What Porvair Sciences does

Porvair Sciences is a UK-headquartered manufacturer of laboratory consumables and instruments serving the pharmaceutical, life science, research, and industrial sectors. Its portfolio is anchored by three technology platforms: Vyon® porous plastics for filtration and separation, Microlute® composite polymeric and composite silica solid-phase extraction (SPE) technologies for sample preparation, and a range of microplates available in 1 to 384 well formats for storage, assay, cell culture, and reservoir applications. Supporting the consumables franchise are laboratory instruments including Ultraseal™ plate sealers, Ultravap® solvent evaporators, manifolds, cappers, and plate-handling robotics, together with heat seals, adhesive seals, and mat caps for sample integrity.

The company's commercial model is built on three interlocking revenue streams: catalog sales of consumables and instruments, custom manufacturing partnerships, and OEM/private-label supply relationships that the company states extend over 70 years. Distribution is global, executed through a network of distributors supplemented by direct e-commerce-enabled website storefronts segmented by product line (microplates.com and vyonporousplastics.com). Customer segments are diversified across pharmaceutical and life science end-users, research laboratories, industrial filtration buyers, and OEM partners, with vertical segmentation as the stated approach. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; products appear to be quote-based for instruments and bespoke manufacturing services.

Operationally, Porvair Sciences is a private UK company headquartered in Leatherhead with 251-500 employees and a founding reference of 1986. There is no disclosed ownership structure, no parent company, no funding history, and no acquisitions or leadership changes in the input data. The company maintains an active event-marketing presence, evidenced by participation at SLAS Europe 2026, and invests in content resources such as application notes, brochures, and selection guides to support technical buying processes in regulated workflows.

Name

Porvair Sciences

Legal name

Porvair Sciences

Website

https://porvairsciences.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Porvair Sciences is a UK manufacturer of laboratory consumables and instruments, supplying microplates, porous plastics, sample preparation products, and plate-handling robotics to pharmaceutical, life science, research, and industrial customers globally through distributors, OEMs, and direct sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Laboratory Consumables and Instruments

NAICS

All Other Plastics Product Manufacturing (326199), Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)

SIC

Miscellaneous Plastics Products (3080), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Laboratory Consumables & Plasticware (Tips, Tubes, Plates, Filters) (HLAGAIAH)

Keywords

• Laboratory microplates
• Porous plastics filtration
• Sample preparation consumables
• Laboratory automation instruments
• Custom microplate manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Leatherhead

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Microplates and Lab Consumables: Sale of high-quality microplates for sample processing, storage, cell culture, and assays in various well formats (24, 48, 96, 384 wells)
2. Laboratory Instruments: Sale of laboratory instruments including evaporators, plate sealers, manifolds, cappers, and plate handling equipment for low to high throughput workflows
3. Seals, Films and Mats: Diverse range of sealing films and mats for sample protection and storage including heat seals, adhesive seals, and mat caps
4. Custom Manufacturing and OEM: Bespoke custom manufacturing partnerships and OEM solutions including private labeling and complex custom requirements for microplates, porous plastics, and instruments
5. Sample Preparation Products: Specialized sample preparation products including Microlute® CP composite polymeric SPE, phospholipid removal, filtration, and related consumables

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Porvair Sciences manufactures and sells laboratory consumables and instruments for the life sciences, pharmaceutical, and industrial sectors. Its product range includes microplates in 1 to 384 well formats, Vyon® porous plastics for filtration and separation, Microlute® sample preparation products (SPE, PLR, SLE, PPP, filtration, microbiology kits), Ultraseal™ plate sealers, Ultravap® solvent evaporators, and related seals, films, and mats. The company also provides custom manufacturing and OEM partnership services, spanning 70+ years of porous plastics manufacturing expertise.

Product overview

Porvair Sciences offers a comprehensive laboratory consumables and instruments portfolio organized around three core areas: Vyon® Porous Plastics (filtration and separation materials), Microplates (versatile laboratory plates in 1 to 384 well configurations), and Instruments (robotic automation equipment). The microplate line encompasses sample storage, assay, cell culture, and reservoir plates serving applications in cancer research, drug discovery, and sample preparation. Supporting products include the Microlute® composite polymeric SPE product line for sample preparation workflows, various sealing solutions (heat seals, adhesive seals, mat caps), and laboratory instruments such as Ultravap® evaporators and Ultraseal™ plate sealers. The company also provides custom manufacturing and OEM partnership services for bespoke product development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Vyon®: Porous plastics brand specializing in filtration and separation of materials for pharmaceutical and life science industries
• Microlute®
• Ultraseal™
• Ultravap®

Products and services

• Microplates High-quality microplates available in 1 to 384 well configurations for sample processing, solution mixing, storage, collection, cell culture, and capture assays. Targeted at pharmaceutical, life science, and research laboratory customers.
• Vyon® Porous Plastics Bespoke porous plastic materials and components for filtration and separation applications across pharmaceutical, life science, and industrial sectors, with design and engineering services.
• Microlute® CP (Composite Polymeric SPE) Composite polymeric solid phase extraction technology with multiple SPE phase chemistries (hydrophilic-lipophilic balance, mixed-mode SAX/SCX, reversed phase, WAX/WCX, SAX, SCX) for sample preparation in bioanalytical workflows.
• Microlute® CSi (Composite Silica) Novel composite silica technology for solid phase extraction applications in sample preparation.
• Ultravap® Levante Solvent Evaporator Solvent evaporator system for sample concentration and drying in laboratory workflows.
• Ultraseal™ Plate Sealers (Lite and Pro) Automated plate sealing instruments for microplates, with Ultraseal Lite for standard operations and Ultraseal Pro for high-throughput sealing workflows.
• Sample Preparation Products Comprehensive sample preparation range including SPE, phospholipid removal (PLR), supported liquid extraction (SLE), protein precipitation (PPP), filtration, cell lysis, nuclear lysis, homogenization, DNA size selection, protein extraction, and genomic DNA removal products.
• Seals, Films and Mats Sealing solutions including heat seals, adhesive seals, and mat caps for protecting and storing microplate samples.
• Laboratory Instruments Robotic laboratory workflow instruments including evaporators, plate sealers, manifolds, cappers, and plate handling equipment for low to high throughput operations.
• Custom Manufacturing Bespoke manufacturing services for microplates, porous plastics, and instruments delivered through consultancy and collaboration partnerships.
• OEM Partnership Services Original Equipment Manufacturer partnerships offering private labeling and complex custom manufacturing requirements for microplates, porous plastics, and instruments, backed by 70+ years of OEM experience.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• OEM PartnerscoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerOver 70 years of experience creating products through OEM partnerships offering trusted solutions from simple private labeling projects to complex custom requirements. Partners benefit from Porvair Sciences' expertise in manufacturing microplates, porous plastics, and instruments.
• DistributorscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGlobal network of distributors as evidenced by dedicated Distributors page on the company website. Distributors help make Porvair Sciences products available to customers worldwide.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Agilent Technologies: Major analytical instrument and consumables vendor with strong sample preparation (SPE, filtration, QuEChERS) and life sciences mass spectrometry offerings. Competes with Porvair in the bioanalytical sample prep workflow and serves the same pharma/biotech customers.
• Revvity (formerly PerkinElmer): Provides life sciences reagents, microplates, and lab automation/instruments across pharma, diagnostics, and academic research. Comparable to Porvair in the microplate and sample prep space but operates a much broader portfolio including reagents and software.
• Waters Corporation: Specialist in liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and associated sample preparation consumables (SPE, filtration). Overlaps with Porvair's sample preparation business targeting the same bioanalytical and pharmaceutical QC customers.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Largest global life sciences tools and consumables provider, spanning microplates, SPE cartridges, filtration, and laboratory instruments. Overlaps with most of Porvair's product portfolio as part of a much wider catalog sold to the same pharmaceutical and research end-markets.

Direct peers

• Bio-Rad Laboratories: Supplies sample preparation consumables, microplates, and laboratory instruments for life science research and clinical diagnostics. Directly comparable to Porvair in the sample prep workflow, including SPE-adjacent chemistries and protein/PCR workflows.
• Corning Life Sciences: A leading supplier of microplates, cell culture surfaces, and lab consumables under the Corning and Falcon brands. Directly overlaps with Porvair's microplate portfolio and similar pharma/biotech and academic research customer base.
• Eppendorf: Global manufacturer of lab consumables (tubes, plates, pipettes) and laboratory instruments. Comparable to Porvair across both consumables (plates, sealing) and instruments (evaporators, plate handling), with similar focus on life science research customers.
• Greiner Bio-One: One of the largest manufacturers of microplates, cell culture consumables, and lab plastics. Directly comparable to Porvair Sciences across its core microplate, sample storage, and assay product lines, and competes for the same pharmaceutical and life science customers.

Others

• Pall Corporation (part of Danaher): Global filtration and separation specialist with strong porous-membrane and bioprocess filtration product lines. Comparable to Porvair's Vyon® porous plastics business in industrial and biopharmaceutical filtration applications, though Pall is far broader and more bioprocess-focused.

Emerging players

• BRAND GMBH + CO KG: German manufacturer of liquid handling and life science consumables including microplates and reservoir plates. Comparable niche specialty manufacturer to Porvair in microplates and lab plastics, with overlap in research laboratory customers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/porvairsciences
• Facebookfacebook.com/PorvairSciences

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 Porvair Sciences