Microimaging Applications Group: The Microimaging Applications Group (MAG) comprises five imaging technology leaders: Gatan, Media Cybernetics, Photometrics, QImaging, and MAG Biosystems. These partners work independently as well as in synergy to offer an unparalleled range of solutions for microimaging applications. Michael Reubold spoke with Steven Ridge, MAG´s Vice President of Marketing about the concept and strategy behind the formation of MAG.

Imaging & Microscopy: Mr. Ridge, what was the reason for the creation of MAG?

S. Ridge: Each of the MAG companies (Gatan, Media Cybernetics, Photometrics, and QImaging) is already a proven leader in its own market area. The creation of this group enables us to provide an even higher level of applications support for our customers, characterized by improved product development for each company. In addition, we have created a fifth brand, MAG Biosystems, under which we will market fully integrated system solutions for biological imaging.

The five partners within MAG work independently as well as in synergy. How does this work in practice? How is MAG managed?

S. Ridge: Each company maintains its own departmental personnel, but the companies share the same management staff for sales, marketing, customer service, and engineering. The entire Microimaging Applications Group is managed from our new corporate office in Pleasanton, California. We have manufacturing facilities in Warrendale, Pennsylvania; Abingdon, England; and Surrey, Canada.

Besides the new name, what will the customers realize from the formation of MAG? Will you change your customer or market approach?

S. Ridge: We will peg our marketing efforts closely to the applications of our customers and continue to strive to offer them the most appropriate instruments, technologies, and techniques for their imaging needs. In time, we believe the MAG name will be as widely recognized as our individual brand names, synonymous with the in-depth applications knowledge we provide.

How do you position the five companies in the marketplace, what are the respective fields of expertise?

S.

Ridge: As the name Microimaging Applications Group indicates, we offer unrivaled applications expertise for microimaging of all kinds. Our individual brands are positioned as follows:

• Gatan - High-performance products for electron microscopes that enable and advance a broad range of applications.
• Media Cybernetics - Scientific image analysis software, image database software, and imaging toolkits for digital image processing.
• Photometrics - Scientific-grade EMCCD cameras for low-light, live-cell applications.
• QImaging - Digital cameras for life science, industrial imaging, and OEM applications.
• MAG Biosystems - fully integrated biological imaging systems for microimaging, in vivo, spectral, and multichannel applications.

In which market segment do you expect above-average growth?

S. Ridge: The creation of our newest brand, MAG Biosystems, provides an outstanding growth opportunity. Here, we are catering to customers who require fully integrated systems that have been designed to enable them to focus directly on their specific research questions and data analysis.

What role do alliances or acquisitions play in your growth strategy?

S. Ridge: Key alliances and acquisitions have always been part of the growth strategy of Roper Industries, the corporation that owns all of the MAG companies. The Microimaging Applications Group helps define the future success of Roper's system and component business by forging new partnerships within both the academic and commercial sectors.

How will MAG support scientific research and progress differently than its independent companies have in the past?

S. Ridge: We believe that the Microimaging Applications Group is greater than the sum of its parts. The MAG organizational framework allows us to retain many of the advantages of our individual companies, while also enabling us to leverage our complementary strengths. Customers will still select imaging products from the individual companies, but many of these next-generation solutions will have been created through joint R&D efforts that blend our distinct technological capabilities in new, imaginative ways.

How will MAG contribute to the development of novel or more sophisticated imaging techniques?

S. Ridge: We have identified three areas in which we feel there are particularly strong opportunities for us to make an immediate impact as well as long-lasting contributions that will benefit our customers. First, as mentioned earlier, we will offer fully integrated, application-tailored systems that include leading-edge hardware and software. Second, we will provide components with unique and customizable firmware in order to address emergent imaging applications. Third, we will focus on software development that will meet and exceed the extensive data-mining (dynamic database) requirements of tomorrow's multidimensional imaging experiments.