 Originally approached to supply housing boxes for the meter by Holmes Sturdivant, Pauling's assistant, Beckman was soon asked to produce the entire instrument.While the board of the National Technical Laboratory was unwilling to support the secret project, whose details they could not be told, they agreed that Beckman was free to follow up on it independently.Beckman set up a second spinoff company, Arnold O. Beckman, Inc., for their manufacture.