What Kinematic Automation does

Kinematic Automation, Inc. is a vertically integrated designer and manufacturer of automated manufacturing systems for medical diagnostics, founded in 1980 and headquartered in Twain Harte, California. The company specializes in high-volume automated manufacturing equipment for rapid diagnostic test strips, lateral flow immunoassays, blood glucose sensors, and COVID-19 diagnostic consumables, serving medical and diagnostic device manufacturers worldwide from large multinationals to start-ups. Kinematic operates as a division of Ascential Medical & Life Sciences, itself a division of Ascential Technologies (formerly Korvis / Burke Porter Group, rebranded in 2023).

Kinematic's product portfolio centers on the Matrix product family of modular manufacturing equipment, spanning benchtop development modules (Matrix 1600 reagent dispensing, Matrix 2210 laminator, Matrix 2360 programmable shear, Matrix 1201 membrane cutter), mid-scale rotary slitting and assembly systems (Matrix 2501, 2531, 2380, 2390), and high-volume production platforms including the Matrix 5051 cut-and-vial system, Matrix 6300 reel-to-reel dispensing, Matrix 6500/6500H dip coating, Matrix 7100 roll-feed laminator, and the SPC 5000 Strip Processing Center capable of processing over 150,000 blood glucose sensors per hour and billed as the 'premier strip processing platform' with annual capacity of one billion strips. The Matrix 2210 incorporates US Patent 5,849,141 covering a quick-change track alignment system enabling 60-second product changeover. The company also builds custom automated manufacturing platforms incorporating laser processing, ultrasonic welding, vision inspection, and robotics for non-standard medical device production requirements.

The company monetizes through three streams: (1) one-time equipment sales of Matrix modules and custom platforms sold via direct enterprise field sales with custom quotes and multi-year contracts; (2) professional services for installation, commissioning, and training of operator and maintenance personnel; (3) recurring revenue via Signature Service Plans providing ongoing maintenance and technical support for the global installed base. Distribution is handled through direct consultative sales targeting enterprise customers globally, with marketing supported by a website, video library, PDF technical resources, a newsletter averaging 1.5 communications per month, and trade show participation. A 113 kW, 330-panel solar installation commissioned in December 2015 powers both the manufacturing facility and office, reducing operating overhead. The company's leadership includes CEO Danny Levenson along with founders David Carlberg (President & Co-Founder) and Ted Meigs (Co-Founder & Vice President).

Name

Kinematic Automation

Legal name

Kinematic Automation, Inc.

Website

https://kinematic.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Kinematic Automation designs and manufactures modular automated manufacturing systems for lateral flow test strips, blood glucose sensors, COVID-19 diagnostics, and other rapid diagnostic consumables, serving medical and diagnostic device manufacturers worldwide via direct enterprise sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Automation Equipment for Diagnostic Manufacturing

NAICS

Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (33451), Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing (3339)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), General Industrial Machinery & Equipment (3560)

akta.pro primary industry

Motion & Machine Control (CNC, Robotics Controllers, Servo/Motion Controllers) (IMAGABAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Industrial Controllers & Control Systems (PLCs, PACs, CNC Controllers) (IMAHAHAH), Filling & Dosing Machines (Liquid/Powder/Solid) (IMAHAOAF)

Keywords

• Automated manufacturing systems
• Lateral flow test equipment
• Diagnostic strip manufacturing
• Reagent dispensing systems
• Custom automation platforms

Headquarters

HQ city

Sonora

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Automated Manufacturing Systems: Sale of turnkey custom automation platforms for medical and diagnostic manufacturing, including custom systems designed for specific client production requirements.
2. Matrix Product Group Systems: Sale of standardized Matrix Series modules for specific process requirements including dispensing, laminating, cutting strips, and assembling strips into plastic housings.
3. Installation, Commissioning & Training Services: System installation, commissioning, and training of operator and maintenance personnel services provided alongside equipment sales.
4. Signature Service Plans: Ongoing customer and equipment support with signature service plans for maintenance and technical assistance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Kinematic Automation designs, manufactures, and sells automated manufacturing systems for the medical diagnostics industry, specializing in equipment for rapid diagnostic test strips, lateral flow assays, blood glucose sensors, and COVID-19 diagnostics. Its offerings include the Matrix™ modular product line (cutting, dispensing, laminating, dip coating, and cassette assembly systems), the SPC 5000 Strip Processing Center, and fully custom turnkey automation platforms for medical device manufacturers. The company operates a vertically integrated model with in-house design, fabrication, assembly, testing, installation, commissioning, training, and ongoing service support.

Product overview

Kinematic Automation is a vertically integrated provider of state-of-the-art manufacturing systems for the medical and diagnostics industries, operating since 1980. The company's product portfolio consists primarily of the Matrix™ product group — a comprehensive family of modular manufacturing equipment for rapid diagnostic test strip production — combined with custom automated manufacturing platforms. The Matrix line includes benchtop development modules (Matrix 1600 reagent dispensing, Matrix 2210 laminator, Matrix 2360 programmable shear) and production-scale systems (Matrix 2390 high speed assembly, Matrix 7100 roll feed laminator, Matrix 6300 reel-to-reel dispensing), all designed to work together as an integrated manufacturing workflow. Supporting equipment includes the SPC 5000 Strip Processing Center for high-volume blood glucose sensor manufacturing (capable of 1 billion strips per year), the Matrix 5051 cut and vial system, rotary slitting modules (2501, 2531), and membrane coating systems (6500, 6500H hazardous materials, 6300). Custom automated manufacturing platforms round out the offering with capabilities for laser processing, ultrasonic welding, vision inspection, robotics, and other specialized automation for medical device manufacturers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Matrix 1600 Reagent Dispensing Module Low-cost benchtop module for reagent striping onto lateral flow test strip products, ideal for product development and low-to-medium volume production. Features touchscreen interface and recipe storage for up to 6 configurations.
• Matrix 2210 Universal Laminator Easy-to-use card lamination instrument for laminating a wide variety of rapid diagnostic test strip products, supporting product development through production quantities with patented quick change track alignment allowing product changeover in 60 seconds (US Patent No. 5,849,141).
• Matrix 2360 Programmable Shear Flexible high-speed cutting system for diagnostic test strip products with touchscreen interface, cutting speed of 360 strips per minute, long blade life design, and quick change blade system without alignment required.
• Matrix 2380 Flexible Cassette Assembly Dual-operator cassette assembly system for cutting diagnostic test strips and delivering them to plastic housings, featuring automatic card feed, pick and place, and reject management. First affordable, compact, highly flexible cassette assembly system from Kinematic.
• SPC 5000 Strip Processing Center High-volume blood glucose sensor slitting and vialing system processing more than 150,000 sensors per hour in 50-strip per vial configuration, capable of processing 1 billion strips per year. Features patented singulation and packaging technology.
• Matrix 5051 Cut & Vial System High-speed proprietary technology for cutting and placing diagnostic test strips into vial housings, processing up to 8 strips per second with programmable strip count per vial. Reduced manufacturing process time from over a week to only two days.
• Matrix 6500 Dip Coating Dip and dry module for moderate to high volume production facilities, designed in modular fashion for process flexibility while optimizing product yields and throughput.
• Matrix 6500H Hazardous Dip Coating Dip and dry platform specifically developed for application of hazardous or flammable liquids used in coating of continuous web, featuring triple-redundant safety safeguards, negative pressure fume containment, and automated monitoring.
• Matrix 6300 Reel-to-Reel Dispensing Moderate to high volume dispensing platform supporting continuous striping of membranes using non-contact or contact dispense, with up to 5 lines and 100% in-process inspection and reject marking.
• Matrix 7100 Roll Feed Laminator Laminator for lateral flow test strip industry capable of continuous lamination of membranes onto plastic backing web and cutting resultant laminate into discrete cards.
• Matrix 2390 High Speed Assembly High speed cut and place system for cutting and placing diagnostic test strips into plastic cartridge housings in one motion, with 100% in-process vision inspection.
• Matrix 2501 Rotary Slitting Module High speed precision strip cutting instrument with production rates exceeding 60,000 strips per hour, featuring quick change slide-out cutting modules.
• Matrix 2531 Auto Feed Slitting Module Extension of Matrix 2501 with automatic card feeding, registration, and slitting, featuring Load-on-the-Fly card magazine for accurate dimensional parameters.
• Matrix 5472 Blade Cleaning Station Safe and efficient cleaning station for rotary cut modules from Matrix 2501, 2531, 2631, and SPC 5000 systems, featuring variable speed motor and ergonomic design.
• Multi Cassette Press Efficient and safe cassette closing system that easily closes various cassette types with adjustable closing pressure and quick-change parts.
• Matrix 1201 Membrane Cutter Low-cost manual slitting system for laboratory use, suitable for cutting lateral flow membranes, Western Blot and similar applications with quick change tooling module.
• Matrix 6300 Dip Coat Only Continuous coating of delicate and narrow membranes for lateral flow assays with integral high efficiency dryer and library of up to 14 different recipes.
• Custom Automated Manufacturing Platforms Turnkey automation solutions including assembly and process automation systems for medical and diagnostic markets, featuring capabilities such as laser cutting, ultrasonic welding, vision inspection, and robotics, designed for specific client production requirements.
• Lateral Flow Development Equipment Benchtop modules product line for manufacturing top quality product or quickly developing new products, including dispensing, laminating, cutting, and cassette assembly equipment.
• Lateral Flow Manufacturing Systems Complete line of lateral flow manufacturing equipment including development systems, cassette assembly, strip cutting, coating, dispensing, and lamination systems.
• Installation, Commissioning & Training Services Professional services including system installation, commissioning, and training of operator and maintenance personnel, provided alongside equipment sales.
• Signature Service Plans Recurring customer and equipment support service plans providing ongoing maintenance and technical assistance for installed automation systems.

Quantifiable outcome

• Matrix 5051 reduced manufacturing process time from over a week to only two days
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Ascential Technologies (Parent)coreOthersKinematic Automation is now part of Ascential Medical & Life Sciences, a division of Ascential Technologies. The parent company was formerly known as Korvis/Burke Porter Group, which rebranded to bring together industry-leading medical and life science brands into a unified partner for customers. Ascential Technologies has 70 years of operation serving transportation, medical, life sciences, and industrial markets.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Harro Höfliger: German specialty machinery builder focused on process and assembly automation for medical devices, diagnostics, and lateral flow / rapid test manufacturing — directly comparable customer base and application set to Kinematic.
• ATS Automation: Canadian industrial automation integrator with a substantial life sciences and medical devices practice — competing for similar custom automation projects in diagnostics and medical device manufacturing.
• Mikron Group: Swiss automation supplier serving the medtech, pharma, and diagnostics industries with assembly and test equipment — directly comparable custom automation capabilities for medical/diagnostic OEMs.
• Körber Pharma: Pharma packaging and processing machinery provider serving injectable, oral solid, and diagnostic consumables manufacturers — overlapping product lines with Kinematic's diagnostic strip manufacturing focus.
• Bausch + Ströbel: German maker of high-speed pharmaceutical and diagnostic packaging/assembly machinery — comparable in serving diagnostic OEMs with complex, high-throughput automation systems.

Broad incumbents

• Stevanato Group: Large drug containment and diagnostic components supplier with proprietary manufacturing equipment — adjacent in serving diagnostic OEMs with integrated automation and consumables.
• Syntegon (formerly Bosch Packaging Technology): Global packaging and processing machinery incumbent serving pharma, food, and medical device manufacturers — broadly comparable automation scale and customer overlap in diagnostic consumables.
• GEA Group: Large diversified process engineering supplier with pharma and life sciences machinery, including equipment used in diagnostic and consumable manufacturing — broad incumbent presence in similar end markets.

Emerging players

• Schubert Group (Gerhard Schubert GmbH): Modular top-loading packaging automation specialist expanding into medical and diagnostics — comparable format-agnostic automation philosophy but more focused on secondary packaging than Kinematic's process-side equipment.
• Rommelag (Bausch + Ströbel sister group): Blow-fill-seal and aseptic packaging specialist serving pharma and medical manufacturing — adjacent in process automation for sterile medical/diagnostic applications.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kinematic-automation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Kinematic Automation