What Labcon does

Labcon North America is a Petaluma, California-based designer and manufacturer of single-use plastic laboratory consumables, founded in 1959 (originally as Ways and Means, Inc.). The company's catalog exceeds 1,300 active SKUs across pipette tips, centrifuge tubes, culture tubes, PCR consumables, clinical chemistry disposables, point-of-care devices, filtration products, and shipping tubes, with annual output reported at more than one billion units from a single 12,000 square-meter campus. Core technical differentiators sit in materials and contamination science: medical-grade (USP Class VI) polypropylene processed for ultra-low background contamination (MetalFree testing 43 metals to 1 part per billion via ICP-MS), validated 10^-6 sterility assurance level under ISO 11137, endotoxin- and nuclease-tested formulations, and patented specialty platforms including SuperClear elastomeric sealing caps, ViewPoint thermochromic temperature signaling, UVSafe full-spectrum UV blocking, ProtectR CO2-resistant shipping tubes, and PFAS-free Eclipse pipette tips. The Evolve line, launched with circular-economy resin supplied via Polycarbin, and the Eclipse refill system reflect a long-running sustainability program branded Earth Friendly since 1994 and supported by 700+ ACT Environmental Impact Factor labels.

The business operates a multi-channel go-to-market: a global network of laboratory supply distributors (including a documented VWR/Avantor relationship honored with Supplier of the Year in 2013 and 2017), direct account sales for larger customers, a US-direct e-commerce webshop (pipettipsandtubes.com), and OEM/custom molding services for private-label and specialty applications. End customers are segmented horizontally across academic and commercial research laboratories, clinical and diagnostic laboratories, industrial and food-and-beverage testing, and sustainability-focused labs; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The company is privately held, self-funded through operations, and supplemented by roughly $59.3M in U.S. federal capacity-building funding (Department of Defense and Health & Human Services, October 2021) for a new Petaluma factory. Leadership comprises CEO Mike Dad and COO Linda Newman; the company employs 101–250 people and holds ISO 9001 registration since 1997, U.S. FDA medical device registration, CE marking under IVDR 2017/746 where applicable, and 30% of facility power from rooftop solar installed in 2011.

Name

Labcon

Legal name

Labcon North America

Website

https://labcon.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Labcon designs and manufactures single-use plastic laboratory consumables—pipette tips, centrifuge tubes, PCR products, and clinical chemistry disposables—out of a single Petaluma, California facility, serving research, clinical, industrial, and sustainability-focused laboratories worldwide via distributors, direct accounts, a US webshop, and OEM services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Laboratory Disposable Plastics

NAICS

Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing (33911)

SIC

Laboratory Apparatus & Furniture (3821), Wholesale-Medical, Dental & Hospital Equipment & Supplies (5047)

akta.pro primary industry

Laboratory Consumables & Plasticware (Tips, Tubes, Plates, Filters) (HLAGAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Liquid Handling & Laboratory Automation (Pipettes, Robots, Workstations) (HLAGAIAD), General Lab Equipment (Centrifuges, Incubators, Shakers, Ovens) (HLAGAIAC), Medical & Life Sciences Injection Molding (Devices, Diagnostics, Cleanroom) (IMANAFAC)

Keywords

• Laboratory plastic disposables
• Pipette tip manufacturing
• Centrifuge tube production
• Lab consumables supply
• Medical grade labware

Headquarters

HQ city

Petaluma

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Laboratory Disposables Sales: Labcon manufactures and sells laboratory plastic disposables including pipette tips, centrifuge tubes, culture tubes, PCR products, and clinical chemistry supplies. Products are sold through distributors worldwide, direct accounts, and a US online webshop. The company also offers OEM and custom molding services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Labcon designs, molds, sterilizes, packages, and sells disposable plastic laboratory consumables — pipette tips, centrifuge tubes, culture tubes, PCR and molecular biology disposables, clinical chemistry containers, point-of-care disposables, and cryogenic/shipping tubes — for life science research, clinical diagnostics, industrial testing, and food and beverage laboratories. Products are sold under the Labcon brand, through OEM/custom molding partnerships, via a global distributor network, and directly to U.S. customers through an online shop.

Product overview

Labcon is a laboratory disposables manufacturer offering over 1,300 products for life science, clinical, and research laboratories. The product portfolio centers on consumable plastic labware organized into core product lines including pipette tips (Eclipse™, SuperSlik®, ZAP™, MetalFree®, automation tips), centrifuge tubes (SuperClear®, PerformR®, SuperSpin®, SuperSlik®), culture tubes, clinical chemistry products, molecular biology PCR consumables, and point of care devices. Specialty products address specific applications: ViewPoint™ temperature signaling tubes with thermochromic technology, UVSafe® UV-blocking tubes, MetalFree® ultra-pure tubes tested to 1ppb for 43 metals, and ProtectR® CO2-resistant shipping tubes. Sustainability-focused offerings include Eclipse™ refill system (75% less plastic) and Evolve™ circular resin products made from recycled laboratory plastic. All products are manufactured in California to ISO 9001 standards with validated 10-6 sterility assurance level. The company operates direct sales, distributor networks, and e-commerce channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Earth Friendly®: The company's sustainability brand identity and mission statement - 'The Earth Friendly Company' emphasizing sustainable labware solutions
• ACT®
• UVSafe®
• ViewPoint®
• MetalFree®
• SuperClear®
• Evolve™
• Eclipse™
• SuperSpin®
• SuperSlik®
• ProtectR®
• Pagoda®

Products and services

• ViewPoint Temperature Signaling Tubes

Quantifiable outcome

• Spin rates up to 233% greater than other brands
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• PolycarbincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Labcon partners with Polycarbin to divert single-use laboratory consumables from landfills and incinerators. Polycarbin recovers and processes lab plastic waste into high-quality multi-generation polypropylene to produce Labcon Evolve™ products. This circular economy partnership enables closed-loop recycling of laboratory plastics.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Mettler Toledo (Rainin): Rainin, part of Mettler Toledo, is a leading manufacturer of pipettes and pipette tip consumables, particularly premium low-retention and BioClean tips. Directly comparable to Labcon in the liquid-handling category, including sustainability-positioned tip product lines such as BioClean and TerraRack.
• Greiner Bio-One: Greiner Bio-One is a global manufacturer of plastic laboratory consumables including pipette tips, tubes, microplates, and cell culture products. Directly comparable to Labcon across liquid-handling and cell-culture consumables for life science and clinical markets.
• Bio-Rad Laboratories: Bio-Rad manufactures a range of life science and clinical laboratory products including PCR plates, tubes, and consumables. Comparable to Labcon in the molecular biology consumables category, particularly PCR plates, strips, and tubes, and competing for clinical and research lab budgets.
• BRAND GMBH + CO KG: BRAND is a German manufacturer of liquid handling products including pipette tips, disposable cuvettes, and PCR consumables. Directly comparable to Labcon as a mid-sized specialist in laboratory disposables with emphasis on quality, precision, and contamination control.
• Sarstedt: Sarstedt manufactures disposable plastic laboratory and medical products including pipette tips, centrifuge tubes, and sample collection tubes. A direct peer to Labcon in injection-molded plastic labware serving research, clinical diagnostics, and industrial testing laboratories.
• Eppendorf: Eppendorf is a leading manufacturer of premium pipette tips, microcentrifuge tubes, and laboratory consumables, with strong brand recognition and global distribution. Directly comparable to Labcon as a specialist in liquid-handling consumables and centrifuge tubes serving research and clinical labs.

Others

• VWR / Avantor: VWR, part of Avantor, is both a major distributor (Supplier of the Year award winner for Labcon) and a manufacturer of private-label laboratory consumables. Listed as OTHERS because the relationship is primarily distribution rather than direct competition, but it shapes Labcon's go-to-market through private-label and exclusive supplier dynamics.

Broad incumbents

• Thermo Fisher Scientific (Nunc/Nalgene): Through its Nunc and Nalgene brands, Thermo Fisher is a dominant supplier of laboratory plastic consumables including pipette tips, tubes, and cryogenic storage. A broad incumbent competing with Labcon across nearly every product category and bringing significantly greater scale and distribution reach.
• Corning Life Sciences: Corning Life Sciences is a large incumbent manufacturer of cell culture vessels, pipette tips, tubes, and other plastic labware. As a broad incumbent with a much larger portfolio and global footprint, it competes with Labcon across many of the same consumable categories, particularly in tissue culture and molecular biology.

Emerging players

• Starlab Group: Starlab is a European manufacturer of pipette tips and other laboratory plastic consumables with a strong emphasis on sustainability and refill systems. Comparable to Labcon as a specialist consumables manufacturer with a circular-economy product strategy (e.g., TipOne refills), competing in the same product categories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/labconnaw
• Facebookfacebook.com/labcon
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/labcon-north-america
• Xx.com/labcon

Compliance17 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Labcon