SDK Laboratories

What SDK Laboratories does

SDK Laboratories, Inc. (formerly Peterson Labs) is a privately held independent testing laboratory headquartered in Hutchinson, Kansas, providing feed/forage, water/wastewater, and environmental sample analysis primarily to agricultural and rural water customers across the United States. The company operates a single laboratory facility at 1000 Corey Road and offers a broad testing menu including NIRS forage analysis, mineral and vitamin assays, mycotoxin screening, bacteriological testing, pesticide residue analysis by gas chromatography, BTEX/TPH environmental analyses, and standardized water testing packages for household, livestock, and irrigation applications. Underlying instrumentation includes Near Infrared Spectroscopy certified by the National Forage Testing Association, EPA-approved wet chemistry methods, gas chromatography, HPLC for sugar profiles, and Karl Fischer titration for moisture determination. The business is supported by multiple industry certifications (AOCS Approved Chemist, NFTA Certified Laboratory for Chemistry and NIRS, AAFCO Check Sample Program, AOAC and AACC memberships) and the proprietary DataTrak online portal that provides registered users with secure electronic access to results and 7 years of historical analytical data.

The company generates revenue primarily through per-sample transaction fees with monthly net-30 invoicing, supplemented by a secondary consumables stream selling sample collection supplies (bags, bottles, VOC tubes, pesticide bottles, water test kits, prepaid mailers). Rush processing is available at double the standard fee for routine analyses and triple for water analysis, with additional weekend and holiday surcharges. Distribution is exclusively direct-to-consumer: clients mail samples to the Hutchinson facility using SDK-provided shipping materials, and results are delivered via mail, fax, email, phone, or the DataTrak portal. The customer base spans three loosely defined verticals — agricultural/livestock (primary), water quality testing clients, and environmental/industrial — with no disclosed enterprise anchor accounts, suggesting a distributed SMB and individual-customer revenue mix. The firm has no disclosed external funding, no parent company, and no acquisition history; it appears to be an owner-operated small commercial laboratory with academic research partnerships supplementing internal R&D.

Name

SDK Laboratories

Legal name

SDK Laboratories, Inc.

Website

https://sdklabs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SDK Laboratories is a privately held Hutchinson, Kansas-based independent testing laboratory providing feed/forage, water/wastewater, and environmental analytical services to agricultural producers, households, and environmental consultants across the United States via direct mail-in sample submission.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Analytical Laboratory Testing Services

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (54138), Testing Laboratories and Services (541380)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Third-Party Certification, Code Compliance & Regulatory Inspection (ASME/API/ISO) (EUAEAHAN)

Keywords

• Feed testing services
• Forage analysis laboratory
• Water quality testing
• Environmental analytical testing
• Agricultural laboratory services

Headquarters

HQ city

Hutchinson

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Laboratory Testing Services: SDK Laboratories generates revenue through fee-per-sample testing services. Minimum fees apply per sample. Services include Feed Testing, Water Testing, Environmental Testing, Agricultural Testing, and Specialty Testing. Rush services are available at double the normal fee, with additional charges for weekend and holiday work. Results are invoiced monthly with net-30 terms, accepting MasterCard and VISA.
2. Testing Supplies: Sale of sample collection and shipping supplies including sample bags, bottles, VOC tubes, pesticide bottles, water test kits, boxes, analysis forms, labels, and prepaid mailing envelopes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SDK Laboratories is an independent analytical testing laboratory that provides feed/forage, water/wastewater, and environmental testing services. The lab uses NIRS technology, EPA-approved water methods, gas chromatography, HPLC, and Karl Fischer titration to deliver certified analytical results for farmers, ranchers, water system operators, and environmental clients. Testing is supported by a proprietary DataTrak online portal that delivers secure electronic results to clients nationwide.

Product overview

SDK Laboratories operates as a testing laboratory offering three core service categories: Feed/Agricultural Testing, Water/Wastewater Testing, and Environmental Testing. The company provides both packaged analysis services and individual test options across these categories. NIRS (Near Infrared Spectroscopy) technology is used for rapid forage analysis. Their proprietary DataTrak® online platform enables clients to track samples and access test results electronically. The company, formerly known as Peterson Labs, also provides testing supplies and operates under various industry certifications including AOCS, NFTA, AAFCO, AOAC, and AACC memberships. Routine analysis turnaround is typically 2-3 business days with rush services available.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Feed Testing Services Comprehensive feed and agricultural testing covering NIRS analysis packages, individual analyses, mineral testing, mycotoxin/mold screening, bacteriological testing, pesticide residue testing, and biological sample analyses for the agricultural and livestock industries.
• Water & Wastewater Testing EPA-approved water and wastewater testing services including package analyses (Basic, Household, Livestock, Irrigation Quality), individual analyses, and wastewater/sludge analysis packages meeting regulatory compliance requirements.
• Environmental Testing Environmental analysis services including BTEX testing, TPH analysis for gasoline and diesel ranges, and specialty environmental analyses for soil and surface samples.
• NIRS Feed Analysis Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) analysis for forage and feed, offering NIRS-RFV, NIRS-RFQ, and NIRS Milk 2000 packages for rapid, non-destructive nutritional analysis of alfalfa hay, grass hay, haylage, and corn silage.
• DataTrak Online Results Portal Proprietary online sample tracking and test results portal providing secure, real-time access to laboratory results from sample receipt through analysis completion, with on-line result viewing, data management, and electronic import capabilities.
• Testing Supplies and Water Test Kits Sample collection and shipping supplies including sample bags, bottles, VOC tubes, pesticide bottles, water test kits, shipping boxes, analysis order forms, labels, and prepaid mailing envelopes for proper sample collection and shipping.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2-3 business days standard turnaround for routine analyses
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• College and University Research PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSDK Laboratories has established partnerships with professors and students from colleges nationwide to assist in completing various research projects. This collaboration allows the company to apply new technologies and expand testing capabilities while providing academic institutions with practical laboratory services for research.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves2 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Holmes Laboratory: Independent agricultural testing lab offering forage, soil, manure, and water testing — overlapping directly with SDK's feed, water, and environmental test portfolio.
• Dairyland Laboratories: Specialized forage, feed, water, and manure testing lab serving the Upper Midwest dairy industry; highly comparable in service mix, NIRS capability, and customer base.
• Rock River Laboratory: Specialty forage, feed, manure, and water testing laboratory serving U.S. livestock producers; comparable to SDK in NIRS feed testing and agronomy-oriented customers.
• Waters Agricultural Laboratories: Georgia-based agricultural and environmental testing lab providing soil, forage, water, and plant tissue analyses — a comparable niche multi-vertical testing laboratory.
• Cumberland Valley Analytical Services: A large U.S. forage and feed testing laboratory offering NIRS and wet chemistry services to dairy, livestock, and feed producers — directly comparable to SDK's core agricultural testing menu.

Broad incumbents

• Eurofins Scientific: Global testing services giant with a wide network of agriscience, environmental, and water testing labs that compete with SDK at the high end of the agricultural and environmental testing market.
• SGS: Global inspection, verification, and testing company with agricultural, food, and environmental testing capabilities; competes with SDK in regulated testing work at much larger scale.
• Bureau Veritas: Global testing, inspection, and certification (TIC) firm with agricultural commodity and environmental testing services comparable to SDK's regulated offering.
• Mérieux NutriSciences: International food and agricultural testing services provider; overlaps with SDK in feed analysis, mycotoxin testing, and agricultural contaminant screening.

Regional players

• AgSource Laboratories: U.S.-based agricultural and environmental testing laboratory network serving cooperatives and producers; comparable service mix but primarily Midwestern client base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Compliance6 records

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 SDK Laboratories