Parkes Scientific

What Parkes Scientific does

Parkes Scientific is a family-owned Canadian laboratory equipment distributor founded in 1985 by Lance Parkes in Edmonton, Alberta. The company specializes in petroleum testing equipment and analytical instruments, offering a catalog of over 2,630 products sourced from more than 60 manufacturer brands including Rigaku, eralytics, Stanhope-Seta, Koehler Instrument, Ohaus, Kitagawa, and Orbis. Its core customer base consists of laboratories in the petroleum and oil and gas industry conducting ASTM, IP, and ISO-compliant quality control testing on crude oil, fuels, and lubricants, with secondary reach into environmental, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, cosmetics, and cannabis extraction testing facilities. The company also maintains a small private-label product line including Manual Piston Cylinders for low-pressure sampling (ASTM D8009), BS&W Magnified Centrifuge Tube Viewers, and Glass Cup Supports.

The business operates a direct-to-consumer e-commerce model through parkesscientific.com, supplemented by phone-based customer service and a content marketing blog covering technical topics such as ASTM methods and oil condition monitoring. Revenue is generated through hardware sales with pricing quoted in CAD; individual product prices where displayed range from approximately $51 to $1,237.50 CAD, and free shipping is offered for orders over $199 CAD. The company has invested in technical credibility through industry collaborations, notably a 2020 joint research partnership with eralytics and the Canadian Crude Quality Technical Association (CCQTA) on ASTM D6377-2020 shaker speed bias in crude oil vapor pressure testing, which was presented at CCQTA's September 2020 meetings. Parkes Scientific is privately held, has no institutional funding, no parent company, and no subsidiaries, and operates with a small employee base from its Edmonton headquarters.

Name

Parkes Scientific

Legal name

Parkes Scientific Canada Inc.

Website

https://parkesscientific.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Parkes Scientific is a family-owned Edmonton-based distributor founded in 1985 that sells over 2,630 laboratory equipment and petroleum testing products from 60+ brands to oil and gas labs and general scientific laboratories in Canada via direct e-commerce.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Laboratory Equipment Distribution

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826)

akta.pro primary industry

Metrology, Calibration & Testing Equipment (Balances, pH/DO, Standards) (HLAGAIAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

General Lab Equipment (Centrifuges, Incubators, Shakers, Ovens) (HLAGAIAC), Laboratory Consumables & Plasticware (Tips, Tubes, Plates, Filters) (HLAGAIAH), Liquid Handling & Laboratory Automation (Pipettes, Robots, Workstations) (HLAGAIAD)

Keywords

• Laboratory equipment distribution
• Petroleum testing instruments
• Analytical lab supplies
• ASTM testing equipment
• Scientific instrument retailer

Headquarters

HQ city

Edmonton

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Laboratory Equipment Distribution: Parkes Scientific operates as a distributor of laboratory equipment and scientific supplies, selling products from 60+ manufacturer brands to laboratories in petroleum, oil and gas, and related industries. Revenue is generated through product sales with pricing in CAD.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Parkes Scientific distributes laboratory equipment and petroleum testing supplies from over 60 manufacturer brands through a direct e-commerce storefront. The catalog spans more than 2,630 products across categories including balances and scales, moisture analyzers, pH and conductivity meters, densitometers, viscometers, spectrometers, gas detection equipment, flash point and vapor pressure testers, particle counters, centrifuges, distillation apparatus, temperature control devices, and certified reference materials. The company also sells a small set of private-label Parkes Scientific branded accessories tailored to petroleum testing workflows such as Manual Piston Cylinders (MPC) for ASTM D8009 low pressure sampling and BS&W Magnified Centrifuge Tube Viewers.

Product overview

Parkes Scientific is a Canadian-based laboratory equipment distributor founded in 1985, specializing in petroleum testing and analytical instruments. The company offers over 2,630 products across multiple categories including balances and scales, moisture analyzers, density meters, viscometers, spectrometers, flash point testers, particle counters, gas detection equipment, distillation apparatus, temperature control units, and laboratory supplies. The product portfolio features distributed brands such as Rigaku (EDXRF analyzers like the NEX QC II Series), Eralytics (viscosity/density analyzers including ERAVISC X, ERADENS X, ERAVAP, ERAFLASH, ERACOUNT XS, ERAOIL, ERASPEC OIL), Stanhope-Seta (flash point, particle counters, distillation equipment), Kitagawa (gas detection), and Orbis (cold properties testers). The company also offers private-label Parkes Scientific branded products including sampling cylinders and centrifuge accessories. Products serve petroleum, environmental, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and cannabis extraction industries with ASTM compliance across most testing equipment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rigaku NEX QC II Series Benchtop energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) analyzers designed for fast, non-destructive elemental testing for quality control applications including ASTM D4294 Sulfur in Crude Oil testing.
• eralytics ERAVISC X 2-in-1 kinematic viscometer and density meter combining viscosity cell technology with x-oscillating metal U-tube density measurement for simultaneous high-precision testing meeting ASTM D445, D4052, D7042, and ISO 12185 standards.
• eralytics ERADENS X World's smallest high-precision density meter with vertically aligned x-oscillating metal U-tube design for ASTM D4052, D5002, and ISO 12185 compliance in stationary and mobile laboratories.
• eralytics ERAVAP Vapour pressure tester for crude oil, gasoline, LPG, solvents, fragrances, and aqueous solutions.
• eralytics ERAFLASH Flash point tester for safe flash point testing applications.
• Seta-Analytics AvCount Lite Particle Counter Automatic particle counter for determining particle size and distribution.
• eralytics ERACOUNT XS The smallest and fastest field particle counter for ISO 4406 testing.
• eralytics ERAOIL RDE-OES spectrometer for fast wear metal analysis in lubricating oils, measuring up to 32 elements in 30 seconds with sub-ppm detection limits.
• eralytics ERASPEC OIL Portable FTIR spectrometer for detailed lubricant and diesel fuel analyses with fully automatic operation for monitoring degradation, additive depletion, and contaminations.
• eralytics ERAJET FAME FAME in Jet Fuel testing analyzer for fast, precise, portable measurement.
• Seta-Analytics FIJI Series FAME in Jet, MultiFuels, and Distillates/Residual Fuels analyzers offering rapid ppm/mg/kg level detection.
• eralytics ERAFILL S Syringe sample changer for efficient viscosity and density testing.
• eralytics ERATEST FERRO Ferrous debris quantification analyzer according to ASTM D8120.
• Kessler Thermometer Plato Scale Thermohydrometer Brewery saccharometers calibrated to show concentration of extract as percentage by weight, available in various ranges including 0-24°P, 0-32°P, 12-20°P, 15.5-24°P.
• Validere Automated Centrifuge Tube Reader Automated centrifuge tube reader providing readings according to ASTM D4007, intrinsically safe with Class I Division 2 approval.
• L-K Industries Benchmark 2014 Centrifuge Heated 4-place centrifuge with Class I, Div 2 certification designed for BS&W testing.
• Orbis STARDist Automatic distillation unit for running ASTM D86/D1078 atmospheric distillation tests.
• Orbis AirSTAR System Cloud & Pour Point (CFPP) and ColdBlock temperature control system for petroleum cold properties testing from +65°C to -105°C.
• Kitagawa Gas Detection Products Gas detection tubes and aspirating pumps for detecting various gases including carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxygen, water vapour, and oil mist.
• ECH Scientific Sulfimax GX Series H2S analysis systems for liquids and gases including Lab, Go portable, and Headspace modules for solid and pasty samples.
• Parkes Scientific Private-Label Brand Products In-house branded petroleum testing accessories including Manual Piston Cylinders (MPC) for low pressure sampling per ASTM D8009, BS&W Magnified Centrifuge Tube Viewers, Ammonia Dissociation Gas Nitriding Burettes, Glass Cup Supports, and Rolling Thin-Film Oven Jars.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• CCQTA (Canadian Crude Quality Technical Association)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2020Parkes Scientific collaborated with CCQTA and eralytics to research and publish findings on shaker speed bias in ASTM D6377-2020 crude oil vapor pressure testing. CCQTA issued an advisory (November 17, 2020) regarding measurement accuracy issues, and Parkes Scientific/eralytics presented preliminary data at CCQTA September 2020 meetings.
• eralyticscoreTechnology or Integrationeralytics is a key technology partner whose products are prominently featured on Parkes Scientific's website. Products include ERAVISC X (viscosity/density), ERADENS X (density meter), ERAVAP (vapor pressure tester), ERAFLASH (flash point tester), ERAOIL (RDE-OES spectrometer), ERACOUNT XS (particle counter), and ERASPEC OIL (FTIR spectrometer).
• eralyticscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParkes Scientific and eralytics collaborated on joint research regarding ASTM D6377-2020 shaker speed bias testing. They co-authored an application note on crude oil vapor pressure testing accuracy improvements and presented findings to CCQTA.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cole-Parmer (Antylia Scientific): Cole-Parmer is a long-established direct-to-consumer distributor of laboratory equipment, instruments, and consumables across many of the same categories Parkes serves — balances, pH/conductivity meters, viscometers, centrifuges, gas detection, and petroleum testing. The closest analogue by GTM motion and product breadth, though Cole-Parmer is significantly larger and broader in vertical scope.
• Benchmark Scientific: Benchmark Scientific distributes laboratory equipment — centrifuges, shakers, mixers, homogenizers, and temperature control — overlapping with multiple Parkes categories. Comparable mid-sized equipment distributor with a similar catalog-driven, B2B sales model.
• LabSource: LabSource is a privately held, e-commerce-focused laboratory equipment and consumables distributor serving North American labs. Closely comparable to Parkes by direct-to-consumer digital model, mid-market positioning, and breadth of brands carried across analytical instruments.
• Scilogex: Scilogex designs and distributes benchtop laboratory instruments — pipettes, centrifuges, shakers, vortex mixers, and stirrers — many of which directly overlap Parkes' "Stirring, Mixing & Shaking" and "General Lab Equipment" categories. Comparable by product mix and the mix of proprietary plus OEM-distributed SKUs.

Broad incumbents

• Fisher Scientific (Thermo Fisher Scientific): Fisher Scientific, part of Thermo Fisher, is the dominant distributor of laboratory equipment, consumables, and analytical instruments in North America. Overlaps with Parkes on balances, pH meters, certified reference materials, and petroleum testing instrumentation, all backed by far greater scale and service infrastructure.
• VWR International (Avantor): Avantor's VWR is one of the largest global distributors of laboratory supplies, equipment, and analytical instruments. It competes with Parkes at the procurement level on broad lab SKUs and certified reference materials, but with a far wider portfolio and customer base spanning pharma, life sciences, and industrial QA.
• Thomas Scientific: Thomas Scientific distributes laboratory equipment, instruments, and supplies across many of the same categories Parkes covers — balances, pH/conductivity, centrifuges, glassware, and certified reference materials. A broader and incumbent distributor with overlap in the general-lab horizontal segments where Parkes also competes.

Emerging players

• Stanhope-Seta: Stanhope-Seta manufactures petroleum and fuel testing instruments (flash point, distillation, particle counting, FAME analyzers) under their Seta-Analytics brand, a significant supplier brand on Parkes' site. Comparable in end-market (ASTM petroleum and fuel QC) but as a manufacturer partner rather than a competing distributor.
• Koehler Instrument Company: Koehler Instrument is a manufacturer of petroleum testing equipment (flash point, distillation, viscosity, oxidation) that Parkes distributes as a partner brand. It is a peer in the sense of competing for the same end-customer wallet for ASTM petroleum QC instrumentation, but is an upstream supplier rather than a distributor.

Others

• Rigaku: Rigaku is a manufacturer of X-ray analytical instruments, including the NEX QC II EDXRF series that Parkes distributes for ASTM D4294 sulfur-in-crude analysis. Listed as a peer because Rigaku possesses the capability to sell direct to end-users, which would directly compete with Parkes' distribution thesis.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/parkes-scientific

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Parkes Scientific