Shimadzu UK – Supporting scientists at every step

Best customer service

Shimadzu's journey began in 1875 with a mission to create scientific instruments that would advance education and drive the spread of scientific knowledge. Today, as the company celebrates its 150th anniversary, that founding vision remains a guiding force. But Shimadzu’s legacy extends beyond innovation in analytical technology. It’s about the people behind the science, and the service, training, and support that help them thrive.

Shimadzu’s early commitment to educational tools has evolved into a broader mission: to support scientists at every stage of their journey—not just with equipment, but with ongoing development and accessible expertise. 

Supporting the scientific community means more than delivering instruments—it means helping people excel with them. That’s why Shimadzu offers free, non-vendor specific training sessions across the UK (rated 4.8/5 stars by participants). These hands-on workshops cover key analytical techniques, including chromatography, mass spectrometry, and spectroscopy, and are designed to equip scientists with valuable skills—no matter what brand of instrumentation they use. To ensure even broader access, we also provide free online training sessions, helping scientists learn wherever they are.

Going in line with our ethos of empowering scientists, Shimadzu puts a great deal of emphasis on customer support - ensuring that every user, from new researchers to experienced analysts, makes the most of their instrumentation. 

The best testament to this approach comes from the customers, see some examples below: 

• Sha Akhgar, Aspire Laboratories: "4 years ago I set up a laboratory and spent a lot of time working out which brand to go with. In the end I went with Shimadzu for all our instrumentation. Best decision we made. The instruments 4 years on are still working perfectly and more importantly Shimadzu have always been on hand to help with tech support and training :)"
• Dr Daniel Nowakowski, EBRI: "With so many people booking our equipment, business continuity is very important for us – so it’s great that we always have a quick response from Shimadzu!" www.shimadzu.co.uk/case-studies/ebri.html
• Dr Fozia Shaheen, University of Birmingham: "The customer service experience that we've had with Shimadzu has been excellent. That is one thing that was extremely important to us and provide us real-time feedback. but also work with us when we want something tailored to our needs. there was a both-sided conversation where we could sit down and go through things that were important for us, allowing us to be confident that it was going to work for us." www.shimadzu.co.uk/case-studies/uob.html
• Dr Michael Sims, Wild Hydrogen: "Getting the system up and running was seamless, and the aftercare has been very positive too – everyone’s really approachable, and if we have a question, however small, we can just get in touch." www.shimadzu.co.uk/case-studies/wildhydrogen.html

As part of our 150th-anniversary celebrations, we released a commemorative testimonial book that features over 60 customer stories—primarily from the UK—sharing their experiences with Shimadzu over the years. These stories offer genuine insight into how Shimadzu’s support impacts real-world workflows, scientific progress, and operational success and how our partnerships go beyond simply supplying instruments.

A few excerpts from the book include:

• Ash Alavijeh, Pharmidex: "The Shimadzu UK team has consistently gone ‘above and beyond’ to provide outstanding support"
• Professor Theocharis Ispoglou, Leeds Beckett University: "The Shimadzu team has demonstrated exceptional professionalism, expertise and dedication"
• Jennifer Hobley, Celtic recycling: "I don’t know what I’d do without my GC-2030 and the Shimadzu team"
• Dr Han Wu, UCL: “The after-sales service and their willingness to embrace challenges really makes the Shimadzu team stand out!"
• Duncan Thompson, CatSci: "Shimadzu have ensured that we’re able to push the boundaries of analytical science"
• Dr Dale McClure, Brunel University of London: "The team from Shimadzu offers excellent service and support"
• Dr Kathryn Proctor, University of Bath: "Shimadzu helped immensely with finding an instrument package that met the needs of a university-wide facility."
• Dr Alan McCue, University of Aberdeen: "The on-going support is brilliant! For me, this goes beyond ensuring the equipment is working as expected. I really feel like Shimadzu want to understand my experimental needs so they can offer the best tips and advice possible. In other words, they want to see their instrumentation used to its fullest potential. This really makes me feel valued as a customer."

At Shimadzu, we are truly grateful to be part of the scientific journey of so many researchers and scientists and we remain committed to supporting them every step of the way.