Carl Roth
Carl Roth is a 145+ year-old German specialty supplier of laboratory consumables, life science products, and chemicals, serving research, scientific, technical, and pharmaceutical laboratories across 100+ countries through five European subsidiaries and a distributor network.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1879
- HeadquartersKarlsruhe, Germany
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Carl Roth does
Carl Roth GmbH + Co. KG is a privately held German laboratory supplies company headquartered in Karlsruhe, founded in 1879 and operating for more than 145 years. The company supplies research, scientific, technical, and pharmaceutical laboratories with a catalog of over 42,000 articles spanning labware (ROTIPROTECT, ROTIVOLUM, ROTILABO), life science products (CELLPURE, ROTIPHORESE, PEPTIPURE), and chemicals (ROTISOL, ROTISOLV, ROTIPURAN, SOLVAGREEN), including pharmacopoeia-grade and EXCiPACT-certified pharmaceutical excipients. Underlying technology is a proprietary brand portfolio developed through in-house R&D and research cooperations, covering volumetric instruments, solvents, electrophoresis reagents, chromatography products, and increasingly performance materials such as battery research inputs, green chemicals, silicone fluids, and 3D printing resins. The business model combines direct B2B e-commerce through carlroth.com with a wholly-owned subsidiary distribution network across five European markets (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland) and third-party distributors serving more than 100 countries; revenue is generated primarily through unit-priced one-time product sales, with a smaller services layer comprising custom analytical standard solutions, oligo synthesis, equipment calibration, and repair services. Customer segments are segmented vertically across research, scientific, technical, and pharmaceutical laboratories, with publicly displayed pricing indicating a distributed, transaction-heavy mix rather than concentrated enterprise contracts. Certifications (ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, ResponsibleCare, EXCiPACT, and Zertifizierter Fachbetrieb für PSA) underpin regulatory positioning in pharma and EU lab safety markets.
Carl Roth firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Carl Roth
- Legal name
- Carl Roth GmbH + Co. KG
- Website
- https://carlroth.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1879
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Carl Roth is a 145+ year-old German specialty supplier of laboratory consumables, life science products, and chemicals, serving research, scientific, technical, and pharmaceutical laboratories across 100+ countries through five European subsidiaries and a distributor network.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Carl Roth industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Laboratory Supplies and Chemicals
- NAICS
- Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451), Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and Controlling Industrial Process Variables (334513)
- SIC
- Laboratory Apparatus & Furniture (3821), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Miscellaneous Chemical Products (2890)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Laboratory Consumables & Plasticware (Tips, Tubes, Plates, Filters) (HLAGAIAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- General Lab Equipment (Centrifuges, Incubators, Shakers, Ovens) (HLAGAIAC), Reagents, Chemicals & Assay Kits (Buffers, Antibodies, ELISA, Enzymes) (HLAGAIAI), Lab Safety, PPE & Contamination Control (Hoods, Biosafety Cabinets, Clean Air) (HLAGAIAK), Analytical Instruments & Chromatography Systems (HLAGAIAA)
Keywords
Where Carl Roth is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Karlsruhe
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Carl Roth business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Laboratory Products Sales: One-time product sales of labware, life science products, and chemicals. Products include laboratory glass, vessels, consumables, chromatography supplies, filtration equipment, measuring instruments, microbiology and molecular biology products, microscopy supplies, optical instruments, cleaning aids, and laboratory equipment.
- Chemicals and Reagents: Sale of analytical chemicals, inorganic chemicals, biochemicals, pharmacopoeia quality chemicals, dyes, pigments, solvents, natural products, organic chemicals, and pharmaceutical excipients according to EXCiPACT standard.
- Custom Solutions Services: Custom Made Analytical Standard Solutions and Reagents, Oligo service, and calibration services for temperature and humidity devices.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Standard product catalog with tiered pricing based on quantity and product type |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Carl Roth product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Carl Roth supplies more than 42,000 laboratory products across labware, life science, and chemicals to research, scientific, technical, and pharmaceutical laboratories in over 100 countries. The portfolio is built around proprietary ROTH sub-brands covering protection, volumetric, labware, solvents, cell culture, electrophoresis, green chemicals, chromatography, and peptides, complemented by proprietary instruments such as the TitroLine 5000 titrator and the AREX-5 magnetic stirrer. Additional service offerings include custom analytical standard solutions, oligo synthesis, and calibration and repair of laboratory instruments.
Product overview
Carl Roth is a laboratory equipment and chemicals supplier operating a diversified platform model offering over 42,000 products across labware, life sciences, and chemicals. The product portfolio centers on proprietary brands including ROTIPROTECT® (protection), ROTIVOLUM® (volumetric), ROTILABO® (lab equipment), ROTISOL®/ROTISOLV® (solutions/solvents), CELLPURE® (cell culture), ROTIPHORESE® (electrophoresis), and SOLVAGREEN® (green chemicals), alongside specialized brands like ROTITHERM® (thermal), ROTICHROM® (chromatography), and PEPTIPURE® (peptides). The company offers complete workflow solutions spanning laboratory glassware, chromatography, filtration, microbiology, molecular biology, and performance materials including battery research, silicone fluids, and surfactants. Additional services include custom analytical solutions, oligo synthesis, equipment calibration, and repair services. Carl Roth operates as a single unified e-commerce platform with regional subsidiaries across Europe and global distribution to over 100 countries.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ROTIPROTECT: Brand for occupational safety and personal protection products
- ROTIVOLUM
- ROTILABO
- ROTISOL
- CELLPURE
- ROTIPHORESE
- SEKUROKA
- Mercurisorb-ROTH
- ROTIDERM
- ROTITHERM
- ROTIZELL
- SOLVAGREEN
- ROTISOLV
- PUFFERAN
- ROTICHROM
- ROTIPURAN
- Pestilyse
- Wapersol
- PEPTIPURE
- ROTIDRY
- ROTI
- ROTI Garose
Products and services
- ROTI®Cell DMEM High Glucose Cell culture medium sold under the CELLPURE® ready-to-use, sterile format with stable glutamine and pyruvate, aimed at cell biology research laboratories.
- TitroLine® 5000 Titrator Set 1 Automatic titrating burette set for determination of physical properties and titration applications, sold to analytical and quality-control laboratories.
- Agarose Standard (ROTI®Garose) Standard-grade agarose for DNA/RNA gel electrophoresis applications, sold under the ROTI®Garose sub-brand to molecular biology laboratories.
- Ultracur3D® EL 4000 Flexible 3D printing resin for conventional 3D printing workflows including bioprinting, sold under the Ultracur3D brand.
- OmniaPure Reinstwassersystem 27PP Pure water system for laboratory applications requiring ultra-pure water for analytical and molecular biology workflows.
- Water for Molecular Biology Pre-defined water product specification for molecular biology applications, sold as a catalog consumable.
- AREX-5 Advance Digital Magnetic Stirrer Digital magnetic stirrer with advanced features sold under the ROTITHERM thermal equipment line.
- Custom Made Analytical Standard Solutions and Reagents Custom-formulated analytical standard solutions and reagents for laboratories needing specifications outside the standard catalog range.
- Oligo Service Custom oligonucleotide synthesis service supplying oligos to molecular biology and genomics laboratories.
- Calibration Service for Temperature and Humidity Devices Calibration service for temperature and humidity measuring instruments, supporting traceable measurements in regulated laboratories.
- Laboratory Equipment Repair Service Repair and maintenance service for laboratory instruments purchased from Carl Roth, supporting lifecycle and uptime needs of lab equipment.
Companies that use Carl Roth
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Carl Roth technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Carl Roth partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Strategic PartnershipscoreCarl Roth has a dedicated Strategic partnerships page and engages in cooperations for developing new, future-oriented ROTH products based on research projects. The company develops proprietary ROTH products through collaborative research and development efforts.
- Custom Analytical Solutions PartnersminorOffers Custom Made Analytical Standard Solutions and Reagents service, suggesting partnerships with customers or suppliers for specialized analytical chemistry solutions.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Carl Roth competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Schott AG (Life Science & Lab): Large specialty-glass producer whose pharmaceutical tubing and laboratory glass lines serve overlapping science buyers. Broader industrial footprint than Carl Roth but comparable on lab glassware and specialty material categories.
- Thermo Fisher Scientific (Laboratory Products & Services): Operates the world's largest lab-supply conglomerate, including chemicals, reagents, and consumables (Fisher Chemical, Acros, Alfa Aesar). Competes on breadth and is the dominant incumbent in the same customer base Carl Roth serves.
- Merck (Sigma-Aldrich life science portfolio): Global life-science and lab-supply giant offering chemicals, reagents, and consumables across thousands of SKUs. Competes directly with Carl Roth on catalog breadth, though Merck's scale and US/Asia footprint dwarf Carl Roth's European stronghold.
- Honeywell Research Chemicals (formerly Fluka): Brand-owner and supplier of high-purity solvents and reagents, including the legacy Fluka line, directly overlapping with Carl Roth's ROTISOLV, ROTIPURAN, and analytical-chemicals portfolio.
- Avantor / VWR: Global lab products distribution platform combining VWR's distribution reach with Avantor's manufacturing. Targets the same research, pharma, and industrial lab buyer with a similar consumables-plus-equipment-plus-chemicals mix as Carl Roth.
Direct peers
- BRAND GMBH + CO KG: German mid-sized manufacturer of liquid handling, volumetric instruments, and life-science consumables. Closest direct peer in scale, geography, and proprietary-brand catalog model, competing head-to-head in European lab-supply channels.
- Eppendorf SE: German premium manufacturer of liquid handling, cell handling, and consumables for life-science labs. Overlaps with Carl Roth on laboratory plastics and reagents and competes for the same European research-account buyer.
- Duran Group / DWK Life Sciences: Manufacturer of premium borosilicate glassware and laboratory vessels. Overlaps with Carl Roth's ROTILABO laboratory glass category and operates with a similar European specialty-manufacturer profile and brand positioning.
- Greiner Bio-One: Austrian-headquartered manufacturer of plastic lab consumables, cell-culture products, and preanalytics. Overlaps directly with Carl Roth's ROTILABO, CELLPURE, and life-science categories and shares the central-European specialty-manufacturer DNA.
Regional players
- Th. Geyer GmbH & Co. KG: German specialty chemicals and lab consumables distributor with a similar mid-sized, family-owned profile. Directly comparable peer in scale and business model, focused on the German-speaking market.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Carl Roth social profiles
Digital presenceCarl Roth compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance5 records
Carl Roth financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Carl Roth leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Carl Roth subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries6 records
Carl Roth funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Carl Roth 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 Carl Roth
What does Carl Roth do?
Carl Roth supplies more than 42,000 laboratory products across labware, life science, and chemicals to research, scientific, technical, and pharmaceutical laboratories in over 100 countries. The portfolio is built around proprietary ROTH sub-brands covering protection, volumetric, labware, solvents, cell culture, electrophoresis, green chemicals, chromatography, and peptides, complemented by proprietary instruments such as the TitroLine 5000 titrator and the AREX-5 magnetic stirrer. Additional service offerings include custom analytical standard solutions, oligo synthesis, and calibration and repair of laboratory instruments.
Is Carl Roth a public or private company?
Carl Roth is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Carl Roth founded?
Carl Roth was founded in 1879. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Carl Roth based?
Carl Roth is headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Carl Roth make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Laboratory Products Sales are the primary driver. The others are chemicals and Reagents and custom Solutions Services.
Who are Carl Roth's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Schott AG (Life Science & Lab), Thermo Fisher Scientific (Laboratory Products & Services), Merck (Sigma-Aldrich life science portfolio), Honeywell Research Chemicals (formerly Fluka) and Avantor / VWR. Direct peers are BRAND GMBH + CO KG, Eppendorf SE, Duran Group / DWK Life Sciences and Greiner Bio-One. Th. Geyer GmbH & Co. KG is listed as a regional player.
Does Carl Roth have an API?
No public API is recorded for Carl Roth.
What industry is Carl Roth in?
Carl Roth's product category is Laboratory Supplies and Chemicals. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAIAH, Laboratory Consumables & Plasticware (Tips, Tubes, Plates, Filters), with a secondary code of HLAGAIAC, General Lab Equipment (Centrifuges, Incubators, Shakers, Ovens). Its NAICS code is 33451 and its SIC code is 3821.