Company Profile

Based on research activities at the University of  Abersytwyth and the centre for Alternative Technology (Machynlleth, UK) Aber Instruments  was founded in 1988.  The company invented and patented a unique method for measuring live biomass based on Radio-Frequency Impedance.  Within 3 years the first systems were sold to major biopharma and brewing companies and today, Aber instruments is the global leader in on-line biomass measurement. The company in 2011 became an employee owned company. (See the video)

Aber has supplied over 1000 systems world-wide for the on-line measurement of viable biomass. The Biomass Monitor is used in research, process development and manufacturing  by the world's leading pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis, Novo, Biogen Idec,GlaxoSmithkline, Centocor, Sandoz, Eli Lilly and Genzyme. Many of the systems  are now used in cGMP manufacturing processes with some customers using over 50 instruments.

The Yeast Monitor is now established as the standard for on-line yeast concentration measurement in large breweries and international companies such as AB Inbev, SAB Miller, Coors, Diageo, Heineken, Suntory, Kirin, Asia-Pacific and San Miguel have benefited from using the instrument. The same technology is also being used in Biofuel plants and in some cases the  instruments can be used to monitor second generation ligno-cellulosic waste fermentations.

The Aber instruments manufacturing facility is based in Aberystywth in West Wales and the company is an ISO 14001 and 9001 registered firm.  The instruments are backed by a world class support team and a highly trained and motivated international distributor network in Europe, America and Asia.

In 2009, Aber launched the FUTURA, a new generation instrument for biotechnology that is small in size, light in weight and flexible in implementation.  We have also refreshed our company image, highlighting our long-standing position in the market place as the TRUSTED provider of biomass instrumentation.  In 2011,the COMPACT range of Yeast Monitors were introduced to the brewing industry followed by the COMPACT Lab Yeast Analyser in 2012.

Key persons to contact at Aber Instruments are:

  • Dr John Carvell - Sales and Marketing Director
  • Matt Lee - Engineering Director
  • Jeff Davies - Managing Director
  • Aditya Bhat- Product Specialist/Application Scientist
  • Linz Agate- R&D Manager

Aber Instruments is a member of the Employee Ownership Association - the voice of co-owned business in the UK; Here is a recent article on Employee ownership :

http://realbusiness.co.uk/article/17526-why-employee-ownership-is-driving-growth