About Waters

About Waters

Waters Corporation, a global leader in analytical instruments, separations technologies, and software, focuses on accelerating the benefits of pioneering science to improve human health and well-being. For over 65 years, we have partnered with our customers to ensure the safety of the medicines we take, the purity of food we eat and the water we drink, and the quality and sustainability of the products we use every day.

  • ≈ 7,600 employees worldwide
  • 35 countries of operation
  • 12 manufacturing facilities
  • 100+ countries with our products available


When technology works seamlessly, science knows no limits​




Technology ensures safety​

Newborn baby sleeping on white bedding
“The waters_connect software was really intuitive to use. It’s got some good features for regulatory bioanalysis.”​

Sally Hannam, Scientific Director,
Alderly Analytical​

Watch video
Learn more about our Informatics & Software




“It's challenging to perform mechanical testing for a lot of customers. They're afraid of making a mistake to break the machine. They're afraid of losing their experiment data. The setup process is also very complex. So, Apex 1 eliminates some of the challenges to provide a better experience and reduce the need for training."

Yu Cheng, VP, Product Solutions and R&D,
TA Instruments Division, Waters Corporation

Watch video
Learn more about our products​

“One of our key priorities was bringing high quality, precision instrumentation to enable our scientists to develop the best materials possible. Waters TA ElectroForce Apex 1 is compact [and] easy to use so requires minimal training.”

Javier Ramos, CTO & Co-Founder,
InkBit​

Watch video
Learn more about our Mechanical Testing Instruments​





Great science thrives on collaboration, not isolation




Our work touches millions of lives​

Scientists working together at a Xevo TQ Absolute system with a computer
“We open the opportunity for you to come to us with your ideas. We commit to you that we will continue to bring solutions to your lab.”

Ronak Chawla, Senior Director,
Waters Corporation

Watch video
Learn more about our products


Loic Roux smiling
“The main difference, and what attracted me to work with Waters and buy again, was the customer service, the interaction, and their help in solving your problem.“

Loïc Roux, Founder & Chief Technology Officer,
OligoTune

Watch video
Learn more about our services

Julie Wushensky smiling at camera
“As a Waters scientist, it is rewarding to be a resource for younger scientists and to help advance their research.”

Julie Wushensky, Research Senior Scientist,
Waters Corporation

Learn more about our Immerse Labs






Science builds trust

Woman applying facial moisturizer

Markets We Serve

Ensuring the medicines people take every day are safe and effective.

Helping scientists test the physical properties of their materials.

Delivering technologies for newborn screening that make a healthy adult life possible for millions.

Helping ensure the safety of food and water.

Screening against threats from a variety of industrial and agricultural applications in water, air, and soil.

Supporting institutions by providing intuitive technologies that enable ​them to continue to advance the boundaries of scientific research and discovery​.




Technology ensures purity​

Boy drinking from water fountain

Our Product Portfolio

Waters chromatography systems, detectors, accessories, and consumables help scientists worldwide answer their most important questions.

Confidently identify and quantitate compounds with Waters mass spectrometry (MS) systems.

Ensure reproducible results every time with Waters chromatography consumables and supplies.

Waters powerful software solutions are ideal for scientific data management, network integration, and compliance management.

Our instruments contribute to leading solutions in medicine, sustainable plastics, lithium-ion batteries, and beyond.

Our light-scattering devices help ​better optimize the measurement ​of multiple species in complex ​mixtures and fragile samples.​


Leaving The World Better Than We Found It

We continue to take pride in leaving the world better than we found it by reducing our most significant environmental impacts, becoming more representative of the society we live in, and enhancing our long-term stakeholder value with effective oversight.






Science drives progress​

High angle view of a black electric car in a green landscape, the road disappearing on the horizon and the car visible underneath trees.

Our Awards

We are proud to be recognized as industry leaders making critical advancements that benefit our customers, employees, and society. As we work to solve problems that matter, read about some of the ways we have been recognized.



Our Founder

Jim Waters

Jim Waters was born Oct. 7, 1925 in Nebraska. A career opportunity for his father relocated the family to Framingham, Massachusetts where Jim would later launch his namesake company Waters Associates in 1958 in the basement of the Framingham Police Department.

The Early Years

Jim Waters was born Oct. 7, 1925 in Nebraska. A career opportunity for his father relocated the family to Framingham, Massachusetts where Jim would later launch his namesake company Waters Associates in 1958 in the basement of the Framingham Police Department.

With five employees, his plan was to build scientific instruments. The company’s big breakthrough came in 1965, when Waters licensed a refractometer from Dow Chemical for analyzing plastics. Jim built an instrument around the refractometer and “sales took off like a rocket after that,” Waters later said.

Perhaps Jim’s biggest triumph for the company came in 1972, by solving a problem for Harvard Professor and Quincy, Mass. native Robert Woodward who was working on the synthesis of vitamin B12 and who had already won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1965 for being the first to synthesize chlorophyll. At Woodward’s request, Waters accompanied a team to Woodward’s lab with a liquid chromatograph and solved the problem in the span of a few weeks.

The Chromatography Pioneer

The first Waters liquid chromatograph, and ones those that followed, now help drive pharmaceutical drug discovery, development, and manufacturing throughout the world. Along the way Jim redefined separations science, which crossed the boundaries of physics, chemistry, mathematics, and engineering. Through his revolutionary work, he first advanced the field of gel permeation chromatography, which led to liquid chromatography and the dramatic growth of the global analytical technologies industry.

His tenure as President of Waters Associates lasted until 1979, when Millipore Corporation purchased the company. The company remained a division of Millipore, until Millipore split it off in a management-led buyout. It became public again during an initial public offering in 1995.

Education, Honors, and Giving Back

As a firm believer in the power of education, Jim Waters strongly identified with the principles he learned about systems thinking as an important life skill. Jim and his wife Faith, a former teacher, recognized the value of systems thinking to empower students to create successful lives for themselves and contribute to the world in important, positive ways. What began as a special project through the Waters Foundation* more than 30 years ago grew to become the Waters Center for Systems Thinking*, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to delivering benefits through systems thinking to school districts, organizations and communities around the world.

A benefactor and trustee of Northeastern University, in 1984 Jim and his wife Faith endowed the James L. Waters Chair in Analytical Chemistry within the Barnett Institute at Northeastern University and which is now held by Professor John Engen. At a ceremony in 2019, the University acknowledged Jim with a Pioneer Award for his continued service toward furthering the university’s mission of developing young scientists and contributing to the advancement of STEM education and careers.  

*Not affiliated with Waters Corporation

Our History

  • 1958 — Waters Associates opens in Framingham, MA

  • 1963 — GPC-100 Gel Permeation Chromatography System Launch
  • 1967 — ALC-100 Liquid Chromatography System Launch

  • 1972 — Jim Waters collaborates with Nobel Prize winner to synthesize Vitamin B12
  • 1976 — Waters opens chemical manufacturing facility in Taunton, MA

  • 1980 — Waters Associates merges with Millipore Corporation

  • 2004 — ACQUITY UPLC System Launch
  • 2007 — SYNAPT Launch

Back To Top Back To Top