Shimadzu Corporation is a Japanese public KK company, manufacturing precision instruments, measuring instruments and medical equipment, based in Kyoto, Japan. Shimadzu makes a wide variety of laboratory instruments, surface analyzers, testing and inspection instruments, scales, aircraft equipment medical systems and industrial manufacturing equipment. It was established in 1875 and is headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. The American arm of the company, Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, was founded in 1975.