Pope

What Pope does

Pope Scientific Inc. is a privately held U.S. manufacturer of chemical processing equipment, founded in 1964 and headquartered in Saukville, Wisconsin. The company designs and builds separation, purification, and processing systems across laboratory, pilot plant, and production scales, with a core portfolio spanning wiped-film (short-path molecular) distillation stills, fractional distillation systems, Nutsche filter dryers, custom pressure vessels and reactors, sanitary mixers, falling film evaporators, hybrid wiped-film/fractional distillation units, and turnkey PLC-controlled process skids. Pope also fabricates glassware including Dewar flasks and operates an in-house glass repair workshop. The technology is largely mechanical and process-engineering in nature, with proprietary configurations around wiped-film short-path stills (offered in 2-inch, 4-inch, and 6-inch models plus lab variants) and hybrid still architectures that combine wiped-film and fractional separation in a single system.

The company operates a hybrid revenue model combining one-time capital equipment sales with recurring-adjacent service revenue. Equipment is custom-quoted based on application, scale, and configuration, with all inquiries funneled through a Request A Quote workflow. Complementing equipment sales, Pope runs distillation toll processing services at its own Saukville facility, offering contract manufacturing for heat-sensitive materials, plus laboratory testing and process development services. Customer segments are organized by vertical rather than company size, with primary end markets in pharmaceuticals, medical and life sciences, and foods/flavors/fragrances, and secondary verticals covering oils/fats, vitamins/nutraceuticals, botanical oils and extracts (including cannabis), cosmetics, polymers/coatings/adhesives, lubricants/petrochemicals, and specialty/fine chemicals and electronics.

Pope goes to market through a direct enterprise field sales motion, supported by a corporate website with resource library, technical blog, email newsletter, industry event presence (including the 2025 Global Polymer Summit), and earned-media coverage in Chemical Today Magazine. The company has 11–50 employees and has remained independent, privately held, and founder/management-owned since founding, with no disclosed institutional investors, acquisitions, or capital raises. Two registered trademarks — 'Solution Driven' and 'We've Been in Labs Forever' — anchor its brand positioning around integrated engineering and six decades of lab heritage.

Name

Pope

Legal name

POPE SCIENTIFIC, INC.

Website

https://popeinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1964

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pope Scientific Inc. is a privately held Wisconsin manufacturer, founded in 1964, that designs and builds custom chemical processing equipment — wiped-film and fractional distillation, Nutsche filter dryers, reactors, and turnkey systems — for pharmaceutical, food/flavor, botanical extract, and specialty chemical customers at lab, pilot, and production scales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Chemical Processing Equipment

NAICS

Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451)

SIC

Laboratory Apparatus & Furniture (3821)

akta.pro primary industry

Separation & Filtration Equipment (Filters, Centrifuges, Membranes) (IMAHAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

General Lab Equipment (Centrifuges, Incubators, Shakers, Ovens) (HLAGAIAC)

Keywords

• Wiped-film distillation
• Fractional distillation
• Chemical processing equipment
• Nutsche filter dryers
• Pharmaceutical processing equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Saukville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Chemical Processing Equipment Sales: Sale of lab, pilot plant, and production-scale chemical processing equipment including wiped-film stills, fractional distillation units, Nutsche filter dryers, pressure vessels, reactors, sanitary mixers, and falling film evaporators. Equipment ranges from standard off-the-shelf lab units to custom engineered turnkey processing modules.
2. Distillation Toll Processing Services: Contract processing services for heat-sensitive materials using company's own equipment and facilities, providing processing-as-a-service for customers who prefer not to invest in equipment.
3. Laboratory Testing Services: Laboratory testing and process development services to support customer application requirements

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Pope Scientific Inc. designs, manufactures, and services engineered separation and processing equipment — including wiped-film distillation systems, fractional distillation columns, nutsche filter dryers, pressure vessels and reactors, sanitary mixers, falling film evaporators, and hybrid distillation systems — primarily for pharmaceutical, food, and chemical manufacturers. The company also provides toll distillation processing, laboratory testing, process development, and custom glass equipment fabrication and repair.

Product overview

Pope Scientific is a manufacturer of chemical processing equipment serving lab, pilot plant, and production scales. The company has over 60 years of experience in separation, purification, and processing technologies. Their product portfolio includes wiped-film distillation equipment (short-path molecular stills), fractional distillation systems, Nutsche filter dryers, pressure vessels and reactors, sanitary mixers, falling film evaporators, hybrid distillation systems combining wiped-film and fractional technologies, and Dewar flasks. The core products are complemented by custom turnkey processing systems with PLC controls. Pope also offers toll processing services, laboratory testing, process development, and glass equipment repair services. Applications span distillation, evaporation, reaction, filtration, and custom processing for pharmaceuticals, food and flavors, botanical oils, cosmetics, polymers, and specialty chemicals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Solution Driven: A registered trademark of Pope Scientific Inc.
• We've Been in Labs Forever

Products and services

• Wiped-Film Distillation Systems
• Fractional Distillation Systems Fractional distillation columns and systems engineered to separate liquid mixtures based on boiling-point differences, used by chemical, pharmaceutical, and food manufacturers for purification and fractionation of process streams.
• Nutsche Filter Dryers Combined filtration and vacuum-drying vessels that allow solid-liquid separation, washing, and drying within a single enclosed vessel, used for pharmaceutical intermediates, fine chemicals, and other solids that require contained processing.
• Pressure Vessels and Reactors Custom-engineered pressure vessels and chemical reactors fabricated to customer specifications for chemical, pharmaceutical, and specialty process applications.
• Sanitary Mixers Sanitary-grade mixing equipment designed for food, beverage, nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and personal-care applications requiring hygienic design and cleanable surfaces.
• Turnkey and Custom Processing Equipment Fully integrated, engineered-to-order processing systems that combine multiple unit operations (distillation, reaction, filtration, mixing) into a single turnkey installation tailored to customer process requirements.
• Falling Film Evaporators Falling-film evaporation systems used for gentle concentration of heat-sensitive liquids in chemical, food, and pharmaceutical processing applications.
• Hybrid Distillation Systems Combined distillation configurations that integrate wiped-film, fractional, and short-path separation principles to optimize difficult separations in a single engineered system.
• Dewar Flasks Glass Dewar vacuum flasks used for cryogenic storage and laboratory cold-trap applications in research, laboratory, and process environments.
• Distillation Toll Processing Contract distillation services where Pope Scientific processes customer materials on its own equipment, enabling clients to validate separation processes or produce material without owning capital equipment.
• Laboratory Testing Lab-scale testing of customer samples to characterize distillation, evaporation, and separation behavior, providing data used to design full-scale process equipment.
• Process Development Engineering services to develop and scale customer separation and reaction processes from laboratory feasibility through pilot and production scale.
• Glass Equipment Fabrication and Repair Custom fabrication, modification, and repair of borosilicate glass process and laboratory equipment, including pilot-scale and production glassware used with Pope Scientific systems.

Named customers1 record

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Artisan Industries: Massachusetts-based manufacturer of wiped-film evaporators and custom chemical processing systems at lab, pilot, and production scale. Closest direct peer to Pope — overlapping product portfolio (wiped-film distillation, short-path evaporation, custom engineered systems) and similar specialty positioning serving pharma, food, and chemical customers.
• LCI Corporation: Specialty manufacturer of thin-film and wiped-film evaporators, dryers, and high-viscosity processing equipment. Directly competes with Pope in wiped-film distillation and similar heat-sensitive material processing applications across chemical, pharmaceutical, and food industries.
• Büchi Labortechnik: Swiss manufacturer of laboratory and pilot-scale evaporation, distillation, and extraction equipment including rotovaps and short-path distillation systems. Comparable to Pope on the lab-to-pilot scale of wiped-film and rotary evaporation for pharma, food, and natural extract applications.
• Buss-SMS-Canzler: German manufacturer of thin-film evaporators, short-path distillation, and related thermal separation technologies. Direct competitor to Pope in wiped-film and short-path distillation equipment serving specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and food ingredients globally.

Broad incumbents

• GMM Pfaudler: Global leader in glass-lined reactors, process equipment, and engineered systems for chemical and pharmaceutical applications. Broader incumbent competing with Pope in custom engineered process equipment and pressure vessels/reactors across pharma and specialty chemicals.
• De Dietrich Process Systems: Manufacturer of glass-lined and alloy process equipment including reactors, filters, dryers, and distillation systems for pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Broader incumbent with overlapping chemical process equipment portfolio to Pope's reactors, Nutsche filters, and distillation systems.
• GEA Group: Global large-cap process technology group with extensive separation, homogenization, and evaporation equipment lines serving food, dairy, pharma, and chemicals. Broader incumbent competing with Pope particularly in evaporation, distillation, and separation systems at production scale.
• Alfa Laval: Global leader in heat transfer, separation, and fluid handling equipment including evaporation and distillation systems. Large broad incumbent whose separation and evaporation portfolio overlaps with Pope's wiped-film and falling film evaporator offerings.
• Sulzer: Swiss-based global engineering company with separation technology (including thin-film evaporation), process equipment, and chemical process solutions. Broad incumbent with technology overlap to Pope's wiped-film distillation and separation equipment.
• SPX FLOW: Global supplier of process equipment including heat exchangers, mixers, and separation equipment for food, beverage, and industrial applications. Broader incumbent offering process technology that overlaps with Pope's sanitary mixers, evaporators, and engineered processing systems.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/popescientific

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Pope