Agar Scientific
Agar Scientific is a UK-based manufacturer and distributor of consumables, accessories, and instruments for all forms of microscopy, serving research, industrial, healthcare, education, and semiconductor customers globally through own brands and OEM partnerships.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1982
- HeadquartersStansted, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Agar Scientific does
Agar Scientific is a UK-headquartered manufacturer and distributor of consumables, accessories, and specialized instrumentation for all major forms of microscopy, including SEM, TEM, light microscopy, cryo-EM, AFM, and FIB. Founded around 1982 and operating for over 40 years, the company sells proprietary own-brand products such as Athene and Agar TEM grids, London Resin embedding media, and the GraVitri Plunge Cooler co-developed with MRC Cambridge, alongside distributed OEM brands including PELCO/Ted Pella, Safematic, DiATOME, Lam Plan, Meiji Techno, Adam Equipment, Ohaus, WELL, NuNano, Geller, Statebourne, and Protein Ark. Its catalog spans specimen stubs, calibration standards, support films, stains, diamond knives, tweezers, balances, vacuum coaters, microwave tissue processors, and cryo-EM preparation tools.\n\nAgar Scientific operates a B2B sales-led model serving research laboratories, industrial manufacturers, healthcare and medical customers, educational institutions, and nanotechnology/semiconductor firms across more than five horizontal use-case segments. Revenue is generated primarily through one-time unit sales of consumables and instruments, with no minimum order value, multi-currency pricing in GBP/EUR/USD, and quote-based pricing (Price on Application) for higher-value capital equipment such as cell manipulation systems. The company runs a direct e-commerce storefront supplemented by a worldwide network of agents and distributors, and operates as the UK arm of Calibre Scientific, which provides global distribution reach.\n\nThe company is privately held as Agar Scientific Ltd., ISO 9001 certified, compliant with EU Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC for clinical cell manipulation equipment, and headquartered at the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham, UK. It raised approximately $2.7M from Foresight Group in 2016 and is owned by Calibre Scientific as a strategic operating subsidiary.
Agar Scientific firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Agar Scientific
- Legal name
- Agar Scientific Ltd.
- Website
- https://agarscientific.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1982
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Agar Scientific is a UK-based manufacturer and distributor of consumables, accessories, and instruments for all forms of microscopy, serving research, industrial, healthcare, education, and semiconductor customers globally through own brands and OEM partnerships.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Agar Scientific industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Electron Microscopy Consumables & Laboratory Instrumentation
- NAICS
- Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)
- SIC
- Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Microscopy, Imaging & Flow Cytometry Instruments (HLAGAIAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- General Lab Equipment (Centrifuges, Incubators, Shakers, Ovens) (HLAGAIAC), Laboratory Consumables & Plasticware (Tips, Tubes, Plates, Filters) (HLAGAIAH)
Keywords
Where Agar Scientific is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Stansted
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Agar Scientific business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Microscopy Consumables Sales: Primary revenue stream from selling consumables including TEM/SEM grids, specimen stubs, calibration standards, support films, stains, resins, embedding chemicals, vacuum coating materials, and general laboratory consumables
- Scientific Instrumentation Sales: Revenue from selling scientific instruments including balances, cell manipulation equipment, diamond saws, glow discharge units, hotplates, incubators, microscopes, microwave processors, pH measurement equipment, platform rockers, plunge coolers, vacuum coaters, ultrasonic cleaners, and water chillers
- Specialized Equipment: Sales of specialized microscopy equipment including diamond knives, fiber optic illuminators, fume cabinets, liquid nitrogen dewars, and tissue processing equipment
- Branded Tools and Tweezers: Sales of precision tools and tweezers including Dumont tweezers, ceramic tweezers, high precision tweezers, plastic tweezers, vacuum tweezers, wafer tweezers, and general laboratory tools
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Standard retail pricing for consumables |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Instrumentation pricing range |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Quote-based pricing for specialized equipment |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Agar Scientific product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Agar Scientific manufactures and distributes electron microscopy consumables (including TEM support grids, SEM specimen stubs, and calibration reference standards) and supplies complementary scientific laboratory instrumentation such as micromanipulators, vacuum coaters, diamond knives, balances, and microscopes. Its primary customers are research, academic, and industrial laboratories requiring sample preparation tools and consumables for materials and life science microscopy workflows.
Product overview
Agar Scientific is a leading international supplier of scientific instruments and accessories for all forms of microscopy, operating for over 40 years as a distributor and own-brand manufacturer. The company offers a diverse portfolio organized into instrumentation (proprietary and distributed equipment including Safematic vacuum coaters, PELCO BioWave tissue processors, Mic-Fi digital microscopes, GraVitri cryo-EM plunge coolers, and Lam Plan sample preparation systems), branded consumables (Agar and Athene TEM grids, London Resin embedding media), distributed microscopy brands (Meiji Techno microscopes, Adam Equipment and Ohaus balances, DiATOME diamond knives, PELCO equipment), and Calibre Scientific sub-branded cell manipulation (Eporator, TransferMan, InjectMan, FemtoJet, PiezoXpert) and Protein Ark protein purification products. The company also provides comprehensive SEM, TEM, light microscopy, AFM/SPM, FIB, and Cryo-EM consumables including specimen stubs, calibration standards, support films, stains, and general laboratory chemicals.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Athene Grids: Grid product line including standard square pattern, thin bar, thick bar/thin bar, slot and multiple slot, thick slot, hexagonal, round hole pattern, single hole, folding, and other patterns for TEM applications.
- Agar Grids
Products and services
- TEM Support Grids
Companies that use Agar Scientific
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Agar Scientific technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Agar Scientific partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Calibre ScientificcoreCalibre Scientific is the parent company of Agar Scientific. Agar Scientific operates as part of the Calibre Scientific group, which provides global distribution capabilities and access to additional product lines including cell manipulation instruments under the Calibre Scientific brand.
- Dr. Chris Russo (MRC Cambridge)minorDr. Chris Russo from MRC Cambridge collaborated with Agar Scientific/Calibre Scientific to develop the GraVitri Plunge Cooler Series for cryo-EM sample preparation, utilizing a high-speed gravity-driven plunge mechanism.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Agar Scientific competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ted Pella: Ted Pella (PELCO brand) is one of Agar's largest direct competitors in SEM/TEM consumables and sample-prep instrumentation, including cryo-EM accessories. Agar also distributes some PELCO lines, making the overlap particularly direct at the product level.
- Electron Microscopy Sciences (EMS): EMS is a major US-based supplier of microscopy consumables, embedding media, stains, and specimen preparation equipment. It competes head-to-head with Agar across TEM/SEM grids, chemicals, and histological/EM sample preparation.
- SPI Supplies: SPI Supplies specializes in TEM/SEM supplies, AFM probes, and calibration standards, overlapping directly with Agar's grids, stubs, support films, and reference standards portfolio.
- DiATOME: DiATOME is the dominant manufacturer of diamond knives for ultramicrotomy. Agar distributes DiATOME in the UK, so while they are partners, DiATOME is also a direct competitor in the same cryo/ultramicrotomy sample-prep segment.
- Lam Plan: Lam Plan manufactures lapping, polishing, and cutting equipment for materials science sample preparation, where Agar is its UK distributor and a direct competitor in materials analysis microscopy prep.
Broad incumbents
- Carl Zeiss Microscopy: Zeiss manufactures electron and light microscopes plus its own branded consumables and accessories. It competes indirectly with Agar through bundled sample-prep workflows and growing own-brand consumable offerings.
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (Electron Microscopy): Thermo Fisher operates a major electron microscopy business (formerly FEI) producing SEM/TEM/cryo-EM instruments and a growing portfolio of proprietary consumables, competing with Agar's cryo-EM and EM prep business.
- JEOL: JEOL is a leading electron microscope manufacturer with associated consumables and sample-prep offerings. It competes with Agar in TEM/SEM workflows and increasingly in cryo-EM prep.
- Leica Microsystems: Leica offers light and electron microscopy sample-prep instruments (e.g., ultramicrotomy, EM tissue processing) that overlap with Agar's distributed and own-brand instrumentation portfolio.
- Oxford Instruments: Oxford Instruments supplies electron microscopy and nanotechnology analysis tools and accessories, competing with Agar in advanced EM applications and analytical instrumentation.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Agar Scientific social profiles
Digital presenceAgar Scientific compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Agar Scientific financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Agar Scientific leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Agar Scientific funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Agar Scientific M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Agar Scientific
What does Agar Scientific do?
Agar Scientific manufactures and distributes electron microscopy consumables (including TEM support grids, SEM specimen stubs, and calibration reference standards) and supplies complementary scientific laboratory instrumentation such as micromanipulators, vacuum coaters, diamond knives, balances, and microscopes. Its primary customers are research, academic, and industrial laboratories requiring sample preparation tools and consumables for materials and life science microscopy workflows.
Is Agar Scientific a public or private company?
Agar Scientific is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Agar Scientific founded?
Agar Scientific was founded in 1982. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Agar Scientific based?
Agar Scientific is headquartered in Stansted, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Agar Scientific make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Microscopy Consumables Sales are the primary driver. The others are scientific Instrumentation Sales, specialized Equipment and branded Tools and Tweezers.
Who are Agar Scientific's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ted Pella, Electron Microscopy Sciences (EMS), SPI Supplies, DiATOME and Lam Plan. Broad incumbents are Carl Zeiss Microscopy, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Electron Microscopy), JEOL, Leica Microsystems and Oxford Instruments.
Does Agar Scientific have an API?
No public API is recorded for Agar Scientific.
What industry is Agar Scientific in?
Agar Scientific's product category is Electron Microscopy Consumables & Laboratory Instrumentation. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAIAE, Microscopy, Imaging & Flow Cytometry Instruments, with a secondary code of HLAGAIAC, General Lab Equipment (Centrifuges, Incubators, Shakers, Ovens). Its NAICS code is 334516 and its SIC code is 3826.