Whatman plc

Whatman part of GE Healthcare Life Sciences
Leadership in separations technology for the life sciences
Type	Product Brand
Founded	1740 in Maidstone, Kent ^[1]
Founder	James Whatman
Headquarters	Little Chalfont
Key people	Kieran Murphy, Chief Executive Officer and Executive GE Healthcare Life Sciences
Website	http://www.whatman.com

Whatman is a GE Healthcare Life Sciences brand specialising in lab filtration products and separation technologies.

Whatman products cover a range of laboratory applications that require filtration, sample collection (cards and kits), blotting, lateral flow components and flow-through assays and other general laboratory accessories.

Formerly Whatman PLC, the company was acquired in 2008 by GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company.

History

Founders Innovation and Impact

Mr. Whatman's Turkey Paper Mills by Paul Sandby (1794)

Founded in 1740 in Maidstone Kent, Whatman paper was created by paper maker James Whatman the Elder (1702–1759). He made revolutionary advances to the craft in England and is credited as the inventor of wove paper (or Vélin), an innovation used for high quality art and printing. The techniques continued to be developed by his son, James Whatman the Younger (1741–1798).^[2] At a time when the craft was based in smaller paper mills, his innovations led to the large scale and widespread industrialisation of paper manufacturing.

Whatman had been approached by John Baskerville, who needed paper that would take a light impression of the printing plate; this was used for the edition of Virgil's poetry, embellished with Baskerville's typography and designs.^[2] The earliest examples of wove paper, bearing his watermark, appeared after 1740.^[3]

Their business, is credited with the invention of the wove wire mesh used to mould and align the pulp fibres. This is the principal method used in the mass production of most modern paper. The Whatmans held a part interest in the establishment at Turkey Mill, near Maidstone, after 1740,[1] this was acquired through the elder Whatman's marriage to Ann Harris. The "handmade" paper bearing the Whatman's mark is still produced for special editions and art books.^[2]

Acquisition

Whatman PLC was acquired on 4 February 2008 by GE Healthcare, a unit of General Electric Company, at 270p per share in cash for each Whatman share, valuing Whatman at approximately £363 million (approximately $713 million.)

Key products and technologies

The Whatman product range covers

Laboratory filtration products: filter papers, membrane filters, syringe filters, syringeless filters, microbiology, microplates, and capsule filters
Sample collection cards and kits: FTA, FTA Elute, and 903 ranges
Blotting: blotting membranes, blotting papers, and equipment
Components for lateral flow and flow-through assays: membranes for immunoassays, conjugate release, blood separators, absorbents, and sample pads
General laboratory accessories: extraction thimbles, weighing papers, test and chromatography papers, lens-cleaning tissue, and Benchkote papers

References

↑ The Early Years; Whatman website
1 2 3 Roberts, Matt T.; Etherington, Don. "Whatman, James (1741–1798)". Bookbinding and the conservation of books; A dictionary of descriptive terminology. U.S. Government Printing Office. ISBN 978-0-8444-0366-3.
↑ "Watermark and countermark library". Conservation. National Gallery of Australia. 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2010.

Paper

History Manufacture/Papermaking

Types	Blotting Bond Construction Cotton Rag Crêpe Display Dó Asphalt Glassine India Korean Kraft Laid Manila Newsprint Oatmeal Onionskin Origami Baking Building Rice Rolling Security Seed Copy Tar Thermal Tissue Tracing Transfer Tree-free Wallpaper Washi Waterproof Wax Wood-free Wove Writing

Materials	Fiber crop Paper chemicals Papyrus Wood pulp Algal bloom (Shiro alga carta)

Specifications	Grammage Density Size Units of paper quantity Surface chemistry of paper Wet strength

Manufacture and process	Bleaching of wood pulp Calender Conical refiner Deinking Paper pollution Environmental impact of paper Hollander beater Kraft process Organosolv Paper cut Paper machine Paper recycling Soda pulping Sulfite process

Industry	Paper mill List of paper mills In Europe In Canada In India In Japan In the United States

Category Commons

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 307449418 LCCN: no2014003226

General Electric

Subsidiaries and
divisions

Current	GE Capital GE Capital Aviation Services GE Commercial Finance GE Energy Financial Services GE Capital Rail Services (Europe) GE Capital Interbanca GE Technology Infrastructure GE Aviation GE Aviation Systems GE Healthcare GE Transportation GE Energy GE Digital Energy GE Jenbacher GE Measurement & Control Solutions GE Oil & Gas GE Power GE Wind Energy GE Wind (offshore) GE Home & Business Solutions GE Intelligent Platforms GE Global Research GE Ventures

Former and defunct	Australian Guarantee Corporation¹ Canadian General Electric¹ Compagnia Generale di Elettricità² Electric Bond and Share Company² GE Americom² GE Aerospace² GE Betz¹ GE Capital IT Solutions² GE Consumer & Industrial GECIS² GE Capital Rail Services² GE Equipment Services¹ GE Industrial¹ GE Infrastructure¹ GEIS² Genesis Lease² GE Security² Genworth Financial² Montgomery Ward² Synchrony Financial² Tungsram¹ Whatman¹

Joint ventures and
shareholdings

Current	CFM International (50%) Engine Alliance (50%) GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (60%) GE Honda Aero Engines (50%) Penske Truck Leasing Prolec GE (49.99%) TBS GB

Former	Alco-GE (1940–53) NBC (1926–30, 1986–2004) NBCUniversal, LLC (2004–13)

Products and brands

People

Founders	Charles A. Coffin Thomas Edison Edwin J. Houston Elihu Thomson

Other	James Cash, Jr. Ann Fudge Susan Hockfield Jeffrey R. Immelt Andrea Jung Rochelle Lazarus Sam Nunn Roger Penske Douglas A. Warner III Jack Welch Bob Wright

Places and facilities

Other

¹Now integrated into other GE divisions or business groupings
²Sold or spun off

Category
Commons

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