Specac

History

Established in 1971.

Bernard Hawker and Stan Ranson started ‘Spectroscopic Accessories’, manufacturing graphite disks. In March 1971 Terry Horsley and Harry Merralls were invited to join this new company, to strengthen the optics manufacturing element of the business, and Analytical Accessories Ltd was formed. The range of products grew and they soon provided infrared accessories, optical components and mounts, HPLC valves, and far infrared instruments.

The name ‘SPECAC’ originated from a shipping agent deciding that «Spectroscopic Accessories Company» was too long.

By December 1984, Specac had built up a reliable worldwide network and became a member of the Defence and Instrumentation Division of Cambridge Electronics Industries.

In 1997 Specac became part of Smiths Group, one of the UK’s largest companies.