The IBO (Instrument Business Outlook) Gold Award 2007 for excellence in industrial design of laboratory equipment, has been awarded to Q Instruments personal micro thermo shaker RIO. The award honours individuality, creativity and a high degree of innovation of the product design. The shaker has a streamlined design that represents a synthesis of functionality and esthetics. In the development of the thermo shaker special attention was paid to homogeneous temperature profile, efficient and vibration-free small volume mixing and ergonomic design. It is used for temperature control and mixing of probes. Its space-saving design is combined with extremely short heating and cooling rates, high mixing speed and intuitive handling.