Whatman plc

Last updated
Whatman plc
(part of Cytiva)
Company type Product brand
Founded1740;284 years ago (1740) in Maidstone, Kent, United Kingdom [1]
Founder James Whatman
Headquarters,
Website cytivalifesciences.com/whatman

Whatman plc is a Cytiva brand specialising in laboratory filtration products and separation technologies.

Contents

Whatman products cover a range of laboratory applications that require filtration, sample collection (cards and kits), blotting, lateral flow components and flow-through assays and other general laboratory accessories.

Formerly Whatman plc, the company was originally acquired in 2008 by GE Healthcare, which became Cytiva in April 2020.

History

Founder's innovation and impact

Mr. Whatman's Turkey Paper Mills by Paul Sandby (1794) Paul Sandby - A View of Vinters at Boxley, Kent, with Mr. Whatman's Turkey Paper Mills - Google Art Project.jpg
Mr. Whatman's Turkey Paper Mills by Paul Sandby (1794)

The papermaker James Whatman the Elder (1702–1759) founded the Whatman papermaking enterprise in 1740 in Maidstone, Kent, England. He made revolutionary advances to the craft in England and is credited [2] as the inventor of wove paper (or Vélin), an innovation used for high-quality art and printing. His son, James Whatman the Younger (1741–1798), further developed the company's techniques. [3] At a time when the craft was based in smaller paper mills, Whatman innovations led to the large-scale and widespread industrialisation of paper manufacturing.

John Baskerville (1707-1775), who needed paper that would take a light impression of the printing plate, approached Whatman; the resultant paper was used for the edition of Virgil's poetry, embellished with Baskerville's typography and designs. [3] The earliest examples of wove paper, bearing his watermark, appeared after 1740. [4]

The Whatman business is credited with the invention of the wove wire mesh used to mould and align pulp fibres. [2] This is the principal method used in the mass production of most modern paper. The Whatmans held a part interest in the establishment at Turkey Mill, near Maidstone, after 1740; [1] this was wholly acquired through the elder Whatman's marriage to Ann Harris. [2]

"Handmade" paper bearing the Whatman's mark continued in production for special editions and art books [3] until 2002. [5]

Acquisition

On 4 February 2008 GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric, acquired Whatman plc at 270p per share in cash for each Whatman share, valuing Whatman at approximately £363 million (approximately $713 million.) Last production at Maidstone (Springfield Mill) occurred on 17 June 2014. [5]

Key products and technologies

Whatman 3-Piece Filter Funnel Whatman 3-Piece Filter Funnel 4-7 cm .jpg
Whatman 3-Piece Filter Funnel

The Whatman product range covers

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filtration</span> Process that separates solids from fluids

Filtration is a physical separation process that separates solid matter and fluid from a mixture using a filter medium that has a complex structure through which only the fluid can pass. Solid particles that cannot pass through the filter medium are described as oversize and the fluid that passes through is called the filtrate. Oversize particles may form a filter cake on top of the filter and may also block the filter lattice, preventing the fluid phase from crossing the filter, known as blinding. The size of the largest particles that can successfully pass through a filter is called the effective pore size of that filter. The separation of solid and fluid is imperfect; solids will be contaminated with some fluid and filtrate will contain fine particles. Filtration occurs both in nature and in engineered systems; there are biological, geological, and industrial forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Baskerville</span> English businessman

John Baskerville was an English businessman, in areas including japanning and papier-mâché, but he is best remembered as a printer and type designer. He was also responsible for inventing "wove paper", which was considerably smoother than "laid paper", allowing for sharper printing results.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern blot</span> DNA analysis technique

Southern blot is a method used for detection and quantification of a specific DNA sequence in DNA samples. This method is used in molecular biology. Briefly, purified DNA from a biological sample is digested with restriction enzymes, and the resulting DNA fragments are separated by using an electric current to move them through a sieve-like gel or matrix, which allows smaller fragments to move faster than larger fragments. The DNA fragments are transferred out of the gel or matrix onto a solid membrane, which is then exposed to a DNA probe labeled with a radioactive, fluorescent, or chemical tag. The tag allows any DNA fragments containing complementary sequences with the DNA probe sequence to be visualized within the Southern blot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filter paper</span> Semi-permeable paper barrier

Filter paper is a semi-permeable paper barrier placed perpendicular to a liquid or air flow. It is used to separate fine solid particles from liquids or gases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maidstone</span> Largest town in and county town of Kent, England, UK

Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it with Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river carried much of the town's trade as the centre of the agricultural county of Kent, which is known as the Garden of England. There is evidence of settlement in the area dating back before the Stone Age. The town, part of the borough of Maidstone, had an approximate population of 100,000 in 2019. Since World War II, the town's economy has shifted from heavy industry towards light industry and services.

A fecal coliform is a facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped, gram-negative, non-sporulating bacterium. Coliform bacteria generally originate in the intestines of warm-blooded animals. Fecal coliforms are capable of growth in the presence of bile salts or similar surface agents, are oxidase negative, and produce acid and gas from lactose within 48 hours at 44 ± 0.5°C. The term thermotolerant coliform is more correct and is gaining acceptance over "fecal coliform".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wove paper</span> Writing paper with a uniform surface, not ribbed or watermarked

Wove paper is a type of paper first created centuries ago in the Orient, and subsequently introduced to England, Europe and the American colonies in the mid-eighteenth century. Hand-made wove paper was first produced by using a wooden mould that contained a finely-woven brass vellum, upon which the paper pulp was applied and dried, creating a smooth, uniform surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blotting paper</span> Absorbent paper

Blotting paper is a highly absorbent type of paper used to absorb ink or oil from writing material, particularly when quills or fountain pens were popular. It could also be used in testing how much oil is present in products. Blotting paper referred to as bibulous paper is mainly used in microscopy to remove excess liquids from the slide before viewing. Blotting paper has also been sold as a cosmetic to aid in the removal of skin oils and makeup.

Events from the year 1740 in Great Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filter press</span>

An industrial filter press is a tool used in separation processes, specifically to separate solids and liquids. The machine stacks many filter elements and allows the filter to be easily opened to remove the filtered solids, and allows easy cleaning or replacement of the filter media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Len</span> River in Kent, England

The River Len is a river in Kent, England. It rises at a spring in Bluebell Woods to the southeast of the village centre of Lenham 0.6 miles (0.97 km) from the source of the River Great Stour; both rise on the Greensand Ridge. Its length is c10 miles (16 km). It enters the River Medway at Maidstone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paper</span> Material for writing, printing, etc.

Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses, or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through a fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed on the surface, followed by pressing and drying. Although paper was originally made in single sheets by hand, almost all is now made on large machines—some making reels 10 metres wide, running at 2,000 metres per minute and up to 600,000 tonnes a year. It is a versatile material with many uses, including printing, painting, graphics, signage, design, packaging, decorating, writing, and cleaning. It may also be used as filter paper, wallpaper, book endpaper, conservation paper, laminated worktops, toilet tissue, currency, and security paper, or in a number of industrial and construction processes.

The River Medway and its tributaries and sub-tributaries have been used for more than 1,150 years as a source of power. There are over two hundred sites where the use of water power is known. Many different processes were performed by the use of water power:- corn milling, fulling, paper making, iron smelting, pumping water, making gunpowder, vegetable-oil extraction, and electricity generation. Today, there is just one watermill working for trade. Those that remain have mostly been converted. Such conversions include a garage, dwellings, restaurants, museums and a wedding venue. Some watermills are mere derelict shells, lower walls or lesser remains. Of the majority, there is nothing to be seen. A large number of tributaries feed into the River Medway. The tributaries that powered watermills will be described in the order that they feed in. The mills are described in order from source to mouth. Left bank and right bank are referred to as though the reader is facing downstream. This article deals with the watermills on the tributaries that feed in below Yalding.

A reverse phase protein lysate microarray (RPMA) is a protein microarray designed as a dot-blot platform that allows measurement of protein expression levels in a large number of biological samples simultaneously in a quantitative manner when high-quality antibodies are available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamp paper</span>

Postage stamp paper is the foundation or substrate of the postage stamp to which the ink for the stamp's design is applied to one side and the adhesive is applied to the other. The paper is not only the foundation of the stamp but it has also been incorporated into the stamp's design, has provided security against fraud and has aided in the automation of the postal delivery system.

Whatman may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Whatman (papermaker)</span>

James Whatman (1702–1759), the Elder, was a paper maker, born in Kent, who made revolutionary advances to the craft in England. He is noted as the inventor of wove paper, an innovation used for high-quality art and printing. The techniques continued to be developed by his son, James Whatman the Younger (1741–1798). At a time when the craft was based in smaller paper mills, his innovations led to the large scale and widespread industrialisation of paper manufacturing.

Bioburden is normally defined as the number of bacteria living on a surface that has not been sterilized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gravity filtration</span>

Gravity filtration is a method of filtering impurities from solutions by using gravity to pull liquid through a filter. The two main kinds of filtration used in laboratories are gravity and vacuum/suction. Gravity filtration is often used in chemical laboratories to filter precipitates from precipitation reactions as well as drying agents, inadmissible side items, or remaining reactants. While it can also be used to separate out strong products, vacuum filtration is more commonly used for this purpose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susanna Whatman</span> English writer on household management (1753–1814)

Susanna Whatman was a British writer on household management who came to notice about 200 years after her birth.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Early Years". Whatman. Archived from the original on 2008-03-28.
  2. 1 2 3 Baker, Anne Pimlott (2004). "Whatman, James (1702–1759), paper maker" . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/40776 . Retrieved 2020-08-30.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  3. 1 2 3 Roberts, Matt T.; Etherington, Don (2011-11-19). "Whatman, James (1741–1798)". Bookbinding and the conservation of books: A dictionary of descriptive terminology . U.S. Government Printing Office. ISBN   978-0-8444-0366-3 . Retrieved 2016-09-02.
  4. "Watermark and countermark library". Conservation. National Gallery of Australia. 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
  5. 1 2 Chalmers, Mark (September 2016). "Whatman - Springfield Paper Mill, Maidstone". Archive (91). Witney: Lightmoor Press: 52–65.