PTI: Prepared to Meet the Future
For the most part, the future is an unknown. No one knows in which direction technology, medicine or the economy may turn next. And the success of Photon Technology International relies on the condition of these and other variables. All we can do is make informed estimations and do whatever we can to prepare for what we feel we can expect.
The global economic downturn, while it appears to be reversing, may yet be felt for a long time to come. PTI has weathered the worst of this storm, and as a result we have honed the necessary business skills to survive.
Medicine can go in any number of directions. Miraculous new discoveries may be just around the corner. So can disaster--an unexpected new infection for which we are unprepared could sweep one of the nations of the world. The recent bird flu outbreak was an unsettling reminder that widespread contagion is still a distinct possibility, even in the new millennium.
Technology is equally unpredictable. But unlike medicine and economics, changes--sudden or gradual--are always forward. A technological setback is something of an oxy-moron. So, on this front, we can always expect something new to pursue.
What technological advances can produce in the way of side-effects, however, can be devastating to businesses that are not versatile enough to accommodate sudden changes. A simplistic example of how this can occur is to consider a typewriter company: In the face of rapidly expanding computer technology, a typewriter manufacturer that does not embrace the PC revolution is doomed.
Manufacturers of research equipment are at the effect of the same forces--perhaps even more so. In the world of research, each new discovery can shape the future of technology with such swiftness that companies are created and destroyed by the hundreds; radical shifts in research and business can occur on a daily basis.
To ensure survival as a maker of research instrumentation, a company must do several things: Keep a finger on the pulse of research methods. Maintain a watchful eye on technology. Be ready to change directions in a heartbeat. And stay true to a vision.
Photon Technology International has, for a decade, held true to a vision. PTI could have branched off in any number of product directions, and risked spreading itself too thin. Instead, the business focus has been to exploit the technology of fluorescence research exclusively.
PTI has enhanced both its longevity and versatility by means of its product design philosophy. If fluorescence researchers suddenly developed a new application, PTI could respond with new products in months--even weeks, if necessary. This is accomplished by the rigorous application of modular instrument design. Many different research instruments employ common elements, and so we take a "building block" approach to capitalize on component redundancy from product to product.
The result is the most versatile product line in the industry. It has allowed us to offer more systems than any competitor in the fluorescence system market.
Many competitors design self-contained "integrated" instruments that take years to bring to the market, generally cost more, and are incapable of modification, customization, or upgrading. While some of them may be somewhat more aesthetically pleasing to the eye, they generally do not perform any better than--and in many cases are inferior to--PTI's products.
Furthermore, while we are not the only instrument manufacturer to employ modular design, we are the only one to offer such high performance. We make some of the most sensitive and accurate research equipment in the world. PTI has remained on the cutting edge of fluorescence research, holding patents on instrument design and leading the marketplace with new innovations.
Our "finger on the pulse of research methods" is maintained by a staff of Ph.D. scientists who are in constant contact with our customers, and our customers are found in leading research laboratories around the world. Many of our products' features are based on customer suggestions--indeed, some software functions are named after the customers that inspired them!
The product line for a single class of research--fluorescence--is surprisingly diverse. PTI has three primary lines, each of which addresses a particular "flavor" of fluorescence research: QuantaMaster, TimeMaster and MicroMaster.
In addition, we sell the individual components that comprise our instruments as "Optical Building Blocks." The OBB product line has the added benefit of allowing us to penetrate marketplaces other than those involving fluorescence, without distracting our focus on our primary vision.
With our vision clear and set, our products well-built and well-supported, and our business strong and growing, PTI is ready to meet the future, whatever it may hold.
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