![beckman coulter miami fl beckman coulter miami fl](https://media.glassdoor.com/l/e3/ea/bc/b2/exterior-of-site-in-chaska-mn.jpg)
In 1982, the company merged into SmithKline to form SmithKline Beckman, with Arnold Beckman as vice chairman, but regained its independence in 1989 after SmithKline merged with Beecham Group to form SmithKline Beecham (now part of GlaxoSmithKline).
![beckman coulter miami fl beckman coulter miami fl](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/0B0AAOSw3nNewz0o/s-l1600.jpg)
In 1961, Beckman acquired Offner Electronics, a company founded by inventor Franklin F.
![beckman coulter miami fl beckman coulter miami fl](https://media.beckman.com/-/media/corporate/contact-us/japan-office-image.jpg)
Because Shockley's aging mother lived in Palo Alto, California, the Shockley Laboratory was established in nearby Mountain View, California, and thus, " Silicon Valley" was born. In 1955, Beckman established the seminal Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory as a division of Beckman Instruments to begin commercializing the semiconductor transistor technology invented by Caltech alumnus William Shockley. The Spinco division went on to design and manufacture a broad range of laboratory centrifuges.
![beckman coulter miami fl beckman coulter miami fl](https://media.beckman.com/-/media/corporate/service-and-support/service-engineer-beckman-2017-09.png)
In 1954, Beckman Instruments acquired ultracentrifuge maker Spinco (Specialized Instruments Corp.). In the 1950s, the company name changed to Beckman Instruments, Inc. to sell oxygen analyzers, the Helipot precision potentiometer, and spectrophotometers. In the 1940s, Beckman changed the name to Arnold O. Beckman in 1935 as National Technical Laboratories to commercialize a pH meter that he had invented.