Waters history

The company’s first major breakthrough occurred in 1961 when John Moore, a chemist at Dow Chemical Company, called for help.

1962: Waters Associates is incorporated.

Moore convinced upper management in Midland, Michigan, who favored a much larger firm, to contract with this tiny instrument company, and in January 1963 Waters made a $10,000 down payment on royalties for his exclusive license to the GPC technology.

1964: Dow Chemical invests $400,000 in Waters Associates.

The company’s big breakthrough came in 1965, when Waters licensed a refractometer from Dow Chemical for analyzing plastics.

In 1967 Waters appointed Dimitri D'Arbeloff, then president of Millipore Corporation, to WA's board of directors.

According to Leslie S. Ettre in a review about Jim Waters, the LC system was formally introduced at the 1968 Pittsburgh Conference.

In 1969, Dimitri D’Arbeloff, then president of Millipore Corporation, joined the corporation's board of directors.

Not only had Millipore's 1970 investment in WA upheld the fledgling company's entrepreneurial thrust, but Millipore President Dimitri D'Arbeloff's position on WA's board of directors helped to steer the company back to profitability.

Waters next big break came in 1972 when Doctor Helmut Hamberger, chief post-doc for Nobel Laureate Doctor Robert Woodward of Harvard University, sought Jim Waters’ help to the first synthesis of vitamin B12.

1973-94: Going Public, Merger, Continuing Recession

Columns packed with the latter, introduced in its present form in 1974, became the best-selling columns in history.

For instance, WA designed equipment modules for each of LC's separate stages and in 1977 began to equip the modules with microprocessors.

McElheny, Victor K., “Separating Chemicals in a Mixture,” New York Times, March 8, 1978.

According to the April 1979 issue of INC. magazine, Waters was now "constantly torn between his two most demanding tasks: overseeing production and designing new products." He hired Francis H. Zenie as production vice-president.

The company also developed the first solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge and a new integrated high-temperature GPC system, known as the Waters 150C. In 1980 WA's sales outside the United States exceeded those from within the country.

The new division was highly profitable at the time of the merger, but around 1985 it became clear that the two companies lacked synergy.

1986: WCD launches the first data networking software: ExpertEase.

Millipore decided to reorganize its operation, placed many capital spending plans on hold, and in 1993 put WCD up for sale.

Under the aegis of Douglas A. Berthiaume—Waters chairman, president, and chief executive officer—in 1994 the company began to renew its focus and regain its entrepreneurial spirit with the introduction of Symmetry HPLC columns for the future.

Since 1995, the company has reported 21 consecutive quarters of double-digit earnings growth and twice effected a two-for-one stock split.

Waters partnered with Bio-Rad Laboratories to introduce an integrated proteomics workstation and analysis system, anchored by Waters industry leading Q-TOF mass spectrometer, first introduced in 1996 as a tandem quadruple time-of-flight mass spectrometer.

These systems had been designed for “analytical method flexibility, superior sensitivity, and the information-rich detection required for bioanalysis,” according to the September 1997 issue of Chemical Business.

Elliott, Alan R., “Drug Makers Drive Sales of Analysis Gear,” Investor’s Business Daily, October 20, 1998.

In June 1999, Waters entered into an agreement with Mantra Software Corporation to develop and market a NuGenesis Archive software application for Waters Millennium 32 Chromatography.

Young, Alison, “Tech Primes Itself for Role in Genetic Work,” Investor’s Business Daily, August 8, 2000.

Waters reported that first quarter 2001 sales increased by 17 percent, as measured in local currencies.

James Logan Waters grew up a headstrong and independent child in Lincoln, Nebraska, during the Great Depression. “Once the drought came, everyone suffered,” recalled Waters in an oral history conducted in 2002 by the Chemical Heritage Foundation.

The most recent of these system innovations, introduced in 2004, has pushed the limits of separation science from high to ultra performance and was inspired by investigations into materials science.

In 2006, Waters acquired Vicam, provider of bioseparation and rapid detection products for improving food safety and quality.

On 11 June 2012, Waters India celebrated its silver jubilee anniversary in India.

In his honor, Waters Corporation established the Jim Waters Society in 2017 to recognize employees for scientific achievement.

At a ceremony in 2019, the University acknowledged Jim with a Pioneer Award for his continued service toward furthering the university’s mission of developing young scientists and contributing to the advancement of STEM education and careers.

In January 2020, Waters acquired Andrew Alliance, an innovator company in specialty laboratory automation technology, including software and robotics.