History and Milestones

Clark Hamilton, inventor of the microliter syringe

Clark Hamilton was a young chemical engineer and graduate of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). In the late 1940s, he was tinkering in his garage in Whittier, California, trying to find a solution for handling tiny quantities of fluids. Hamilton ultimately developed the microliter syringe for chromatography. From that point onwards, his invention played a key role in shaping separation science in the field of chemistry. For the first time, fluids in the microliter range could be collected and released in precise and reproducible amounts. To this day, the microliter syringe forms part of a laboratory’s basic equipment.

Foundation of Hamilton Company

Clark Hamilton founded Hamilton Company. Thanks to his invention, the company rapidly became a worldwide market leader in sample handling for the field of chromatography. In 1960, the fledgling company outgrew the family garage, proudly moving into its first rental facility.

Foundation of Hamilton Bonaduz AG

In 1966, Clark Hamilton founded Hamilton Bonaduz AG in Bonaduz, in the Swiss alpine canton of Graubünden. This enabled him to offer microliter syringes in the European market more easily. The first Swiss CEO was Max Wälchli, who managed Hamilton’s fortunes in Switzerland for 35 years. Under Wälchli’s leadership, the company grew continuously and, by the end of his tenure in 2001, there were approximately 350 employees. He had successfully developed several new business areas (see section “1989 Foundation of the Process Analytics Business Unit”).

Steve Hamilton takes over

In 1970, while still under the leadership of Clark Hamilton, the US company relocated from Whittier to Reno, in the neighboring state of Nevada, where it continues to be based to this day. Four years later, Clark handed over the management to his son, Steve, who led the company from then on with the assistance of his brothers. Under Steve Hamilton, innovation continued to remain a strategic feature of the companies, which led to the development of the first pipetting robots. Following the adoption of these robots during the 1970s, the Swiss business location was the driving force behind the further developments in the pipetting robots in 1974. What Clark Hamilton made possible through his microliter syringe for manual applications was soon automated, thus enabling large-scale implementations. Since then, Hamilton has become the largest global supplier in the field of automated fluid handling. In this respect, the application possibilities are very diverse: Thanks to Hamilton it was possible, for the first time, to implement automated whole-blood screenings for AIDS and hepatitis, as well as other solutions.

Foundation of Hamilton Medical AG

In 1980, an advertisement in the Swiss daily newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung caught Steve Hamilton’s eye. An anonymous advertiser was looking for an investor for the development of a ventilator that would run using a microprocessor. Steve Hamilton sought out the advertiser. It turned out to be Amadeo Meyer – a Swiss engineer. The two of them met and Amadeo Meyer found an investor for his vision, while Steve Hamilton found a means to tread the invention pathway in the footsteps of his father. Together, they searched for suitable engineers who would be able to assist them with their plan. In 1983, Hamilton Medical AG was founded. The first company office was a small and unprepossessing highway restaurant situated between Bonaduz and the neighboring village of Rhäzüns. Just one year after the company’s founding, the first Hamilton ventilator was placed on the market. With the aid of a microprocessor, the ventilation could be adjusted to the patient’s conditions. A new standard had been set.

The foundation stone for intelligent ventilation

In 1987, Steve Hamilton was in contact with a NASA physician who wanted to install an intensive care unit in a space shuttle, which was to be operable by a non-physician. This idea inspired Steve Hamilton to develop an automated ventilation system. This would make ventilation possible for everyone, everywhere.

He therefore invested a great deal of time and money to ensure that his research and development team would be able to realize his vision. Despite setbacks and uncertainties, Steve Hamilton held fast to the idea of significantly improving mechanical ventilation. This was an entrepreneurial risk that would eventually pay dividends. Over the past few decades, we have repeatedly revolutionized mechanical ventilation.  Today, one out of every five ventilators in the world was manufactured by our company.

Foundation of the Process Analytics Business Unit

The 1980s were years that saw the development of new markets. For example, the Swiss CEO Max Wälchli realized that manufacturing pH sensors required precisely the same expertise in terms of glass production and precision measurement as that which is required for the glass syringes that Hamilton had been offering, as a market leader, ever since its foundation. To build further upon this knowledge, Wälchli assembled a research team in 1989 and formed the Process Analytics Business Unit (PA). Even the first sensors that measured pH values generated considerable interest. The rapidly developing biopharmaceutical industry was seeking potential ways to control critical process parameters efficiently. Hamilton recognized these requirements and, during the 1990s, it provided several electronic sensors in quick succession. In 2007, the first oxygen sensor based on the optical measuring principle was placed on the market. Further innovations followed and, to the present day, the development process is still being continuously driven forward. In particular, Hamilton sensors stand out for the fact that they are simple for their users to operate. Hamilton sensors enable more efficient laboratory work, reduce maintenance expenses and thus generate cost reductions. In just a few years, the recently formed business unit was able to gain a foothold in a new segment. Today, Hamilton ranks as no. 2 in the market.

The era of Andreas Wieland

In 2001, Andreas Wieland – from the canton of Graubünden – took over the management responsibility in Switzerland and was appointed CEO of the two companies, Hamilton Bonaduz AG and Hamilton Medical AG. Steve Hamilton and Andreas Wieland formed an extremely successful intercontinental duo. For 20 years, Wieland imparted the Swiss Hamilton companies with the attributes that have been lived and breathed since the beginning: consistency and innovation. Under the leadership of Andreas Wieland, this led to rapid growth. When he took office, Hamilton in Switzerland had approximately 350 employees, but by the time of his departure from operational management (2021), the workforce had grown to approximately 1,600 employees.

Foundation of Hamilton Storage

In 2007, Hamilton once again expanded the business field and, to this end, it founded Hamilton Storage Inc. in Franklin, which is situated close to Boston in the state of Massachusetts. This was followed, in 2015, by the establishment of the company Hamilton Storage GmbH in Switzerland. Since then, the sister companies have been developing automated sample management systems for all kinds of application purposes. Small university laboratories rely on Hamilton storage systems just as much as major pharmaceutical companies.

Hamilton Central Europe

In the Romanian city of Timișoara, the second European production site, after Switzerland, was opened in 2013. Hamilton’s original invention – the microliter syringe – still continues to be produced and successfully marketed there. This also includes additional precision instruments for laboratories, such as needles, automatic and semi-automatic valves, and pipetting modules. In this area as well, Hamilton’s major strength lies in focusing on the customer’s requirements in each individual case.

New buildings in Domat/Ems – Stage I

The rapid expansion of all Hamilton business areas meant that in Domat/Ems – the neighboring municipality to Bonaduz – a new production plant was constructed, housing approximately 400 employees from multiple business areas. Thus, for example, ventilators and sample management systems are produced in Domat/Ems. The planning for the next construction project had already commenced during construction of the first building in Domat/Ems, since it was already clear by that point that the space requirements would be unable to keep up with the rapid pace of growth.

Covid pandemic

During 2020 and 2021, the Hamilton companies were experiencing exceptional circumstances. Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, all of the business areas suddenly became systemically relevant: ventilators for Covid patients, sensors for coronavirus vaccine production and pipetting robots for the rapid evaluation of PCR tests. During the 2020 pandemic year, Hamilton Medical delivered more than three times as many ventilators as it had during the preceding year. Production in the Process Analytics Business Unit increased by up to five times. All coronavirus vaccine manufacturers across the globe rely on Hamilton sensors. The Robotics Business Unit recorded 60% growth for its pipetting robots, which equipped a liquid handler in a very short space of time for the application of PCR mass tests. During this period, 300 new roles were created in Graubünden to meet the massive demand. In the US city of Reno, a completely new production facility for ventilators was constructed within four months.

Acquisition in Domat/Ems – Stage II

Just 5 years after the first building in Domat/Ems, the next premises will be acquired in 2023. A central storage facility and additional production areas became necessary as a result of the rapid growth during recent years. Over 70 years ago, Clark Hamilton invented the microliter syringe in a garage in California. Throughout all of the intervening years, the subsequent generations have succeeded in keeping alive this creative spirit. The meaningful value of our work motivates us to keep forging ahead with new innovations.