History

Founded in 1981 by the late Dr Jim Howarth and Richard Kelly, Scantech has grown from a small private company based in Adelaide, South Australia to a successful public enterprise. The Company grew strongly on the strength of its physics-based research, making it the world’s leading company for on-line analysis, mainly through supply of the COALSCAN range of coal analysers.

Scantech has the largest and most diverse installed base of on-line analysers compared to any other supplier, with more than 1,400 systems installed in over 80 countries worldwide and in excess of 230 installations in Australia.

Scantech has received a number of awards over the years including the following:

• The late Dr Jim Howarth along with other scientists won the prestigious Australia Prize in 1992. This award formally recognised the excellence of the COALSCAN range of analysers. The Prime Minister presented the award for scientific achievement to the late Dr Jim Howarth and colleagues for developing and commercialising instruments for the on-line analysis of minerals and coal.
• The Research and Development Magazine IR 100 Award for the On-Line Ash Measurement System.
• The Sir Ian McLennan Achievement for Industry Award won jointly with another research organisation to recognise the commercial development of the COALSCAN 4500.
• The Electronics Association of South Australian Gold Cup for excellence in commercialisation and engineering of the COALSCAN 9500 On-Line Elemental Analyser.
• The Powerhouse Museum in Sydney has recognised Scantech’s COALSCAN as one of the most significant Australian innovations of the 20th century.