What Kbiosystems does

Kbiosystems Limited is a UK-based laboratory automation instrument manufacturer founded in 1990 and headquartered in Basildon, Essex, where it conducts all design, engineering, software, manufacturing, and support in-house at a single facility. The company operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Porvair plc, an international specialist engineering group, and serves pharmaceutical, biotechnology, synthetic biology, microbiology, life sciences research, and OEM laboratory instrumentation customers across Europe, North America, and Asia.

Its product portfolio spans six categories: microplate sealers (Ultraseal PRO, ePRO, XT-PRO, LITE, and cap-sealing variants), microplate handlers (Scorpion), sample concentrators/blowdown evaporators (Ultravap Mistral, Levante, Mistral XT150, Mini, Gemini, UltraPPM LITE), colony picking systems (K6³ at 800 colonies/hour and K8 at up to 2,800 colonies/hour, both at 98.5%+ accuracy), label applicators with on-board CCD verification (ValiData, eGecko²), and PCR thermal cyclers. Differentiating technical features include closed-loop force feedback sealing, advanced gas injection evaporation up to 80°C with ambient bulk sample preservation, RS232 and LIMS connectivity, and a proprietary "modified standard" product tier that allows workflow-specific customization of existing platforms faster than full bespoke builds.

Kbiosystems generates revenue primarily through one-time perpetual license hardware sales priced in GBP between approximately £5,095 and £30,187.50 for standard catalog products, with custom and OEM systems priced on application. Distribution occurs through three channels: direct enterprise field sales with engineer-led consultations, OEM/white-label manufacturing partnerships (notably Thermo Fisher's ALPS3000 and ALPS5000 plate sealers and Automata's LINQ workcell), and the Porvair Life Sciences distribution network. The company maintains ISO 9001:2015, UKCA, CE, and UL certifications and reports a customer roster including Sanofi, Pfizer, Roche, Bayer, Novo Nordisk, Thermo Fisher, Beckman Coulter, PerkinElmer, Revvity, IDT, Ginkgo Bioworks, Corteva, and Tecan.

Name

Kbiosystems

Legal name

Kbiosystems Limited

Website

https://kbiosystems.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kbiosystems Limited is a UK-based specialist manufacturer of laboratory automation instruments — including microplate sealers, colony pickers, sample concentrators, plate handlers, and label applicators — serving pharmaceutical, biotechnology, life sciences, and OEM instrumentation customers globally from its Basildon facility as a subsidiary of Porvair plc.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Laboratory Automation Instruments

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Instruments and Related Products Manufacturing for Measuring, Displaying, and Controlling Industrial Process Variables (334513)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Laboratory Apparatus & Furniture (3821)

akta.pro primary industry

General Lab Equipment (Centrifuges, Incubators, Shakers, Ovens) (HLAGAIAC)

Keywords

• Laboratory automation instruments
• Microplate sealing systems
• Automated colony picking
• Sample concentration equipment
• OEM laboratory manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Basildon

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Laboratory Automation Hardware Sales: Kbiosystems generates revenue primarily through the sale of automated laboratory instruments including microplate sealers, colony picking systems, sample concentrators, barcode label applicators, and microplate handlers. Products are sold as standard configurations, modified standard systems, or custom-built solutions. The company also manufactures products under OEM partnerships for global laboratory instrument brands.
2. Custom Engineering and Manufacturing Services: Kbiosystems provides custom lab automation engineering services, including bespoke system design, modified standard products, and OEM engineering partnerships. Design, engineering and manufacturing all occur in-house at their Basildon facility.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kbiosystems designs, engineers and manufactures automated laboratory instruments for sample processing workflows, including microplate sealers, automated colony picking systems, blowdown sample concentrators (evaporators), automated barcode label applicators, and automated microplate handlers. All design, engineering and manufacturing is performed in-house at its Basildon, UK facility, with products sold as standard configurations, modified standard systems, or fully custom-built solutions. The company also provides OEM engineering and manufacturing services, producing instruments under partner brand names for global laboratory instrument companies.

Product overview

Kbiosystems offers a portfolio of laboratory automation instruments organized into six product categories: Microplate Sealers (Ultraseal PRO, Ultraseal ePRO, Ultraseal XT-PRO, Ultraseal LITE, and manual/semi-automated cap sealing variants), Microplate Handlers (Scorpion), Sample Concentrators (Ultravap Mistral, Ultravap Levante, Ultravap Mistral XT150, Ultravap Mini, Ultravap Gemini, UltraPPM LITE), Colony Picking Systems (K6³, K8), and Label Applicators (eGecko², ValiData). The portfolio ranges from entry-level benchtop units to high-throughput automated systems, with products designed for integration with liquid handlers, robotic platforms, LIMS, incubators, and imaging systems. Custom automation and OEM engineering services complement the standard product offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ultraseal PRO

Quantifiable outcome

• 98.5%+ picking accuracy
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Thermo Fisher ScientificcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerThermo Fisher selected Kbiosystems as OEM engineering and manufacturing partner for ALPS3000 and ALPS5000 automated microplate heat sealing platforms. Kbiosystems designs, engineers and manufactures both platforms in-house at Basildon. The partnership has expanded to include additional products. Thermo Fisher reports that Kbiosystems equipment consistently delivers strong performance and reliability while strengthening their product offering.
• AutomatacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKbiosystems helped Automata turn high-level concepts and visuals into a manufacturable, launch-ready workcell platform for genomics, cell biology and high throughput screening. Design, engineering and manufacturing under one roof enabled concepts to be tested for buildability early. Automata's LINQ platform later received Red Dot Award: Product Design 2025. Partnership continues to adapt to changing order volumes and delivery schedules.
• Porvair plc / Porvair Life SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKbiosystems is part of Porvair plc, an international specialist engineering group. This provides long-term stability, international trade infrastructure, and access to the Porvair Life Sciences distribution network. Kbiosystems operates with the agility of a specialized engineering company while benefiting from the stability of a larger group.
• Theradep Technologies Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term partnership spanning multiple years. Theradep relies on tailored, well-engineered lab automation systems delivered professionally, on time and to specification. Systems are tailored to Theradep's specific requirements and support their continued growth. Kbiosystems team is responsive and easy to work with.
• SanoficoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKbiosystems delivered a modified K8 colony picker customized for Sanofi's regional picking requirements and control clone selection to their specific plate layout. The modified standard product arrived configured for Sanofi's workflow from day one, freeing significant scientist time for complex analytical work.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Tecan: Swiss-based global leader in laboratory automation for life sciences, with overlapping product lines in plate handling, liquid handling integration, and OEM-style workcell platforms. Tecan is also a listed Kbiosystems customer/integration partner, making it the closest direct peer.
• Hudson Robotics: US-based supplier of laboratory automation including plate handlers, pipetting systems, and integrated workcells serving pharma and academic labs — comparable scale and product positioning to Kbiosystems.
• Molecular Devices (Danaher): Danaher-owned manufacturer of microplate readers, washers, and integrated screening workstations — direct overlap with Kbiosystems' plate-based workflow automation products.
• Hamilton Company: US-based manufacturer of laboratory automation including automated colony pickers, plate handlers, and sample preparation workstations — directly overlapping with Kbiosystems' K8/K6³, Scorpion, and Ultravap product families.
• SPT Labtech: UK-based laboratory automation specialist serving genomics, drug discovery, and sample management — directly comparable in scale, geography, and focus on workflow-level automation for life sciences.
• Porvair Sciences: Sister company under Porvair plc's Life Sciences division, manufacturing microplates, seals, and laboratory consumables. Direct adjacency in the plate-sealing workflow and shared distribution network make it the most closely related corporate peer.
• Formulatrix: US-based developer of laboratory automation including crystal imaging and microbiological colony picking systems, with direct overlap to Kbiosystems' K6³/K8 colony picking line.

Broad incumbents

• Thermo Fisher Scientific: Global life sciences instrumentation leader and Kbiosystems' largest OEM partner for ALPS3000/ALPS5000 plate sealers. Functions as both a major customer and a broad incumbent that competes with adjacent product categories.
• BioTek (Agilent Technologies): Now part of Agilent, BioTek manufactures microplate instrumentation including readers, washers, and dispensers — overlapping at the plate-processing step of laboratory workflows.
• Beckman Coulter (Danaher): Danaher-owned life sciences instrumentation giant offering broad automation and laboratory workflow solutions; a current Kbiosystems integration partner that could also be viewed as a broader-portfolio incumbent in the same space.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@kbiosystems
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kbiosystems-ltd
• Xx.com/kbiosystems

Compliance4 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 Kbiosystems