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| Newsletter Vol. 2, No. 4, Winter 2004/5 | |||
| In This Issue |
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 | A word from our president | Bear with me…I promise there is a point to this story! Every December my wife and I make the trek from Houston to Tennessee to visit her family for the holidays. This year we made the fortunate decision to travel by way of Mississippi and thus avoided a bad snow/sleet storm that traveled through the country just north of our drive the first day. We spent the night in Greenwood, MS (home of the Viking stove company) and in the morning received a copy of USAToday at our door of the hotel. The food editor of USAToday had written an article about the 20 best dishes in the US. Interestingly enough, one of the top 20 dishes was tamales from a restaurant in Clarksdale, MS, which was only 40 miles away, however, since I've always found tamales to taste somewhat like dog food (yes, I sampled dog food once as a kid), I decided it wasn't worth the trip over the icy back roads. The number 6 dish on the writer's list was the BBQ turkey wings from the A&R BBQ restaurant on Elvis Presley Blvd in Memphis. Since we were going to be traveling through Memphis we decided to make the detour off the highway and surprise her family with one of our nation's top delicacies. I fully expected the parking lot of A&R BBQ to be packed with cars after such national recognition. In fact, as we approached the restaurant I saw a Sysco food supply truck pull out of the parking lot and I remarked to my wife that they must have just unloaded a big batch of turkey wings. I attributed the fact that the parking lot was almost empty to the icy conditions that still existed from the previous night's storm. I entered the restaurant and stood at the counter scanning the overhead menu. I couldn't find turkey wings listed! When I asked the clerk for the world famous BBQ turkey wings, she told me that they took them off the menu because they "didn't move too fast" and weren't very popular. I asked her if they heard about the article in USAToday and nobody in the restaurant had. Luckily I had saved the article and went back out to the car to get it. Everyone in the restaurant was very impressed (including the cooks) but I had to settle for Memphis pulled pork to take home to the in-laws. Point of the story? As a company you don't always know what it is a customer likes about doing business with you. It is easy to sit in your office and think you understand what the customers like, but the only way to really know is to ask the customers. In 2004 we performed our first full range customer survey and we have used the results to try and improve what we do. In 2005 we will repeat the survey to see if we have made some progress. I urge everyone to respond to the survey this year to improve our feedback on our business practices and products. As far as A&R BBQ goes, I have a feeling that they didn't properly market their product. I would never have considered ordering BBQ turkey wings if I hadn't read the article in USAToday. They had developed a unique dish that had stood out to someone whose occupation it is to comment on food. On the other hand, the writer also liked tamales, which, as we all know, taste like dog food. Paul N. Swepston | ||
| | Introducing: ZSX Primus II | |||
| | Anode storage program | |||
| | ActiveSight™ Inks Deal with Lexicon | |||
| | Featured conference | |||
| | The Rigaku Journal | |||
| | Introducing: Jupiter 210C | |||
| | 2005 Training Sessions | |||
| | Introducing: Mini-Z Sulfur Analyzer | |||
| | Rigaku-EIT News | |||
| | Personnel changes | |||
| Visit us on the web at www.rigaku.com | ||||
| Introducing ZSX Primus II | ||||
| A major upgrade to the Jupiter 210 product, known as the Jupiter 210C, was released earlier this year. The new camera features improvements in a number of areas, including a higher readout speed and an additional binning mode. These significant improvements in electronic performance combine with a Joules Thompson effect closed loop cooling system to simplify ease of use and in-the-field serviceability. An upgrade for most existing Jupiter 210 owners is also available providing the same benefits of speed and ease of use. Please contact your local Rigaku office for More information. | The ZSX Primus II is the only sequential WDXRF system with the X-ray tube above the sample. In this configuration, users will never have to suffer through deteriorating analysis because of a contaminated X-ray path. Particulate matter will never fall into the analysis path - no dust, no pellet pieces, no powder or liquids from ruptured support films. Combine this with the other features in our 4 kW systems-such as Mapping/Micro Analysis, extreme ultra-light element response, templates for any type of sample analysis-and you have the complete laboratory tool, capable of handling any sample, any sample type, in any situation. |  | ||
| Calendar of Events | ActiveSight™ inks deal with Lexicon | |||
Rigaku will be attending the following conferences in the winter of 2005:
| ActiveSight, Rigaku's structural biology service company, signed a co-crystallization service agreement with Lexicon Pharmaceuticals for a novel human protein target. In the press release, Ron Swanson, ActiveSight/s CSO, stated, "It is exciting to be able to provide our structural biology services to Lexicon, a premier drug discovery company. Accessing structure is a very cost effective way to push a lead development program forward." ActiveSight will also be expanding their Protein Portfolio in January. The Protein Portfolio features human target proteins that are available for rapid co-crystallization studies, with a turn-around time of under a month. Currently, the Protein Portfolio includes Hsp90, a cancer target. The new additions will include popular diabetes targets. ActiveSight's contract services are centered on lead optimization co-crystallography. | |||
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Inquiries are welcome: email info@active-sight.com or call Joy Silen at (858) 455-6870 x105. >>> Visit our website at www.active-sight.com. | ||||
| Rigaku Journal: Volume 21 No. 2 Nov 2004 | ||||
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In a paper published in Nature, vol. 432, Nov. 18, 2004, pp. 411-415, Robert T. Batey and his colleagues at the University of Colorado at Boulder used an R-AXIS IV++ detector on an RU-200/Confocal blue optic source to generate an anomalous signal from a crystal soaked with a Co hexamine derivative. |
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| Featured conference | |||
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Owen, Pritchard and Garman report the results of their study of temperature characteristics of crystal storage devices in a CP100 dry shipping dewar in a paper published in J. Appl. Cryst. (2004). 37, 1000-1003 >>> Click here to read the abstract | Rigaku, Inc. will be exhibiting at the second annual Protein Crystallography in Drug Discovery conference will be held at the South San Francisco Conference center (one mile from San Francisco international airport and 15 minutes from the city center it offers easy access while also being close to the attractions of downtown San Francisco) on January 17-18, 2005. The keynote speaker will be Bernhard Rupp, Group Leader of the Macromolecular Crystallography and Structural Genomics group at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, University of California. He established the high throughput crystallization facility of the TB Structural Consortium, one of the nine NIH-NIGMS funded Protein Structure Initiatives (PSI) and is one of many leading authorities assembled from industry and academia to present the latest cutting edge developments in the field. Free passes to the exhibit are available. | |||
| Mini-Z Sulfur Analyzer | ||||
Rigaku is pleased to announce the
following training sessions for 2005:
| Benchtop WD X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer Features:
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| Anode storage program | ||||
| Following the acquisition and integration of what is now Rigaku-EIT into the Rigaku family, CCD camera calibration has successfully been transferred from its previous home at Rigaku's The Woodlands headquarters to the camera manufacturing site in Tucson Arizona. With the acquisition of Rigaku-EIT, Rigaku was already several steps ahead of the competition as the only crystallography company to be in direct control of the development, production and service of the CCD cameras in Rigaku systems. Now with the critical calibration step integrated with the manufacturing operation Rigaku has taken a further step forward in ensuring the highest performance and standards can continue to be expected from a Rigaku CCD-based system. | The Rigaku customer service department is pleased to announce the implementation of our Anode Storage Program. This plan allows you to store your extra anode at Rigaku to maximize the lifetime of your spare anode. Uptime of your Rigaku X-ray diffraction system is important to you and to us at Rigaku. To maximize your uptime, many of you have purchased a spare anode for your system. Having a spare anode available allows you the luxury of minimizing your downtime by immediately installing the replacement anode when it is time to rebuild the anode in use. Up until now, you were sending the anode in need of rebuilding to Rigaku, where we would immediately rebuild it and return it to you. This replacement anode would then sit on your shelf until needed. Experience has shown us that anodes rebuilt (which includes cleaning, rebuilding, and fine balancing) by Rigaku staff have an increased expected lifetime. Experience has also shown us that anodes that sit on a shelf for longer than 3 months may be prone to early failure. This can be due to a breakdown of the magnetic seal fluid from non-use or the actual storage conditions. For example, moisture can cause damage to the bearings and cause early deterioration of the magnetic seals. In addition, o-ring and rubber seals tend to harden with age, causing improper seal when put into use. The Anode Storage Program works as follows: You send your anode to the Rigaku customer service department, where it is evaluated. You would be advised of any work that needs to be done to the anode to return it to its optimal operating condition. Once a PO is received, the anode is cleaned, shafts are replaced (as needed) and the anode is balanced. The anode is then placed into storage under "ideal" conditions, without seals, magnetic seals, bearings or o-rings. You would notify us when the anode is required. At that point, new magnetic seals, bearings and o-rings are installed. The anode is then re-balanced, checked for vacuum and water leaks and shipped to you, in prime working condition, within 24 hours of written notification. All anodes in the Anode Storage Program will be shipped with a one-year warranty, except water seals. This is in contrast to anodes that are rebuilt and shipped back to the customer to sit on your shelf, which are warranted from the time the anode ships from Rigaku, not from the time it is installed. The goal of the Rigaku Anode Storage Program is to give you maximum anode lifetime and minimize your costs due to unexpected down time and premature anode failures. If you have any questions about this new program or would like to participate in the Rigaku Anode Storage Program, please contact the Rigaku Customer Service Hotline at 888-362-2324. | |||
| Subscriber Info | Personnel changes | |||
| To subscribe to this newsletter, fill out the
registration form. To cancel your subscription, e-mail the webmaster. | Jeremy Crawford has been promoted to Senior Installation Coordinator. He will head up all installations for single crystal, XRF and XRD. Randy Joyner replaces Thomas Moser as our Installation Coordinator. Al Martin, previously our XRF Applications Laboratory Manager, has now taken over the role of XRF Product Manager for North America. Al has spent many years working in both the private and government sectors before coming to Rigaku. Rigaku is pleased to welcome Dr. Hisayuki Kohno from Rigaku Industrial Corp (RIC) in Osaka, who will be spending part of the next 12 months with us to better understand the North American GP-XRF market. Dr. Kohno joined RIC in 1968 and has had a long and distinguished career with Rigaku. We are very pleased with the recent growth in our European business and have recently made some changes to strengthen and expand our organization. Keith Tame was recently promoted to Director of European Operations. Tony Sisley steps into Keith's old position as Service Manager for Europe. The UK office also has a new administrative assistant, Caroline Duncan, and a new Stock Co-Ordinator, Sam Trick. The new contact address for Rigaku's Semiconductor Division is: infosemi@rigaku.co.jp | |||
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| 9009 New Trails Drive The Woodlands Texas USA 77381-5209 email: info@rigaku.com Tel: (281) 363-1033 FAX: (281) 364-3628 | Unit B6, Chaucer Business Park Watery Lane, Kemsing Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 6QY, England email: info@rigaku.com Tel: [44] 1732 763 367 FAX: [44] 1732 763 757 | |||
