What Separation Scientific does

Separation Scientific (Sep Sci) is a South African laboratory products group founded in 1987 by Greg Northfield, headquartered in Johannesburg with 122 employees across 8 subsidiaries operating in South Africa, Mauritius, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Botswana, Tanzania, and Dubai, plus agent relationships in eSwatini, Namibia, and Lesotho. The company functions as an importer, exporter, distributor, and technical service provider for laboratory instruments, reagents, consumables, and diagnostic kits, organized across four divisions: Medical Diagnostics, Industrial Science, Life Science, and General Laboratory. It distributes products from more than 30 international manufacturers — including Thermo Fisher Scientific, Cytiva, Hologic, Hitachi High-Tech, Fujifilm, SCIEX, Illumina, Renishaw, Tosoh, and VELP — while also manufacturing proprietary diagnostic kits and reagents through its subsidiary Diagnostic and Technical Services (DTS) and cell culture products through Cellonex.

The business generates revenue through three streams: (1) one-time sales of imported and distributed laboratory instruments, reagents, and consumables across medical diagnostics, industrial science, and life science applications; (2) professional services including commissioning, maintenance, and technical support delivered by certified engineers; and (3) hardware sales of manufactured diagnostic devices and reagents from DTS and Cellonex. Pricing is quote-based with multi-year service level agreements tailored to customer needs; the company does not disclose pricing publicly. Its go-to-market combines a direct sales force with field sales teams, regional offices (Cape Town, Durban, Eastern Cape), and international subsidiaries, supported by digital channels including LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook.

Sep Sci serves pathology laboratories, blood banks, hospitals, pharmacies, research institutions, pharmaceutical manufacturers, mining laboratories, petrochemical laboratories, and food and beverage companies across Sub-Saharan Africa. Named customers include the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), Lancet Laboratories, the University of Pretoria, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Geneway Laboratory, and semiconductor technology clients. The company holds ISO 13485:2016 certification for medical device quality management and SANAS-accredited service operations, positioning it to serve regulated healthcare and government laboratory segments in the region.

Name

Separation Scientific

Legal name

Separation Scientific SA (Pty) Ltd

Website

https://sepsci.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Separation Scientific is a South African laboratory products distributor and manufacturer (founded 1987) importing, exporting, and servicing instruments, reagents, and consumables for medical diagnostics, industrial science, life science, and general laboratory customers across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Laboratory Products Distribution and Services

NAICS

Medical, Dental, and Hospital Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (42345), Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Other Professional Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (42349)

SIC

Wholesale-Medical, Dental & Hospital Equipment & Supplies (5047), Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Wholesale-Professional & Commercial Equipment & Supplies (5040), Laboratory Apparatus & Furniture (3821)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Laboratory equipment distribution
• Medical diagnostics supplies
• Analytical instrument supply
• Life sciences instrumentation
• Laboratory service maintenance

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices7 records

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. Laboratory Products Distribution: Sep Sci imports and exports a wide range of Medical Diagnostic, General Laboratory, Point-of-Care, Scientific, and Blood Banking solutions including instruments, reagents, and consumables. Revenue generated through product sales across multiple scientific disciplines.
2. Technical Services and Support: Services include commissioning, maintenance, and technical support for instrumentation backed by product partnerships with manufacturers across the globe.
3. Manufacturing (DTS and Cellonex): Subsidiary companies Diagnostic and Technical Services (DTS) manufactures and distributes Medical Devices including Diagnostic Kits and Reagents. Cellonex manufactures cell culture products and laboratory reagents.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Separation Scientific imports, exports, sells, commissions, services, and supplies a broad portfolio of laboratory products—scientific instruments, reagents, consumables, and chemicals—across medical diagnostics, industrial science, life science, and general laboratory disciplines. The company distributes products from over 30 international manufacturers and also manufactures its own diagnostic kits/reagents (DTS) and cell culture products (Cellonex), supported by a network of certified service engineers delivering commissioning, maintenance, and tailored service-level agreements.

Product overview

Separation Scientific (Sep Sci) is a South African laboratory products company operating as an importer, exporter, and distributor of laboratory equipment, instruments, consumables, and reagents. The company is structured as a total laboratory solution provider with four main divisions: Medical Diagnostics (chemistry, haematology, microbiology, molecular diagnostics, cytology, immunology, and point-of-care testing), Industrial Science (chromatography, spectroscopy, electron microscopy, NMR, thermal analysis, and analytical instruments), Life Science (protein purification, cell analysis, molecular biology, and environmental monitoring), and General Laboratory (centrifuges, balances, cold storage, water purification, pipettes, and general lab equipment). Sep Sci distributes products from over 30 international manufacturers including Thermo Fisher Scientific, Hologic, Fujifilm, Cytiva, Hitachi, Renishaw, VELP, Tosoh, and others, while also manufacturing proprietary products through its subsidiaries DTS (diagnostic reagents and kits) and Cellonex (cell culture products). The company operates across sub-Saharan Africa with subsidiaries in Mauritius, Zambia, and regional agents.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Cellonex: South African biotechnology company focused on development and manufacture of high-quality cell culture products and laboratory reagents, including mammalian cell lines, live cell cultures, and viral transport media.
• Diagnostic and Technical Services (DTS)

Products and services

• Medical Diagnostics Solutions Comprehensive clinical diagnostics portfolio for pathology laboratories, blood banks, hospitals, and pharmacies, covering chemistry, haematology, microbiology, molecular diagnostics, cytology, immunology, serology, and point-of-care testing for oncology, anemia, TB, infectious diseases, autoimmune and metabolic disorders.
• Industrial Science Solutions Industrial analytics offering for petrochemical, pharmaceutical, mining, food & beverage, forensics, and materials science laboratories, including HPLC/UHPLC, GPC, FPLC, SEM, NMR, Raman, FTIR, ICP-OES, AA, UV-VIS, NIR, liquid scintillation, XPS, laser ablation, TOF-MS, thermal analysis, autosamplers, and gas generators.
• Life Science Solutions Life science and biotechnology offering for research laboratories, biotech firms, and biopharma research, including protein purification chromatography, electrophoresis and blotting, surface plasmon resonance, high-content cell imaging, cell separation, cell lines and viral transport media, gel documentation, and microplate readers.
• General Laboratory Equipment General laboratory equipment for medical, academic, industrial, biotechnology, and research centres, including mini, micro, benchtop, floor-model, and ultracentrifuges, blood banking centrifuges, bioprocessing centrifuges, ultra-low temperature freezers, water purification systems, precision pipettes, and pharmaceutical dissolution testers.
• Technical Services and Support Commissioning, maintenance, and technical support services for laboratory instrumentation, accompanied by tailored service-level agreements and certified engineering coverage across South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.
• DTS Diagnostic Reagents and Test Kits South African-manufactured diagnostic kits and reagents for pathology and research laboratories, including autoimmune disease tests and parasitic disease ELISA kits, produced by wholly-owned subsidiary Diagnostic and Technical Services (DTS).
• Cellonex Cell Culture Products and Bioprocessing Solutions Cell culture products, mammalian cell lines, viral transport media, and laboratory reagents manufactured by wholly-owned subsidiary Cellonex, complemented by Cytiva aseptic filling, bioprocess filtration, cell culture media, bioreactors, and oligonucleotide synthesis solutions.
• Laboratory Chemicals and Reagents Full range of laboratory chemicals and reagents including buffer tablets, volumetric solutions, HPLC solvents, dry solvents, and excipients supplied to industrial, academic, and research laboratories.

Quantifiable outcome

• 39 years in business with expansion across Sub-Saharan Africa
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

27 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Separation Scientific Mauritius LtdcoreOthers · 1 May 2004International branch of Sep Sci Group since May 2004, providing laboratory, consumables, reagents, forensic, and analytical instruments to hospitals, clinics, and research organizations in Mauritius.
• Thermo Fisher ScientificflagshipTechnology or IntegrationWorld leader in serving science providing laboratory equipment including cold storage, CO2 incubators, water purification, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electron microscopy products.
• CytivaflagshipTechnology or IntegrationLife sciences company providing chromatography columns, systems, cell imaging, protein analysis, oligonucleotide synthesis, and bioprocessing filtration solutions.
• HologicflagshipTechnology or IntegrationProvider of ThinPrep liquid based cytology solutions for cervical cancer screening and women's health diagnostics.
• Hitachi High-TechcoreTechnology or IntegrationSupplier of electron microscopy (SEM/TEM), spectrophotometers, and thermal analysis equipment including DSC, STA, TMA, and DMA analyzers.
• Tosoh BiosciencecoreTechnology or IntegrationLeading supplier of chromatographic columns, media, and diagnostic systems including HbA1c testing and GPC systems.
• VELP ScientificcoreTechnology or IntegrationGlobal provider of laboratory instruments for food & feed, environment, stirring, and general lab equipment including elemental analyzers, Kjeldahl systems, and OXITEST oxidation stability reactors.
• Meridian BiosciencecoreTechnology or IntegrationProvider of molecular diagnostics including Alethia platform, Revogene system, and tests for malaria, H.pylori, C.difficile, TB, respiratory infections, and other infectious diseases.
• FujifilmcoreTechnology or IntegrationSupplier of clinical chemistry systems (Dri-Chem NX700), haematology analysers (MEK series), and TB LAM diagnostics.
• RenishawcoreTechnology or IntegrationProvider of Raman spectroscopy systems for life science, materials science, and chemical science applications.
• LinearcoreTechnology or IntegrationSupplier of blood coagulation equipment, rapid tests, immunology products, and faecal occult blood testing.
• HidexcoreTechnology or IntegrationProvider of liquid scintillation counters, gamma counters, microplate readers, and PET radiochemistry solutions for radiation measurement and nuclear medicine.
• MagritekcoreTechnology or IntegrationSupplier of NMR spectroscopy systems for chemistry education, reaction monitoring, polymers, forensic drug analysis, food screening, and petrochemical applications.
• KNAUERcoreTechnology or IntegrationProvider of HPLC and UHPLC systems including preparative HPLC solutions.
• SCIEXcoreTechnology or IntegrationGlobal leader in capillary electrophoresis and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry providing ion mobility spectrometers, mass spectrometers, and LC/MS/MS systems.
• ELITechGroupcoreTechnology or IntegrationManufacturer and distributor of in vitro diagnostic equipment for clinical chemistry, microbiology, immunology, and molecular biology.
• IlluminacoreTechnology or IntegrationProvider of integrated systems for analysis of genetic variation and biological function including sequencing and array technologies.
• PG InstrumentscoreTechnology or IntegrationSupplier of FTIR spectroscopy (FTIR 7800), ICP-OES (ICP 5000), UV-VIS spectrophotometers, and AA spectrometry (AA 500).
• HVD SepSci (Pty) LtdcoreOthersSubsidiary company providing Life Science solutions, partnered with Cytiva, Hidex, and Biochrom for spectrophotometry.
• Diagnostic and Technical Services (DTS)coreOthersProudly South African subsidiary manufacturing and distributing Medical Devices including Diagnostic Kits, Reagents for Pathology and Research, autoimmune disease tests (Hep-2, FTA-ABS), parasitic disease ELISA kits.
• CellonexcoreOthersSouth African biotechnology company developing and manufacturing cell culture products, mammalian cell lines, viral transport media (VTM), and laboratory reagents with unique cell repository.
• SpinreactcoreTechnology or IntegrationSupplier of haematology analysers, chemistry analyzers (230, 360E, 640Plus, 800), and rapid tests including faecal occult blood.
• Forensic TechnologycoreTechnology or IntegrationProvider of automated ballistics identification and analysis technologies including IBIS (Integrated Ballistics Identification System) and Projectina optical comparison systems.
• Porter Lee CorporationcoreTechnology or IntegrationProvider of forensic LIMS and evidence handling software for crime laboratories and law enforcement communities.
• Avoma Group (eSwatini)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHealthcare solutions provider with divisions in hospital systems, healthcare strategy, pharmaceutical distribution serving hospitals, clinics and private institutions in eSwatini.
• Genmed Enterprise (Namibia)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorService provider of medical and laboratory consumables, equipment, pharmaceuticals with 22+ years experience serving government, semi-state, and corporate clients in Namibia.
• Zanotone (Lesotho)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSupplier of premier medical diagnostic, surgical, hospital, clinical, laboratory and point of care equipment throughout Sub-Saharan Africa.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Bio-Systems SA (Pty) Ltd: South African life science and laboratory products distributor serving diagnostics, research, and biotechnology customers. Comparable due to overlapping product categories (reagents, instruments, consumables) and Southern African customer base.
• Wirsam Scientific & Industrial Equipment (Pty) Ltd: South African distributor of laboratory, scientific, and industrial equipment. Direct peer because both companies operate as multi-principal lab equipment distributors serving pathology, research, and industrial customers across Southern Africa.
• LASEC (Laboratory & Scientific Equipment Company): Established South African distributor of laboratory consumables, instruments, and chemicals with regional reach. Directly comparable as a Southern African lab supply distributor with similar manufacturer-partnership and service-engineering model.

Broad incumbents

• Hologic: Global medical technology company focused on diagnostics and women's health. Comparable because ThinPrep liquid-based cytology is one of Sep Sci's flagship products, but Hologic increasingly sells direct in emerging markets, creating competitive overlap with Sep Sci's medical diagnostics line.
• Avantor: Global distributor and manufacturer of laboratory products, consumables, and services. Comparable as a broad-line lab supply distributor with similar reach across diagnostics, life science, and industrial end-markets.
• Agilent Technologies: Global manufacturer of analytical instruments (chromatography, mass spectrometry, spectroscopy). Comparable because Agilent products overlap with Sep Sci's Industrial Science portfolio and competes for the same analytical-lab procurement budgets in pharma, mining, and food & beverage.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Global leader in laboratory instruments, reagents, and consumables, and Sep Sci's largest Flagship principal partner. Comparable because Thermo Fisher both supplies and competes via direct sales, and Sep Sci's product portfolio is heavily weighted toward its brands (centrifuges, cold storage, water purification, electron microscopy).
• Shimadzu Corporation: Global manufacturer of analytical and measuring instruments (chromatography, mass spectrometry, spectroscopy, X-ray). Comparable because Shimadzu products directly overlap with Sep Sci's industrial analytical portfolio and serves the same petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and food-testing end markets.
• Cytiva (Danaher): Global life sciences company providing chromatography, bioprocessing, and cell analysis products. Comparable because Cytiva is Sep Sci's largest life-science Flagship partner but also sells directly, creating overlap in protein purification and bioprocessing portfolios.

Emerging players

• Scientific Industries (formerly Scientific Laboratory Supplies): Laboratory equipment and consumables supplier focused on emerging-market distribution and bioprocessing instrumentation. Comparable as a smaller, geographically-focused lab products distributor with overlapping product mix in shakers, mixers, and bioprocess sensors.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC7iP_ntr0kZMP9QAiRm4iYA
• Facebookfacebook.com/sepsci
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/separation-scientific-sa
• Xx.com/sep_sci

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries5 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 Separation Scientific