ESSLAB
ESSLAB is a UK-based, privately held laboratory supplies distributor founded in 1982, selling certified reference materials, instruments, and consumables from 20+ premium brands to environmental, pharmaceutical, food, and industrial testing laboratories worldwide via e-commerce and direct sales.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1982
- HeadquartersClacton-on-sea, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
ESSLAB firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ESSLAB
- Legal name
- Essex Scientific Laboratory Supplies Ltd.
- Website
- https://esslabshop.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1982
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- ESSLAB is a UK-based, privately held laboratory supplies distributor founded in 1982, selling certified reference materials, instruments, and consumables from 20+ premium brands to environmental, pharmaceutical, food, and industrial testing laboratories worldwide via e-commerce and direct sales.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ESSLAB industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Laboratory Supplies Distribution
- NAICS
- Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers (4246), Other Commercial Equipment Merchant Wholesalers (42344)
- SIC
- Wholesale-Chemicals & Allied Products (5160), Wholesale-Misc Durable Goods (5090)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Laboratory Consumables & Plasticware (Tips, Tubes, Plates, Filters) (HLAGAIAH)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Laboratory & Scientific Supplies Scheduled Delivery (Non-medical) (TLAAAEAI)
Keywords
Where ESSLAB is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Clacton-on-sea
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
ESSLAB business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Laboratory Supplies Distribution: ESSLAB generates revenue through the distribution and sale of Certified Reference Materials, Laboratory Instruments, and Consumables to laboratories. The company operates as a trusted UK-based distributor with extensive stock from approved suppliers, serving laboratories worldwide with worldwide shipping capabilities.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
ESSLAB product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ESSLAB distributes high-quality Certified Reference Materials, Laboratory Instruments, and Consumables to laboratories worldwide through its e-commerce storefront esslabshop.com and direct account manager support. The company acts as an authorized UK distributor for third-party manufacturers including Inorganic Ventures, SPEX, Chem Service, Macherey-Nagel, Hamilton, OHAUS, Pickering Laboratories, Sartorius, and others, aggregating laboratory supplies such as reference standards, syringes and diluters, HPLC/UHPLC columns, pH test strips, spectrophotometers, balances, and consumables like vials and filters. Technical guidance in product selection is provided as a value-added service alongside physical product distribution.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Certified Reference Materials High-quality certified reference materials for analytical testing, including single and multi-element standards, compliance standards, and custom blends for ICP, ICP-MS, AA, and ion chromatography applications. Distributed for environmental monitoring, pharmaceutical, food safety, and petrochemical laboratory use.
- Liquid Handling Equipment Precision liquid handling instruments including Hamilton syringes (Neuros, ML600), ML700 diluters, MicroLab 600 diluter dispensers, Sartorius Midi Plus pipette controllers, BRAND bottle top dispensers, and Vistalab ALI-Q2 pipette controllers, for laboratory volume measurement and dispensing workflows.
- Chromatography Products HPLC and UHPLC columns, solid phase extraction (SPE) products, gas chromatography columns, thin layer chromatography (TLC/HPTLC) plates, flash chromatography cartridges, and Macherey-Nagel Chromafil syringe filters for analytical separation workflows.
- Spectrophotometers Laboratory spectrophotometers and filter photometers including Nanocolor Advance, Nanocolor UV/VIS II, and Nanocolor VIS II for photometric water and chemical analysis in laboratory settings.
- pH Testing Solutions pH test strips including Macherey-Nagel pH-Fix and PEHANON ranges, universal indicators, Duotest and Tritest papers, and semi-quantitative test strips for a range of laboratory pH applications.
- Laboratory Balances and Calibration Weights Precision OHAUS laboratory weighing equipment and calibration weight sets for accurate mass measurements in laboratory workflows.
- ePrep Workstation Automated ePrep sample preparation workstation with the ESSLAB Gravimetric Dosing System for streamlined laboratory workflows and advanced gravimetric dosing.
- Pickering Laboratories Artificial Testing Solutions Artificial testing matrices from Pickering Laboratories including artificial gastric and intestinal fluids, artificial eccrine perspiration (stabilized and custom pH), and artificial cerumen for pharmaceutical formulation testing and consumer product testing.
- Vials and Caps Laboratory vials, vial inserts, closures, septa, crimping and decapping tools, and vial racks for chromatography sample preparation.
- Sample Filtration Products Syringe filters, filtration cartridges, filtration multi-well 96-well plates, and filter paper for laboratory sample preparation workflows.
- Refrigerators and Freezers Labcold laboratory refrigerators, freezers, and ice makers for sample storage and preservation.
- Peristaltic Pumps Peristaltic pumps and accessories for liquid transfer and processing in laboratory applications.
- b.safe HPLC Safety Systems b.safe safety containers, waste caps, preparative safety equipment, tubing, connectors, funnels, and fill level control systems for HPLC applications.
Companies that use ESSLAB
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
ESSLAB technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
ESSLAB partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
22 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Inorganic VenturescoreESSLAB is a proud distributor of Inorganic Ventures Certified Reference Materials, offering single and multi-element standards for ICP and ICP-MS applications. Provides custom blend services and technical centre resources.
- SPEXcoreESSLAB distributes SPEX organic reference materials and certified reference materials for analytical applications including pharmaceutical and environmental testing.
- Chem ServicecoreESSLAB offers Chem Service organic certified reference materials, specializing in pesticide and herbicide standards for environmental and food safety testing.
- NSI Lab SolutionscoreESSLAB distributes NSI certified reference materials and SNiP standards for environmental testing applications including BOD, COD, and TOC analysis.
- Macherey-NagelcoreESSLAB is a partner distributor for Macherey-Nagel, offering pH test strips (pH-Fix, PEHANON), filter paper, and HPLC/SPE products including Chromafil syringe filters and TLC/HPTLC plates.
- HamiltoncoreESSLAB distributes Hamilton products including syringes (standard for precision measurement), ML700 dispensers/diluters, MicroLab 600 diluter dispensers, and specialized Neuros syringes. Offers university discount programme.
- OHAUScoreESSLAB distributes OHAUS laboratory equipment including balances, calibration weight sets, pen meters, and spectrophotometers for weighing and measurement applications.
- Waters (ERA)coreESSLAB is the authorized distributor for Waters ERA certified reference materials, launching new product lines and providing specialized standards for analytical applications.
- CPAChemcoreESSLAB distributes CPAChem organic standards for analytical testing including pesticide and environmental contaminant analysis.
- Pickering LaboratoriescoreESSLAB offers Pickering Laboratories artificial testing solutions including artificial cerumen, perspiration (stabilized and custom pH), gastric and intestinal fluids for pharmaceutical and consumer product testing.
- ePrepcoreESSLAB distributes ePrep workstation products for automated sample preparation and offers the ESSLAB Gravimetric Dosing System for advanced laboratory workflows.
- SartoriuscoreESSLAB distributes Sartorius products including Midi Plus pipette controllers for liquid handling applications.
- ChironcoreESSLAB offers Chiron certified reference materials for environmental and pharmaceutical testing, including microplastics reference materials (MacroPRefs, MicroPRefs, NanoPRefs).
- BRANDcoreESSLAB distributes BRAND bottle top dispensers and titration products for precise liquid handling in laboratory settings.
- Accredited StandardscoreESSLAB distributes Accredited Standards certified reference materials for ICP and ICP-MS analytical applications including single element and multi-element standards.
- CellTreatcoreESSLAB distributes CellTreat laboratory products including consumables and supplies for general laboratory applications.
- VistalabminorESSLAB distributes Vistalab pipette controllers (ALI-Q2) and accessories for liquid handling applications.
- Endress HauserminorESSLAB distributes Endress Hauser electrochemistry products including pen meters and Liquiline Mobile sensor systems for water analysis.
- LabcoldminorESSLAB distributes Labcold laboratory refrigerators and freezers for sample storage and preservation.
- Hirschmann LaborgerateminorESSLAB distributes Hirschmann Laborgerate laboratory equipment for precision liquid handling and measurement applications.
- AtagominorESSLAB distributes Atago refractometers for measurement applications in laboratories.
- HPC StandardscoreESSLAB distributes HPC organic standards for analytical testing applications.
Scale indicators2 records
ESSLAB competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Fisher Scientific (Thermo Fisher): Global laboratory supplies distributor covering chemicals, reference materials, instruments, and consumables. Competes with ESSL on the same UK lab buyer purchases but with vastly broader catalog, procurement contracts, and enterprise sales reach.
- Avantor (VWR): Global lab products distributor (formerly VWR) serving biopharma, healthcare, education, and applied markets. Directly competes with ESSL on chemical reference materials and lab consumables, especially in UK/EU research accounts.
- Hach (part of Veralto): Specialist in water and environmental testing — reagents, instrumentation, and reference standards. Serves the same environmental/water-laboratory segment listed as ESSL's primary customer segment.
Regional players
- Reagex Diagnostics: UK chemical and laboratory reagents supplier covering analytical chemistry, life science, and industrial segments — comparable as a mid-tier UK chemical/reference-material distributor.
Direct peers
- Antylia Scientific: Distributor/manufacturer of lab and fluid handling products serving life science, environmental, and industrial labs — comparable product mix and distribution model to ESSL on consumables, instruments, and reference standards.
- Restek Corporation: Chromatography-focused manufacturer and supplier of GC/HPLC columns, standards, sample-preparation consumables, and reference materials. Overlaps with ESSL's chromatography and certified-reference-material lines for analytical lab buyers.
- Appleton Woods: Long-established UK laboratory consumables and reagents distributor serving academic, healthcare, and industrial laboratories. Direct UK-based peer competing for the same mid-market lab buyer purchases as ESSL.
- LGC Standards: Specialist producer and distributor of certified reference materials, calibration standards, and matrix reference materials. ESSL's certified-reference-materials category maps directly to LGC's core offering, making it a near-substitute for many of the same customers.
- Scientific Laboratory Supplies (SLS): UK-based laboratory supplies distributor serving research, QA/QC, healthcare, and industrial labs across chemicals, consumables, and instrumentation — the closest direct-comparable peer to ESSL on geography, customer base, and channel-partner distribution model.
- Cole-Parmer: Distributor and manufacturer of liquid handling, chromatography, and general lab supplies. Highly comparable to ESSL on liquid-handling (Hamilton-style syringes, pipettes) and chromatography consumables SKUs.
Market position
Customer concentration
ESSLAB social profiles
Digital presenceESSLAB compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
ESSLAB financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ESSLAB leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
ESSLAB funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ESSLAB M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ESSLAB
What does ESSLAB do?
ESSLAB distributes high-quality Certified Reference Materials, Laboratory Instruments, and Consumables to laboratories worldwide through its e-commerce storefront esslabshop.com and direct account manager support. The company acts as an authorized UK distributor for third-party manufacturers including Inorganic Ventures, SPEX, Chem Service, Macherey-Nagel, Hamilton, OHAUS, Pickering Laboratories, Sartorius, and others, aggregating laboratory supplies such as reference standards, syringes and diluters, HPLC/UHPLC columns, pH test strips, spectrophotometers, balances, and consumables like vials and filters. Technical guidance in product selection is provided as a value-added service alongside physical product distribution.
Is ESSLAB a public or private company?
ESSLAB is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was ESSLAB founded?
ESSLAB was founded in 1982. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is ESSLAB based?
ESSLAB is headquartered in Clacton-on-sea, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does ESSLAB make money?
One revenue line is on record: laboratory Supplies Distribution.
Who are ESSLAB's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Fisher Scientific (Thermo Fisher), Avantor (VWR) and Hach (part of Veralto). Reagex Diagnostics is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are Antylia Scientific, Restek Corporation, Appleton Woods, LGC Standards, Scientific Laboratory Supplies (SLS) and Cole-Parmer.
Does ESSLAB have an API?
No public API is recorded for ESSLAB.
What industry is ESSLAB in?
ESSLAB's product category is Laboratory Supplies Distribution. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAIAH, Laboratory Consumables & Plasticware (Tips, Tubes, Plates, Filters), with a secondary code of TLAAAEAI, Laboratory & Scientific Supplies Scheduled Delivery (Non-medical). Its NAICS code is 4246 and its SIC code is 5160.