Caltest
Caltest, LLC is a privately held U.S. consulting firm founded in 1997 that provides repair, calibration, reconditioned instrument sales, and proprietary Sentinel monitoring software for legacy FOSS NIRSystem II instruments (Models 4500, 5000, 6500), primarily serving food and agriculture companies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1997
- HeadquartersBallston Lake, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Caltest does
Caltest, LLC is a privately held U.S.-based consulting and application support firm founded in 1997 by Anthony Pietrantonio and Thomas Boyd, specializing in Near Infrared (NIR) Spectroscopy instrumentation for the food and agriculture industry. The company focuses on legacy FOSS NIRSystem II instruments (Models 4500, 5000, and 6500), offering a vertically integrated service portfolio that includes instrument repair, calibration development, reconditioned instrument sales, accessories and replacement parts, and a subscription-based monitoring program built around its proprietary Sentinel software. Sentinel provides daily diagnostic checks, performance charting, a built-in lamp meter, and automated export of NIR results into custom Excel formats, and supports a network of 250+ instruments under active monitoring. The firm draws on a calibration library developed over 20+ years across diverse products and instrument platforms, positioning it as a specialist third-party support provider for a well-defined installed base.
Caltest operates from three U.S. locations: Ballston Lake, NY (corporate headquarters and data analysis), Jersey Shore, PA (NIR laboratory, sample preparation, and calibration development), and Jessup, MD (corporate office). Its revenue model is multi-stream, combining one-time hardware sales (refurbished instruments at $30,000 with a 1-year warranty; parts/accessories priced from $1.10 to $550), professional services (instrument repair with 90-day warranty, custom calibration development), and recurring monitoring subscriptions. The go-to-market motion is sales-led and direct, with no evidence of paid advertising, social media, or content marketing; customers engage via phone, email, and the company's website. The leadership team comprises founders with 50 years of combined NIR experience, a President (Irvin Lucas), a Senior Data Analyst (Kevin Thorne), and a Sample Analyst (Bill Brown), reflecting a lean operational structure of 11-50 employees.
Caltest firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Caltest
- Legal name
- Caltest, LLC
- Website
- https://caltest.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1997
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Caltest, LLC is a privately held U.S. consulting firm founded in 1997 that provides repair, calibration, reconditioned instrument sales, and proprietary Sentinel monitoring software for legacy FOSS NIRSystem II instruments (Models 4500, 5000, 6500), primarily serving food and agriculture companies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Caltest industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Analytical Instrument Services
- NAICS
- Testing Laboratories and Services (54138), Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance (811210), Testing Laboratories and Services (541380)
- SIC
- Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Measuring & Controlling Devices, Nec (3829)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Calibration Services & Standards (Calibration labs, reference standards, traceability services) (IMAGAFAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Metrology, Calibration & Testing Equipment (Balances, pH/DO, Standards) (HLAGAIAL), Test & Measurement Equipment (Oscilloscopes, DAQ, signal analyzers, calibration benches) (IMAGAFAC)
Keywords
Where Caltest is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Ballston Lake
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Caltest business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Instrument Sales: Sale of refurbished NIR instruments (NIRSystem/FOSS Model 4500, 5000, 6500) with 1-year warranty covering parts and labor.
- Parts and Accessories Sales: Sale of NIR instrument parts and accessories including sample cups, quartz lenses, lamps, capacitors, fans, cables, and check cells. Prices range from $2.20 to $550 per item.
- Instrument Repair Services: Repair services for NIRSystem instruments back to factory standards. All repairs come with 90-day warranty on parts and labor.
- Calibration Development Services: Development and customization of calibration models for NIR applications, including updates for switching reference labs, instrument platforms, and new sample prep methodology.
- Monitoring Program (Sentinel): Subscription-like monitoring program including proprietary Sentinel software for daily diagnostics, regular performance reports, backup of important files, bias adjustments, and technical support.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Refurbished NIR Instruments |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | NIR Accessories and Parts |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Instrument Repair Service |
| Subscription | Annual | Monitoring Program (Sentinel) |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels2 records
Caltest product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Caltest provides consulting, calibration development, repair, and monitoring services for NIR (Near Infrared) instrument platforms, primarily NIRSystem II Model 4500, 5000, and 6500 instruments from FOSS used in the Food and Agriculture Industry. The company sells refurbished instruments and replacement parts, develops and maintains calibration models, and runs a recurring monitoring program supported by its proprietary Sentinel software for daily diagnostics, performance charting, and Excel-based result exports.
Product overview
Caltest is a NIR (Near Infrared) instrument service company offering a unified portfolio of products and services for the Food and Agriculture Industry. The core offering combines consulting and application support with hardware services (repair and reconditioned instrument sales), proprietary Sentinel monitoring software, and calibration development services. The Sentinel software is the company's key software product, providing daily diagnostics, performance charting, and data management. Calibration Development uses mathematical models to enable NIR spectroscopy analysis. The company also sells NIR accessories and replacement parts as add-on products. The product ecosystem centers on supporting NIRSystem II Model 4500, 5000, and 6500 instruments from FOSS.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Sentinel: Proprietary software program for daily diagnostic checks, chart diagnostic performance over time, and built-in lamp meter for NIR instrument monitoring.
Products and services
- NIR Instrument Consulting and Application Support
- Instrument Repair Services
- Reconditioned NIR Instruments
- Sentinel Monitoring Software
- Calibration Development and Support
- NIR Accessories and Parts
Quantifiable outcome
- 250+ NIR instruments on monitoring network
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Caltest
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Caltest technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Caltest partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Caltest competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Intertek: Global TIC (testing, inspection, certification) provider with calibration and analytical services for food, feed, and agriculture clients; adjacent competitor for outsourced instrument calibration work.
- SGS: Worldwide testing, inspection, and calibration services provider; delivers instrument calibration and laboratory testing services that compete for the same procurement wallets as Caltest, especially with multinational food/ag buyers.
- Eurofins Scientific: Global food and feed testing services network that uses NIR instruments internally and offers calibration reference materials; adjacent ecosystem participant with overlapping end-customers (feed and food producers) but not a direct NIR service competitor.
Broad incumbents
- Bruker Optics: Major analytical instrument manufacturer offering NIR/FT-NIR spectrometers used in food, feed, and agricultural analysis, with bundled service, calibration, and application support that overlaps Caltest's consultancy and calibration development offering.
- BUCHI Labortechnik: Swiss manufacturer of NIR and FT-NIR instruments widely deployed in food and feed quality labs, with calibration libraries and service programs that overlap Caltest's NIR calibration and application support activities.
- Agilent Technologies: Diversified analytical instrument maker with NIR/FTIR offerings and service contracts serving food and agriculture labs; broader portfolio competitor for the calibration and instrument-support portion of Caltest's business.
- FOSS Analytical: Danish OEM manufacturer of the NIRSystem II 4500/5000/6500 instruments that Caltest specializes in servicing; offers proprietary calibrations, support programs, and newer NIRS DS2500 platforms — the upstream and direct competitor for both instrument sales and NIR service revenue.
Direct peers
- Perten Instruments (PerkinElmer): Historical NIR specialist for grain, flour, feed, and food quality that Caltest's customers frequently use; offers instruments plus calibration services and customer support that compete with Caltest's instrumentation, repair, and calibration workflows.
- KPM Analytics (formerly Unity Scientific): Provider of NIR instrumentation and analytical solutions tailored to food, agriculture, and feed applications, including calibration development and application support — directly comparable to Caltest's NIRSystem-centric food/ag calibration services.
Emerging players
- Charm Sciences: Provider of rapid food and feed safety and quality testing solutions, including NIR-based diagnostics; overlaps with Caltest's food and agriculture instrumentation customers and competes for similar budgets on quality-control instruments.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Caltest social profiles
Digital presenceCaltest financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Caltest leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Caltest funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Caltest 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 Caltest
What does Caltest do?
Caltest provides consulting, calibration development, repair, and monitoring services for NIR (Near Infrared) instrument platforms, primarily NIRSystem II Model 4500, 5000, and 6500 instruments from FOSS used in the Food and Agriculture Industry. The company sells refurbished instruments and replacement parts, develops and maintains calibration models, and runs a recurring monitoring program supported by its proprietary Sentinel software for daily diagnostics, performance charting, and Excel-based result exports.
Is Caltest a public or private company?
Caltest is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Caltest founded?
Caltest was founded in 1997. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Caltest based?
Caltest is headquartered in Ballston Lake, United States, in the North America region.
How does Caltest make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Instrument Sales are the primary driver. The others are parts and Accessories Sales, instrument Repair Services, calibration Development Services and monitoring Program (Sentinel).
Who are Caltest's main competitors?
Others on record are Intertek, SGS and Eurofins Scientific. Broad incumbents are Bruker Optics, BUCHI Labortechnik, Agilent Technologies and FOSS Analytical. Direct peers are Perten Instruments (PerkinElmer) and KPM Analytics (formerly Unity Scientific). Charm Sciences is listed as an emerging player.
Does Caltest have an API?
No public API is recorded for Caltest.
What industry is Caltest in?
Caltest's product category is Analytical Instrument Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAGAFAH, Calibration Services & Standards (Calibration labs, reference standards, traceability services), with a secondary code of HLAGAIAL, Metrology, Calibration & Testing Equipment (Balances, pH/DO, Standards). Its NAICS code is 54138 and its SIC code is 8734.