Horiba Scientific commences construction of new Paris site

Horiba Scientific has announced the official commencement of construction work on its new facility in the Paris Saclay cluster.

The foundation stone for the new facility was laid earlier this month at a ceremony presided over by Atsushi Horiba, chairman, president and chief executive officer of the science company.

Attendees included local politicians and urban development representatives, with more than 130 guests present in total.

The new site is to act as a research and development centre for the firm, with major operations in the medical and automotive markets and a central focus on optics technology.

It will also act as the new headquarters for Horiba in Europe, consolidating business interests valued at around 400 million euros (347.3 million pounds) and 1,700 employees, which represents about one-third of the group's operations.

Earlier this month, the company announced that it will be showcasing a number of new innovations in the fluorescence field at the FluoroFest Workshop Germany in November 2011.