Environmental Resource Associates
Environmental Resource Associates (ERA) is a Waters Corporation subsidiary that manufactures ISO 17034-accredited certified reference materials and delivers ISO 17043/NELAC-accredited proficiency testing for environmental, biopharmaceutical, food and beverage, and contract testing laboratories in 80+ countries.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1977
- HeadquartersGolden, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Environmental Resource Associates does
Environmental Resource Associates (ERA), founded in 1977 and headquartered in Golden, Colorado, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Waters Corporation (NASDAQ: WAT) operating in the certified reference materials (CRM) and proficiency testing (PT) market for environmental and purified water laboratories. The company manufactures ISO 17034-accredited CRMs and delivers ISO 17043- and NELAC-accredited PT studies spanning air and emissions, DMR-QA wastewater, water supply, microbiology, PFAS, radiochemistry, soil, underground storage, EU Water Framework Directive, and purified water categories (TOC, conductivity, turbidity, cleaning validation). Its core software platform is eDATA 2.0, a cloud-based PT data management portal with LIMS/CSV integration, Z-Score trending, analyte trend analysis, and Health of Your Lab performance tracking, processing over 10,000 PT data sets annually.
ERA monetizes through a mix of recurring subscription-like PT studies on scheduled quarterly and biannual cycles, one-time CRM purchases, consumables for TOC and conductivity instruments, and custom analytical reference standards. It distributes via its e-commerce storefront, direct inside sales, and a documented global partner network serving laboratories in 80+ countries across environmental, biopharmaceutical, food and beverage, and contract testing verticals. Customer acquisition is anchored in the company's recognized leadership in EPA DMR-QA, a growing portfolio of PFAS and EU Water Framework Directive products, and active transition support for displaced MilliporeSigma PT customers following MilliporeSigma's January 1, 2024 exit from PT services.
The company holds a rare combination of regulatory accreditations — ISO 17043, ISO 17034, ISO 17025, NELAC, USP, and EP — that function as a barrier to entry for regulated laboratory customers. Instrument-specific product lines covering Analytik Jena, Beckman Coulter, Shimadzu, Teledyne Tekmar, Thornton Mettler Toledo, Veolia Sievers, and Xylem OI enable channel-aligned pull-through with major installed bases. ERA's product catalog of 1,144+ SKUs, proprietary sub-brands (WasteWatR, PotableWatR, MRaD, RadCheM), and 40+ year operating history position it as a defensive, cash-generative niche business unit within the Waters Corporation portfolio.
Environmental Resource Associates firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Environmental Resource Associates
- Legal name
- Waters ERA
- Website
- https://eraqc.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1977
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Environmental Resource Associates (ERA) is a Waters Corporation subsidiary that manufactures ISO 17034-accredited certified reference materials and delivers ISO 17043/NELAC-accredited proficiency testing for environmental, biopharmaceutical, food and beverage, and contract testing laboratories in 80+ countries.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Environmental Resource Associates industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Laboratory Reference Materials
- NAICS
- Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Testing Laboratories and Services (54138), Testing Laboratories and Services (541380)
- SIC
- Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Quality Assurance/Quality Control & Accreditation (QA plans, proficiency testing, ISO/IEC 17025) (EUANAJAK)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Water Quality Monitoring, Compliance & Reporting (Sampling, Lab, Regulatory) (EUANAAAG), Emerging Contaminants Testing & Risk Management (PFAS, microplastics, pharmaceuticals) (EUANAJAF), Radiological & Hazardous Materials Monitoring (Radiation, Asbestos, Lead) (EUAHACAJ)
Keywords
Where Environmental Resource Associates is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Golden
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Environmental Resource Associates business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Proficiency Testing (PT) Products: ISO 17043 and NELAC-accredited PT products including DMR-QA studies, water pollution, water supply, soil, microbiology, PFAS, radiochemistry, and air emissions studies. PT studies follow scheduled quarterly/biannual cycles.
- Certified Reference Materials (CRM): ISO 17034 accredited CRM products for calibration, verification, and quality control across environmental and purified water applications.
- Purified Water Consumables: Consumables for TOC analyzers, conductivity instruments, turbidity meters, and cleaning validation including replacement lamps, tubing, reagents, vials, and cartridges.
- Custom Standards: Custom analytical reference standards tailored to specific customer analytical challenges with meticulous quality documentation.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Environmental Resource Associates product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Environmental Resource Associates (ERA) manufactures and supplies certified reference materials (CRM) and proficiency testing (PT) products under ISO 17034 and ISO 17043 accreditations for environmental and purified water testing laboratories. Its portfolio spans water pollution, water supply, PFAS, radiochemistry, microbiology, soil, air emissions, underground storage, and EU Water Framework Directive testing, plus purified water analysis (TOC, conductivity, turbidity, cleaning validation). Supporting services include custom analytical reference standards, the QuiK Response expedited fulfillment service, and the eDATA 2.0 cloud-based PT data management portal.
Product overview
Environmental Resource Associates (ERA) offers a comprehensive portfolio of certified reference materials (CRM) and proficiency testing (PT) products for environmental and purified water testing laboratories. The product portfolio is organized into two main divisions: Environmental Products (covering Air & Emissions, Calibration, DMR-QA, EU Water Framework Directive, Microbiology, PFAS, Radiochemistry, Soil, Underground Storage, Water Pollution, and Water Supply testing) and Purified Water Products (covering Total Organic Carbon, Conductivity, Turbidity, and Cleaning Validation for ultrapure water applications). The core platform is the eDATA 2.0 cloud-based PT data management system, complemented by Custom Standards services and QuiK Response expedited fulfillment. ERA supports major instrument brands including Analytik Jena, Beckman Coulter, Shimadzu, Teledyne Tekmar, Thornton Mettler Toledo, Veolia Sievers, and Xylem OI. Product types include Certified Reference Materials (CRM), Proficiency Testing (PT), Quality Management (QM), Reference Materials (RM), and Verification standards, with proprietary brands such as WasteWatR, PotableWatR, SourceWatR, MRaD, RadCheM, TritiuM, GroSS, Gamma EmitterS, NaturalS, PriorityPollutnT, and Sewage SludG.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- WasteWatR™: Water pollution reference materials for wastewater testing including coliforms and trace metals
- PotableWatR™
- MRaD™
- RadCheM™
- eDATA
Products and services
- Environmental Products (PT and CRM) A comprehensive line of ISO 17043-accredited proficiency testing studies and ISO 17034-accredited certified reference materials for commercial, research, and government environmental laboratories. Spans air emissions, calibration standards, EPA DMR-QA wastewater, EU Water Framework Directive, microbiology, PFAS, radiochemistry, soil, underground storage tank, water pollution, and water supply testing categories.
- Purified Water Products (PT, CRM, and Consumables) Certified reference materials, consumables, and validation products for ultrapure water analysis covering total organic carbon (TOC), conductivity, turbidity, and cleaning validation testing. Designed for pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, and biotech laboratories requiring USP and EP compliance.
- DMR-QA Program Discharge Monitoring Report-Quality Assurance program that helps laboratories navigate EPA regulatory requirements with pre-testing training, study management, and corrective action support. ERA is the industry leader in the EPA's DMR-QA program with scheduled studies released annually via the EPA Section 308 Announcement Letter.
- Custom Analytical Reference Standards Tailored custom analytical reference standards developed to meet specific customer analytical challenges, covering a broad range of analytes, concentrations, and matrices with quality documentation. Available through ERA's QuiK Response program for expedited fulfillment.
- eDATA 2.0 Cloud-Based PT Data Management Portal Cloud-based proficiency testing data management system enabling streamlined data entry, PT report access, status review, corrective action identification, data export, analyte trend analysis, inter-laboratory comparison, and LIMS/CSV data upload for laboratory PT data management.
- QuiK Response Expedited Fulfillment Service Quick response service for expedited proficiency testing and reference material fulfillment, designed to overcome analytical challenges with broad range of analytes, concentrations, and matrices.
- OEM Partnership Program Partnership program for original equipment manufacturers requiring custom reference material solutions tailored to their instrument and customer requirements.
Quantifiable outcome
- Serve laboratories in over 80 countries
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Environmental Resource Associates
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Environmental Resource Associates technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration24 records
Feature5 records
Environmental Resource Associates partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Waters CorporationcoreERA is a subsidiary of Waters Corporation. As part of Waters, ERA leverages the broader Waters brand ecosystem including Waters Corporation, Andrew Alliance, Nonlinear Dynamics, TA Instruments, VICAM, and Wyatt Technology.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Environmental Resource Associates competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Environmental Resource Associates social profiles
Digital presenceEnvironmental Resource Associates compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance6 records
Environmental Resource Associates financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Environmental Resource Associates leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Environmental Resource Associates subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Environmental Resource Associates funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Environmental Resource Associates 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 Environmental Resource Associates
What does Environmental Resource Associates do?
Environmental Resource Associates (ERA) manufactures and supplies certified reference materials (CRM) and proficiency testing (PT) products under ISO 17034 and ISO 17043 accreditations for environmental and purified water testing laboratories. Its portfolio spans water pollution, water supply, PFAS, radiochemistry, microbiology, soil, air emissions, underground storage, and EU Water Framework Directive testing, plus purified water analysis (TOC, conductivity, turbidity, cleaning validation). Supporting services include custom analytical reference standards, the QuiK Response expedited fulfillment service, and the eDATA 2.0 cloud-based PT data management portal.
Is Environmental Resource Associates a public or private company?
Environmental Resource Associates is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Environmental Resource Associates founded?
Environmental Resource Associates was founded in 1977. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Environmental Resource Associates based?
Environmental Resource Associates is headquartered in Golden, United States, in the North America region.
How does Environmental Resource Associates make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Proficiency Testing (PT) Products are the primary driver. The others are certified Reference Materials (CRM), purified Water Consumables and custom Standards.
Does Environmental Resource Associates have an API?
No public API is recorded for Environmental Resource Associates.
What industry is Environmental Resource Associates in?
Environmental Resource Associates's product category is Laboratory Reference Materials. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EUANAJAK, Quality Assurance/Quality Control & Accreditation (QA plans, proficiency testing, ISO/IEC 17025), with a secondary code of EUANAAAG, Water Quality Monitoring, Compliance & Reporting (Sampling, Lab, Regulatory). Its NAICS code is 334516 and its SIC code is 8734.