What Mvtl Laboratories does

MVTL Laboratories (Minnesota Valley Testing Laboratories, Inc.) is a privately held, ISO/IEC 17025 accredited analytical testing laboratory headquartered in New Ulm, Minnesota, operating since 1951. The company runs three laboratory locations (New Ulm, MN; Bismarck, ND; Nevada, IA) and provides fee-for-service analytical testing across five vertically integrated divisions: food and ingredient testing, environmental and water testing, agricultural testing, animal nutrition testing, and energy industry testing. Its service portfolio spans pathogen detection (PCR, ELISA, VITEK-MS, next-generation sequencing), chemical analysis (triple quadrupole mass spectrometry), nutritional labeling, soil fertility and nematode screening, wastewater and drinking water compliance testing, and energy-related coal and biomass characterization. MVTL supplements core testing with a proprietary environmental monitoring platform (QualTrac™), a first-in-world PCR-based soybean cyst nematode test (NEMAGENE™, launched spring 2026 in partnership with Freyr Diagnostics), and three customer data portals for results delivery.

The business operates on a fee-for-service, per-sample model with both one-time and recurring testing programs. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, anchored by a dedicated customer service team, regional courier pickup across Minnesota, Iowa, Western Wisconsin, and Eastern South Dakota, and integrations with 12+ major cloud-based agronomy platforms (Agrian, Agworld, FieldAlytics, etc.). Customer segments span food manufacturers, municipal water utilities, state and federal agencies, healthcare facilities, farmers and agronomists, pet food and livestock feed producers, mining operations, and power plants. The company holds multi-state certifications (MN, ND, SD, IA Departments of Health, Agriculture, and DEQ) and CDC Elite status for Legionella testing, with environmental water testing constrained to MN/ND/SD by holding-time and certification requirements. MVTL was family-owned from 1951 through 2022, when ownership passed to Colleen Skillings, Mike Grob, and Jerry Balbach following Thomas Berg's retirement after 56 years of service.

Name

Mvtl Laboratories

Legal name

Minnesota Valley Testing Laboratories, Inc.

Website

https://mvtl.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

MVTL Laboratories is a privately held, ISO/IEC 17025 accredited analytical testing laboratory operating since 1951, with three Upper Midwest labs serving food manufacturers, municipalities, farmers, energy firms, and animal nutrition producers across five testing divisions via fee-for-service per-sample testing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Analytical Testing Services

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (541380), Testing Laboratories and Services (54138)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Food, Feed & Nutraceutical Analytical Testing (HLAGADAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Laboratory Testing & Analytical Services (in-house/contract labs; microbiology, metals, organics) (EUANAJAB), Food Safety Training & Competency Programs (HACCP, Preventive Controls) (AFALAAAN), Forage & Feed Testing Services (Silage, Hay, Pasture) (AFACAKAM), Pesticide Residue & Agrochemical Screening Services (Soil/Plant/Water) (AFACAKAF), Environmental Monitoring & Cleanroom Testing (GMP) (HLAGADAL)

Keywords

• Analytical testing services
• Environmental water testing
• Food safety testing
• Agricultural soil analysis
• Pet food testing

Headquarters

HQ city

New Ulm

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Analytical Testing Services: MVTL generates revenue through providing fee-for-service analytical laboratory testing across five primary service categories: Food testing (pathogen, non-pathogen, nutritional, cosmetic, shelf-life), Environmental testing (wastewater, drinking water, groundwater, surface water, biosolids, soil contamination, facility water safety), Agriculture testing (soil, manure, nematode, plant tissue, germination, agricultural water), Animal Nutrition testing (pet food, feed and forage, livestock water, GLP), and Energy testing (coal quality, overburden, biomass, petroleum products, refuse derived fuels). Revenue is derived from one-time per-sample testing fees as well as recurring testing programs for routine monitoring customers.
2. Courier and Sample Collection Services: MVTL offers courier sample pickup services for customers in Minnesota, Iowa, Western Wisconsin, and Eastern South Dakota. This ancillary service supports the core testing business by facilitating sample collection logistics.
3. Sampling Supplies Provision: MVTL provides sampling containers, bottles, and supplies at no additional cost as part of account setup and testing services, bundled with the testing relationship.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

MVTL is an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited analytical testing laboratory that provides fee-for-service testing across food (pathogen, nutritional, cosmetic, shelf-life), environmental (wastewater, drinking water, groundwater, biosolids), agriculture (soil, manure, nematode, plant tissue, germination), animal nutrition (pet food, feed, forage), and energy (coal, biomass, petroleum) sectors. The company operates three laboratory locations in New Ulm MN, Bismarck ND, and Nevada IA, with courier pickup service, free sampling supplies, and proprietary customer data portals for results access.

Product overview

MVTL Laboratories is an accredited testing laboratory offering a comprehensive suite of analytical testing services organized into five core testing divisions: Food Ingredient & Finished Product Testing, Environmental Testing Services, Agriculture Testing Services, Animal Nutrition Testing Services, and Energy Testing Services. The company also offers Spotlight Services including PFAS testing, NEMAGENE™ (PCR-based soybean cyst nematode testing), and Next-Generation Sequencing. MVTL provides proprietary environmental monitoring software (QualTrac™) and multiple customer data portals for accessing results. Testing services span pathogen and non-pathogen analysis, nutritional labeling, environmental monitoring, soil and crop analysis, feed and forage testing, and industrial waste characterization. The company operates multiple laboratory locations (New Ulm MN, Bismarck ND, Nevada IA) and offers courier pickup services, customer portals for data access, and integrations with major agricultural data platforms for sample submission and results retrieval.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• QualTrac™: Internally developed environmental monitoring program for comprehensive pathogen surveillance in production environments.
• NEMAGENE™

Products and services

• Food Ingredient & Finished Product Testing Comprehensive food testing services including pathogen analysis, non-pathogen analysis, nutritional analysis, environmental monitoring, process water testing, shelf-life studies, and cosmetic testing for ingredient manufacturers and finished food producers requiring ISO/IEC 17025 accredited testing for FSMA, FDA, and USDA compliance.
• Environmental Testing Services Environmental laboratory analysis including wastewater monitoring, drinking water analysis, groundwater monitoring, surface water analysis, biosolids analysis, waste characterization/TCLP, soil contamination testing, and facility water safety testing for municipalities, state and federal agencies, environmental consultants, industrial manufacturers, and healthcare facilities.
• Agriculture Testing Services Agricultural laboratory analysis including soil analysis, manure analysis, soybean cyst nematode screening, plant tissue analysis, germination testing, and agricultural water testing for farmers, crop consultants, agronomists, seed retailers, soil sampling groups, and co-ops.
• Animal Nutrition Testing Services Animal nutrition laboratory analysis including pet food testing, feed and forage analysis, livestock water testing, and GLP-compliant testing services for pet food manufacturers, livestock feed producers, and pharmaceutical companies requiring AAFCO-compliant nutritional and safety testing.
• Energy Testing Services Energy industry laboratory services including coal quality analysis, overburden analysis, water quality monitoring, biomass testing, petroleum products testing, refuse derived fuels analysis, and soil remediation testing for mining operations, power plants, and electrical generation companies.
• NEMAGENE™ Soybean Cyst Nematode PCR Test Novel molecular PCR-based test for soybean cyst nematode (SCN) egg counts developed with Freyr Diagnostics. Integrates with standard soil fertility testing with no additional sampling required, delivers results within 2 business days, and cuts the price in half compared to traditional microscope-based methods while increasing accuracy.
• PFAS Testing PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) testing across water, soil, biosolids, and other matrices, supporting environmental and regulatory compliance with emerging PFAS monitoring requirements. MVTL was the first lab certified in Minnesota for PFAS testing by EPA Method 1633A.
• Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) Next-Generation Sequencing for deep microbial profiling to track contamination sources and trends, used in food pathogen testing and environmental monitoring to distinguish between one-off introductions and resident organisms, enabling strain differentiation for root-cause investigations.
• Courier Sample Pickup Services Courier sample pickup services for customers in Minnesota, Iowa, Western Wisconsin, and Eastern South Dakota. Field services teams collect samples directly from customer locations, supporting the core testing business by facilitating sample collection logistics.

Quantifiable outcome

• Standard food testing turnaround times of 3 to 5 days, with rapid methods available for faster results
• +3 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

AI capability3 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Freyr DiagnosticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMVTL developed NEMAGENE™, a novel PCR-based molecular test for soybean cyst nematode (SCN) egg counts, in conjunction with Freyr Diagnostics. This partnership enabled MVTL to become the first laboratory in the world to offer this innovative SCN testing method as of spring 2026. NEMAGENE™ results were validated against traditional microscope-based SCN egg counts conducted by the Tylka Nematology Lab at Iowa State University, demonstrating consistent accuracy.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• AgSource Laboratories: U.S. agricultural testing laboratory providing soil, plant tissue, manure, water, and feed/forage analysis. Directly comparable to MVTL's agronomy service line and Midwest customer base.
• Pace Analytical: U.S.-focused commercial analytical laboratory with strong food and environmental testing capabilities. Pace Analytical is a direct competitor for food pathogen, environmental water, and soil testing customers in the Midwest.
• Mérieux NutriSciences: Food testing and contract research laboratory serving food processors, manufacturers, and retailers globally. Strong overlap with MVTL's food pathogen, nutritional, and shelf-life testing services.
• Midwest Laboratories: Midwest-based analytical testing laboratory offering soil, plant tissue, manure, water, and food testing. Closely comparable to MVTL in regional footprint, service mix, and agricultural customer base.

Broad incumbents

• ALS Limited: International testing services provider with food, environmental, and life sciences divisions. ALS competes with MVTL in environmental water testing and food microbiological analysis.
• Eurofins Scientific: Global commercial laboratory network offering food, environmental, agricultural, and pharmaceutical testing across 60+ countries. Eurofins is a broad incumbent whose food and environmental testing divisions directly overlap with MVTL's core service portfolio.
• Intertek: Global quality assurance and testing company offering food, agricultural, and environmental testing services. Intertek's Agri-Food and Environmental divisions overlap with MVTL's full-service testing portfolio.
• SGS: One of the world's largest testing, inspection, and certification companies, with a strong U.S. food and environmental testing presence. SGS competes with MVTL for national food manufacturers and environmental compliance clients.
• Bureau Veritas: Global TIC (testing, inspection, certification) company with commodity, food, and environmental testing services. Bureau Veritas Agri-Food and Environmental Labs compete for the same regulated testing spend as MVTL.
• Element Materials Testing: Global testing and inspection services firm with environmental and life sciences capabilities. Competes with MVTL for environmental compliance and industrial testing programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mvtl-laboratories-inc

Compliance14 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Mvtl Laboratories