Sapphire Engineering and Upchurch Scientific Merge

Sapphire Engineering Inc. (SEI; www.sapphireengineering.com) of Pocasset, MA, a 100-year-old manufacturer of precision components made from hard materials, has joined with Upchurch Scientific (www.upchurch.com) of Oak Harbor, WA, under the banner of their newly designated parent company—Scivex.

SEI makes precision parts from such materials as synthetic sapphire, ruby, and zirconia ceramics. These materials are known for their inert characteristics and are therefore preferred in the analytical and HPLC instrument markets as wetted component parts in liquid-handling and -detection systems.

The company provides sapphire pistons and ruby ball-seat valves worldwide. It has also offered increasingly complex turnkey subassemblies to OEMs, ranging from complete pump heads and check valves to flow-cell assemblies. Other products include microball lenses and assemblies for fiber optics, technical sapphire components for industrial applications, and low-pressure positive-displacement and dispense pumps.

Upchurch Scientific is a manufacturer of precision fluid-transfer fittings, filters, valves, tubing, and accessories. The company specializes in close-tolerance injection molding, machining, and extrusion of high-end engineering thermoplastics. Key markets for Upchurch include analytical instrumentation, medical devices, and diagnostic products.

Karim Marouf