Sub-series 3. Product Files, 1935-2008, undated

Arranged alphabetically by subject, this sub-series contains Product Files created by several Beckman Coulter corporate predecessors, including Beckman Instruments, Incorporated, National Technical Laboratories, Arnold O. Beckman, Incorporated, and Helipot Corporation. These files document the development and manufacture of a cross section of the Beckman product line. They also shed light on the companies' efforts to provide technical support to their customers. Most of the files in this sub-series regard individual Beckman products, including pH meters, spectrophotometers, and oxygen analyzers. A few files regarding specific technical issues encountered during the development and manufacture of various Beckman products are also preserved in this sub-series.

The contents of the Product Files consist mainly of correspondence, reports, notes, drawings, and blueprints. Brochures, bulletins, manuals, technical papers, clippings, and a handful of photographs are preserved in these files as well. Most of the materials in the Product Files were created at the actual time of the development and manufacture of the products they document. A significant amount of accompanying historical research materials, created many years after the discontinuance of the products documented, are also found in these files.