What Phipps & Bird does

Phipps & Bird is a Richmond, Virginia-based, privately held, woman-owned manufacturer of specialized laboratory and environmental testing equipment, founded in 1925 and currently operating under the ownership of Wes and Pattie Skaperdas. The company designs and builds mechanical apparatus including the flagship PB-900 jar tester (a six-position coagulation/flocculation testing system used in municipal and industrial water and wastewater treatment), B-KER2 and other TCLP-approved leaching devices used in EPA-regulated toxicity testing since 1986, physiology teaching systems under the Intelitool brand, and the Accente line of clinical and point-of-care equipment. Phipps & Bird also operates an OEM/private-label and contract-manufacturing business through its Associated Design and Manufacturing subsidiary, producing proprietary and customer-designed laboratory instruments at its Bells Road facility.

The business sells through a worldwide network of authorized dealers and distributors serving municipal water utilities, industrial wastewater operators, environmental testing laboratories, colleges and universities (for physiology and general science curricula), and clinical/point-of-care healthcare providers. Per-unit pricing spans roughly $90 for consumables and replacement parts to about $6,600 for a fully configured PB-900 system, and incremental recurring revenue is generated through spare parts, replacement stirrers/lamps, and Intelitool physiology software and curriculum modules. The firm also provides custom engineering, private-label assembly, and contract manufacturing services for third-party laboratory instrument brands.

Phipps & Bird is a small operation with approximately 10-15 employees, including a machinist apprentice program that supports long-tenured technical staff. Leadership includes Wes Skaperdas (President/General Manager), Pattie (Pat) Skaperdas (Executive Vice President and majority stockholder), and George Catlin (General Manager, promoted 2023). The product platform is mechanical and regulatory rather than software-driven, holds EPA, CE, and cTUVus certifications on its core lines, and has remained narrowly focused on jar testing, physiology teaching, and adjacent environmental apparatus for nearly a century.

Name

Phipps & Bird

Legal name

Phipps & Bird, Inc.

Website

https://phippsbird.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1925

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Phipps & Bird is a privately held, woman-owned Richmond, Virginia manufacturer of jar testers, TCLP environmental testing apparatus, physiology teaching systems, and specialty laboratory instruments, sold worldwide through dealers to municipal water utilities, universities, and clinical labs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Proprietary Product Sales: Phipps & Bird brand products including jar testers, samplers, belt press simulators for water/wastewater treatment; physiology experiment apparatus; healthcare products; and hazardous waste testing equipment under Associated Design & Manufacturing brand. Distributed worldwide through dealer networks.
2. Private Label Manufacturing: Products manufactured for regional distributors nationwide under private labels.
3. Contract Manufacturing Services: Manufacturing services for large and small companies across the USA, including machine shop, sheet metal fabrication, powdercoating, electronics assembly, and packaging services. Specialty is economically producing short runs/low volumes.
4. Technology Licensing: Licensing of appropriate technology and products.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Phipps & Bird manufactures precision laboratory equipment including programmable jar testers for water and wastewater treatment plants, physiology apparatus for science education, EPA-approved hazardous waste testing equipment, and healthcare facility accessories. The company also offers contract manufacturing, private label production, and licensed product distribution worldwide.

Product overview

Phipps & Bird is a manufacturing company offering a diverse portfolio of proprietary products, private label manufacturing, and contract manufacturing services. The core product lines include: (1) Water and Wastewater Treatment Equipment featuring the PB-900 Programmable JarTester and PB-980 Portable JarTesters as the flagship products, supported by accessories like the B-KER2 Laboratory Jar, Column Filtration System, IncuMate II Incubation Module, Vacuum Filtration Manifolds, and Crown Press Belt Press Simulator; (2) Science Education Apparatus including Student Wet Spirometers, Small Animal Metabolism Apparatus, and physiology experimentation tools; (3) Intelitool Software Suite comprising Cardiocomp (ECG analysis), Cardiocomp 3D, Physiogrip (muscle physiology), Flexicomp (reflex analysis), and Spirocomp (pulmonary function) software modules; (4) Healthcare Products including Vectorcardia 3D, Fleisch Pneumotachograph, and Accente Healthcare Facility Accessories; (5) Associated Design & Manufacturing (AD&M) brand of EPA-approved TCLP/hazardous waste testing equipment including Zero Headspace Extractors, Rotary Agitators, Hazardous Waste Filtration Units, Gas-Tight Syringes, and Liquid Release Test Devices. The company also provides comprehensive contract manufacturing services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Intelitool®: Educational physiology software modules for use in high school and college level science education, providing hands-on data acquisition capabilities.
• Accente®
• B-KER2®
• Associated Design & Manufacturing
• Phipps & Bird, the JarTest People™

Quantifiable outcome

• Products can provide over 25 years of dependable service
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• UNC/CharlotteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNC/Charlotte developed a new procedure for traditional jar testing and created the interactive JTWizard program for jar testing, with products from Phipps & Bird used in the development process.
• ECG-Tech CorpcoreTechnology or IntegrationECG-Tech Corp developed 3D algorithms for electrocardiography visualization that are licensed to Phipps & Bird for use in Cardiocomp 3D and Vectorcardia 3D products. Published in Marriott's Practical Electrocardiography.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• LaMotte Company: Manufacturer of water quality testing instruments and reagents serving municipal water treatment, industrial, and educational markets. Directly comparable product portfolio including jar testing and water analysis equipment, with similar GTM through distributors.
• Vernier Software & Technology: Leading supplier of data acquisition sensors and lab equipment for science education (K-12 and college). Competes with Phipps & Bird's physiology apparatus and Intelitool product lines in the science education vertical.
• Nasco Education: Supplier of educational and training materials including science lab equipment and physiology models. Overlaps with Phipps & Bird's science education apparatus product line serving K-12 and college markets.
• Scientific Industries: Direct competitor in laboratory equipment including stirrers and bench-top instruments. Scientific Industries sells bench-top laboratory equipment overlapping with Phipps & Bird's jar tester and lab instrument portfolio, particularly in academic and industrial lab settings.
• BIOPAC Systems: Manufacturer of life science data acquisition systems and physiology education equipment (ECG, EMG, respiration). Directly competes with Phipps & Bird's Intelitool physiology software and Cardiocomp educational products in university and college labs.
• AquaPhoenix Scientific: Distributor and manufacturer of water testing equipment, jar testers, and laboratory supplies for water/wastewater treatment. Comparable niche player with overlapping customer base of municipal and industrial water treatment facilities.
• Environmental Express: Supplier of laboratory consumables and equipment for environmental testing, including TCLP-related products. Directly comparable to Phipps & Bird's Associated Design & Manufacturing hazardous waste testing equipment line.
• iWorx Systems: Specialized provider of physiology teaching and research instrumentation including ECG, spirometry, and reflex systems. Closely comparable to Phipps & Bird's Intelitool/physiology apparatus lines, serving the same educational market.

Broad incumbents

• Fisher Scientific (Thermo Fisher): Broad-line distributor of laboratory supplies, instruments, and equipment including water analysis and physiology instruments. Serves as both a competitor and distribution channel; competes broadly with Phipps & Bird across multiple verticals.
• Hach Company: Dominant broad-line supplier of water quality analysis instruments and reagents serving the same municipal/industrial water treatment market as Phipps & Bird. Larger portfolio and global service network compete with P&B jar testers and BOD accessories at scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries3 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 Phipps & Bird