company profile Hiden Analytical
Trying times spawn long-term success
Returning home in the early 1980s without a job to go to,Ian Neale had a big decision to make about his future. Hindsight shows that he got it right when he decided to launch Hiden Analytical, a highly successful metrology firm that is now celebrating its thirtieth anniversary. Richard Stevenson reports.
L
osing your job is always painful. It’s not just the immediate loss of income that you have to deal with. There are also the nasty, nagging questions that circle round and round in your head: Why me? Why not him? How can they fail to appreciate all my hard work? Why can’t they realise what a big mistake they’ve made?
It’s natural to ask yourself these questions. But dwelling on them for too long is not a good idea, because you may fall into the depths of self-pity, where hope for a better future vanishes. For some
that are fired, their career will take a backward step and never fully recover, but for others it can be the beginning of a better, brighter future. In the case of Ian Neale, his dismissal has turned out to be a blessing. His career in scientific sales had led him to leave the UK for the US, and he was fired 18 months into his new role with a manufacturer of residual gas analysers (RGAs) based on mass spectrometers.
After packing his bags and returning home, he used his negative experiences as a catalyst for kick- starting a new career. He dreamed of being his own boss and he felt that his previous employer, which dominated the RGA market, was not delivering a great products. So he launched a rival, Hiden Analytical, which would give customers exactly what they want.
Neale explains that his primary US competitor had been the first to bring out an RGA with a digital display: “I rapidly learnt that people wanted one, but couldn’t afford it. That was the incentive to launch our first product.” One of the biggest markets for this tool would be the developers and manufacturers of semiconductor devices, because RGAs can identify the nature of gas leaks and expose impurities in a vacuum chamber.
From its founding in 1982 until its move to the Gemini Business Park in 1996, Hiden’s premises were lock-up sheds – initially one,and later an adjacent
pair.In this photo from the early years of the company,its founder,Ian Neale,is wearing a tie and standing towards the centre of the group
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www.compoundsemiconductor.net October 2012
Starting the business required a partnership. Neale had worked in the scientific vacuum industry since leaving school and had plenty of business nous, but he didn’t have the necessary electronics skills. “I desperately needed an electronics person. [The electronics] are more involved than the mechanical or the vacuum side.”
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