What Percival Scientific does

Percival Scientific, Inc. is a privately held U.S. manufacturer of customized environmental growth chambers and controlled-environment research equipment, founded in 1959 and headquartered in Perry, Iowa. The company designs and produces more than 150 distinct chamber models spanning bench-top incubators, plant growth chambers, CO2 incubators, low-temperature chambers, tissue culture chambers, stability chambers, Drosophila chambers, walk-in rooms, and dew-formation / seed-storage chambers, with proprietary LED lighting subsystems (SciBrite 8-color, SciWhite, IncuWhite, IncuBrite, PetriClear patent-pending), IntellusUltra / IntellusUltraConnect control platforms governing up to seven environmental parameters, the WeatherEze weather-replication software, and an integrated NFT hydroponic option. All units are fully assembled and tested in-house before shipment ("If it doesn't pass, it doesn't ship"), and the firm fabricates its own sheet-metal components to support deeply customized builds.

The revenue model is anchored by one-time hardware sales of custom-configured chambers priced by quote, with an attached preventive maintenance service stream, replacement parts, and product manuals. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales and a free consultation / Request-a-Quote process from Perry, Iowa, a U.S. GSA Schedule contract (GS-07F-179BA) for federal procurement, a Quick Ship Program offering popular SKUs on approximately 30-day delivery, and a network of 10+ international distributors covering Canada, Mexico, Argentina, India, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong/Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe/Middle East/North Africa. Customers are predominantly tier-1 research universities (Iowa State, Cornell, Oregon State, University of Kansas, George Fox, UNC Charlotte, University of North Georgia, Franklin and Marshall), federal agencies (DoD, DOE, USDA, NIH, EPA, NOAA), and a smaller set of commercial R&D buyers (Indigo Agriculture, AgBiome, Maui Greens, OXMAN), with installations across all 50 U.S. states and 79+ countries.

Ownership is founder-controlled with no disclosed institutional or private-equity backing, and the company holds ISO 9001:2015, UL508A, and UL1598 certifications, was awarded the President's E-Award for Exports in 2016 and the Export Achievement Certificate in 2023, and received the AE50 Award from ASABE in 2025 for PetriClear.

Name

Percival Scientific

Legal name

Percival Scientific, Inc.

Website

https://percival-scientific.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Percival Scientific is a U.S. manufacturer, founded 1959 and based in Perry, Iowa, that designs and builds custom environmental growth chambers, incubators, stability chambers, and walk-in rooms for research universities, federal agencies, and commercial biotech and indoor-agriculture customers in 79-plus countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Laboratory Environmental Chambers and Controlled Environment Research Equipment

NAICS

Ventilation, Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing (33341)

SIC

Laboratory Apparatus & Furniture (3821)

akta.pro primary industry

Lab Furniture, Facilities & Utilities (Benches, Casework, Gas/Water Systems) (HLAGAIAM)

akta.pro secondary industry

Lab Safety, PPE & Contamination Control (Hoods, Biosafety Cabinets, Clean Air) (HLAGAIAK)

Keywords

• Environmental growth chambers
• Controlled environment equipment
• Plant growth chambers
• Biological research chambers
• Stability testing chambers

Headquarters

HQ city

Perry

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, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Environmental Chamber Manufacturing and Sales: Percival Scientific generates primary revenue through the design, manufacture, and sale of custom-built environmental chambers and walk-in rooms. Products range from bench-top chambers to large grow rooms, with over 150 different models. The company also offers the Quick Ship Program for faster delivery of popular models.
2. Preventive Maintenance Services: Annual on-site maintenance services including calibration of humidity and temperature, inspection of refrigeration and lighting systems, and operational checks. Helps minimize costly future repairs and protects customer investments.
3. Replacement Parts and Manuals: Sale of replacement parts (priced individually) and product manuals ($25 USD each) for existing chamber owners.
4. Free Consultations: Free consultation services to help customers select optimal chamber configurations based on their research objectives, guiding customization choices before purchase.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Percival Scientific designs and manufactures customized environmental growth chambers and controlled environment research equipment, ranging from bench-top incubators to large walk-in rooms across more than 150 product models. Its portfolio includes plant growth chambers with proprietary multi-color LED lighting, biological incubators, CO2 incubators, Drosophila chambers, tissue culture chambers, stability chambers (ICH-compliant), and walk-in rooms, supported by the IntellusUltra control system and WeatherEze simulation software. The company serves universities, U.S. federal agencies, and commercial research organizations in all 50 U.S. states and 79+ countries.

Product overview

Percival Scientific is a manufacturer of customized environmental growth chambers and controlled environment research equipment. The product portfolio is organized around core chamber product lines (plant growth, incubators, stability chambers, walk-in rooms) that share common control systems (IntellusUltra), with specialized lighting options (SciBrite, SciWhite, IncuWhite, IncuBrite, PetriClear) and software (WeatherEze). The architecture is modular, allowing customers to select chamber types with compatible lighting, control, and service options. The company manufactures over 150 different models ranging from bench-top chambers to large walk-in rooms, serving research in agriculture, biology, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SciBrite® LED Plant Growth: LED plant growth lighting technology brand.
• SciWhite® LED Plant Growth
• IncuWhite®
• IncuBrite™
• PetriClear®
• IntellusUltra
• WeatherEze®

Products and services

• SciBrite LED Plant Growth Chambers LED plant growth chambers providing 4-color or 8-color LED configurations with independent dimming for specific light wavelengths and intensities, supporting light quality and plant growth research with up to 3,100 µmol/m²/s intensity at 15cm.
• SciWhite LED Plant Growth Chambers Versatile plant growth chambers with white LED lighting that replicates sunlight spectra enhanced with red for optimal plant growth and light absorption.
• Arabidopsis Growth Chambers Specialized growth chambers for Arabidopsis thaliana research and other low-light plants such as tobacco, Brassica, lettuce, and spinach.
• Algae Growth Chambers Chambers designed with high-intensity lighting required for algae to flourish, including dinoflagellates and other photosynthetic organisms such as cyanobacteria.
• Low Temperature Chambers Plant growth chambers capable of measuring cold hardiness, freeze tolerance, heat stress, and exposure using a full range of seasonal temperatures with dual coil refrigeration systems.
• Tissue Culture Chambers Chambers engineered with slow, vertical airflow to minimize condensation on Petri dishes, featuring PetriClear infrared LED lighting to prevent condensation on unstacked dishes and reduce contamination.
• Dew Formation Chambers Specialized dew chambers that simulate natural dew formation using a heat sink and warming water pan for plant pathology research.
• Seed Germination and Seed Storage Chambers Chambers with precise environmental control for seed germination across wide temperature ranges, and seed storage chambers with compressed air-drying systems for long-term seed viability.
• Incubators Durable all-steel construction incubators with precise control of lighting, temperature, and humidity for applications including germination, bacterial culturing, insect studies, and BOD determination.
• Drosophila Chambers Specialized chambers for rearing fruit flies with phenolic coated coils to protect against acidic insect rearing environments.
• CO2 Incubators Incubators with expanded temperature range designed for biomedical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and biotechnology applications including cell culture, gene therapy, and fermentation studies.
• Stability Chambers Photostability and stability chambers meeting ICH guidelines for pharmaceutical, medical, and cosmetic applications, including the only chamber capable of completing photostability tests within 24 hours (RX-3000L with combined LED spectra).
• Walk-In Rooms Custom-built walk-in environmental chambers configurable for any size production, with applications including plant growth, cannabis, food production, insect rearing, seed storage, and stability testing.
• IncuWhite LED Lighting White LED lighting designed to match natural light for incubators, featuring flicker-free operation and 1%-increment dimming with longer lifetime and lower energy use than fluorescent lighting.
• IncuBrite Supplemental LEDs Cost-effective supplemental LED strips providing additional spectral colors (UVA 380nm, Violet 420nm, Blue 450nm, Green 520nm, Orange 620nm, Deep Red 660nm, Far-Red 735nm) for low-light incubator applications.
• SciWhite LED Lighting White LED family replicating sunlight spectral quality with enhanced red for optimal plant growth, available in plant growth and marine versions with independently controllable channels and intensity up to 1,700 µmoles/m²/s at 6 inches.
• SciBrite LED Lighting Proprietary high-intensity, dimmable multi-color LED system with 4-color or 8-color configurations for precise wavelength control in scientific research applications.
• PetriClear Lighting Dual-channel lighting system integrating white and infrared LEDs for plant tissue culture, raising lid temperature above dew point to prevent condensation on unstacked Petri dishes and minimize contamination risks (patent pending, AE50 Award 2025).
• IntellusUltra Touchscreen 10.1-inch high-resolution touchscreen interface for programming the IntellusUltra control system with tabular and graphical presentation of chamber programs.
• IntellusUltra Control Systems IntellusUltra (C8) and IntellusUltraConnect (C9 with PercivalConnect cloud-based software) control platforms providing simultaneous control of up to 7 environmental parameters with built-in protection and system diagnostics.
• WeatherEze Control System Software Control software that programs chambers from real-time METAR weather data, simulates historical weather conditions from any global location, and runs ICH climate change model scenarios.
• Preventive Maintenance Program Annual on-site maintenance service including calibration of humidity and temperature, inspection of refrigeration and lighting systems, and operational checks to minimize future repairs and protect customer investments.
• Quick Ship Program Expedited delivery program offering approximately 30-day shipment for popular incubator models (I-30, I-36, I-41, DR-36, DR-41, GR-36) and plant growth chamber models (AR-36, AR-41, AL-36, AL-41, E-30, E-36, E-41).

Quantifiable outcome

• Chambers have operated reliably for over 50 years in some cases
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature9 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered foundational, flagship, core, notable and regional.

• NASA (University of Wisconsin Center)foundationalStrategic or Co-development PartnerEarly collaboration with a cutting-edge lighting company and a NASA center at the University of Wisconsin, funded by a NASA grant, to custom-design a plant growth chamber for the International Space Station. Although the specific Percival chamber wasn't selected, their technology was integrated into the first plant growth chamber sent into space. This project established Percival's proprietary LED lighting and thermoelectric systems.
• OXMANflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPercival collaborated with OXMAN to custom-build four elegant climate-controlled 'capsules' for a 36,000-square-foot design and innovation lab in Manhattan. These featured glass fronts, configurable 8-color LED panels, modular walls, robotic arm mount, extended temperature range, and software to replicate historical climates. Described as 'first-ever climate chambers that blend aesthetic beauty with precise technology.'
• U.S. General Services Administration (GSA)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPercival Scientific is a GSA Schedule Contract Member (Contract #GS-07F-179BA), enabling federal government agencies to purchase Percival products through the GSA Advantage online procurement system.
• Cornell University - Weill Hall Life Sciences BuildingnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerPercival collaborated with Cornell University researchers to develop a hybrid cooling system (lake water combined with traditional refrigeration) for 22 customized growth chambers in the Weill Hall building, helping the facility achieve LEED Gold Certification.
• Iowa State University - Plant Sciences Institute (Enviratron)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerPercival partnered with Iowa State University researchers to construct a research facility with chambers featuring an airlock system and sliding door allowing robotic rover access for automated plant phenotyping. Percival opened chamber system protocols for researchers to develop their own control applications.
• Geneva ScientificcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorU.S. distributor covering Midwest states including California, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Contact: [email protected], (262) 245-1500.
• Wasserberg, S.A.regionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributor for Argentina, providing product details, quotes, and service support for Percival products in the South American market.
• Mandel ScientificregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributor for Canada, providing Percival product catalog access and support for Canadian research institutions and companies.
• JKG Bio Science Pvt LtdregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributor for India, providing Percival product sales, quotes, and service support for Indian research institutions and biotech companies.
• Gaia Science Pte LtdregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributor for Southeast Asia, providing Percival products and support for research institutions across the region.
• Percival Hong KongregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributor covering China (Hong Kong) and Taiwan, providing local access to Percival products and support. Website: percivalchina.com.cn.
• CTR ScientificregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributor for Mexico, providing Percival product access for Mexican research institutions and companies.
• Bioline GlobalregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributor for Australia, providing Percival products and support for Australian research and commercial applications.
• CLF PlantClimaticscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributor for Europe, Baltic States, Scandinavia, North Africa, and the Middle East, providing comprehensive coverage for Percival products across these regions.
• InterlabregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributor for New Zealand, providing Percival product sales and service support for New Zealand research institutions.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Memmert GmbH: German manufacturer of climate chambers, CO2 incubators, and constant climate chambers for laboratory and research use. Memmert overlaps with Percival's incubator, CO2 incubator, and stability chamber product lines, particularly in European pharmaceutical and academic research accounts.
• Conviron: Canadian-headquartered manufacturer of controlled environment plant growth chambers and rooms. Conviron is Percival's closest direct competitor in the plant science and Arabidopsis research segment, serving the same research universities, government agencies, and ag-biotech customers with comparable reach-in chambers, walk-in rooms, and Conviron CMP series cabinets.
• Sheldon Manufacturing (Shel Lab): US-based manufacturer of laboratory incubators, CO2 incubators, and environmental chambers under the Shel Lab brand. Sheldon competes with Percival in the bench-top incubator and CO2 incubator categories serving research universities and clinical labs.
• BINDER GmbH: German manufacturer of environmental simulation chambers, growth chambers, and incubators. BINDER competes with Percival in plant growth, stability testing, and CO2 incubation, with a broader industrial footprint and stronger European distribution that overlaps Percival's CLF PlantClimatics distributor territory.
• CARON Products & Services: US-based manufacturer of environmental chambers, stability chambers, and plant growth chambers. CARON is a direct domestic competitor to Percival in stability testing, photostability, and tissue culture applications, with comparable GMP/ICH-compliance positioning for pharmaceutical customers.
• Darwin Chambers: US-based manufacturer of environmental chambers, reach-in chambers, and walk-in rooms for life science and industrial applications. Darwin Chambers is a domestic competitor to Percival across stability testing, BOD incubation, and plant growth chamber segments with comparable customization options.
• Snijders Labs: Netherlands-based manufacturer of plant growth chambers, climate chambers, and tissue culture chambers. Snijders Labs competes with Percival across the European plant science research segment with comparable reach-in and walk-in chamber configurations.

Emerging players

• MMM Group: Czech-based manufacturer of sterilization, disinfection, and climate control equipment including BMT brand environmental chambers. MMM Group is an emerging European competitor in the climate and stability chamber segment with growing distribution in research and clinical markets.

Broad incumbents

• Eppendorf: German-headquartered life science company offering CO2 incubators, shakers, and bioreactors under the Eppendorf and New Brunswick Scientific brands. Eppendorf overlaps with Percival in CO2 incubation and cell culture applications for biomedical and pharmaceutical research customers globally.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Global life sciences instrument and equipment conglomerate with a broad portfolio spanning CO2 incubators, cold storage, and lab equipment under Thermo Scientific and Forma brands. Thermo Fisher competes with Percival broadly across lab equipment procurement and represents a potential strategic acquirer of niche players like Percival.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PercivalSci

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Percival Scientific