nikon has responded with the very latest technology – the BioStation IM and CT series. Nikon has taken the challenges one step at a time and with innovative solutions helped research to introduce some truly memorable achievements.