8 profile
A portable future
John Murphy charts the
Oderkerk says: ‘We started from a clean
sheet. Over the years we had received a lot
course of Avantes, as it
of feedback from customers about the Ocean
takes advantage of an
Optics line. We knew the weak points and
knew we had to pay more attention to the
ever-expanding range of
electronic and software issues. I think they
had a different attitude to customers than we
applications for spectroscopy
do. We wanted to have something that was
better quality, but at a similar price range.’
The fibre optic spectrometer has a major In 2002 Avantes opened its own office in
impact on fields well outside of optics. the US and started to find distributors around
Suddenly, measuring the spectrum of light the world. In 2007 it started a subsidiary in
is no longer something that takes a long China.
time, and no longer needs to be done in the The first products it made were fibre optic
laboratory.
Benno Oderkerk, technical
devices that were added on to the Ocean
director, Avantes
The capabilities, particularly the resolution, Optics spectrometer. When the Windows
of the devices have improved to the stage the Ocean Optics devices and from 1994- operating system came along it developed its
where they can be used from the UV range to 96 the business grew successfully. In 1996 own software package called SpectraWin in
the near infrared. For Avantes these devices Ocean Optics asked Top Sensors to become 1996 (subsequently replaced with AvaSoft).
are no longer spectroscopes; they are smart its distributor throughout Europe and the Oderkerk says: ‘We see the software as
sensors, using light spectrum as a medium for company took the name Ocean Optics an interface to the human being and so we
measuring everything from underlying blood Europe. This arrangement lasted until 2000. thought it was essential to have control of
chemistry to the maturity of a colony of sea Not only was it selling a lot of Ocean Optics the software. Later we started making light
birds (using plumage colour). devices in Europe, it was also selling its own sources and eventually the spectrometers
Avantes technical director Benno Oderkerk range of value-add devices. Ocean Optics in themselves. We have continued to add
says: ‘We have identified in our catalogue the US was selling some of these devices. Top products to our catalogue usually in response
more than 100 applications and every day we Sensors had built up a network of 25 sub to a request from a customer and today we
are being approached by customers asking if it distributors across Europe. have about 3,500 products.’
is possible to measure something.’ Any distributor in any business sector Oderkerk says: ‘We have customers in
Avantes believes that the future for will tell you that it is axiomatic that if they gemmology who do not even realise they are
this little device is in almost any situation are successful their supplier will want using a spectrometer. That is the future for
where something needs to be measured or to go direct. Business schools call this the spectrometer; it is a smart sensor that
controlled, even places where people have ‘disintermediation’. In 2000 Ocean Optics produces data that is robust and stable. The
never heard the word ‘spectroscope’. said it wanted to buy its European distributor. complete application is the most important
The story of Avantes begins at the Laser Oderkerk says that really the two thing for the customer.
om
Show in Munich in 1993 when Benno companies had different ideas about the ‘The number of applications is virtually
Oderkerk met Luitzen Roosma. Oderkerk future. He said that Ocean Optics wanted endless, which sounds very nice for a
ooptics.c
was the young technical director of a sensor to sell standard catalogue products while he growing company, but it is also dangerous
ectr
company in Munich and Roosma had and Roosma were more interested in selling because we could get involved in a million
.el
founded a photonics distribution business solutions. The two companies parted ways different things, but we don’t have the time or
www
after working in the industry in the US and chose a new name from a dictionary. resources. We need to make choices.’

for 15 years. The two decided to go into They liked the name Avantes because the ‘dot In fact the way around this problem is
business together by establishing a company com’ domain was still available and it began to let OEMs create their solutions based
ch 2009
to sell highly advanced photonics in the with the letter A so it would appear high on on the range of components and let them
Netherlands. The new business began in April alphabetical lists. Ocean Optics set up its own inject their expertise into the final machine.
1994 under the name Top Sensor Systems. subsidiary and Avantes initially continued OEM sales account for more than half of its
f
ebruary/mar
One of the key product lines it was to buy spectrometers under a private label business. OEM customers are making the

distributing was Ocean Optics, which had arrangement with its own products. In more involved machines, such as medical
started at about the same time making low- 2002 Avantes started producing its own line instruments and portable spark analysis.
o
optics
cost fibre optic spectrometers. Oderkerk of spectrometers and the separation was Oderkerk is quite happy to simply deliver the
ectr
el
started to create a catalogue of add-ons to complete. spectrometer at the heart of a measurement
EOfeb09 pp08-09 Profile.indd 8 17/2/09 16:38:24
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