CHENNAI METTEX LAB PRIVATE LIMITED

What CHENNAI METTEX LAB PRIVATE LIMITED does

Chennai Mettex Lab Private Limited is a NABL-accredited (ISO/IEC 17025:2017) third-party testing laboratory headquartered in Guindy, Chennai, founded in 1984 by Mr. V. K. Selva Kumar. The company operates three laboratories in Chennai, Erode, and Bheemavaram, supported by 12 collection centers across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, with a network of approximately 200 professionals serving more than 5,000 clients. It is India's first NABL-accredited gold analysis laboratory, offering high-purity gold (99.999%) and platinum group metals testing per IS-1418 standards, alongside specialist capabilities such as 700+ pesticide residue analysis using GC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS, heavy metals (RoHS/ELV) testing, and mechanical testing up to 1,000 kN capacity.

The lab delivers paid analytical and inspection services across multiple verticals: food and agricultural products (including AYUSH and herbal drugs, tea, marine/aquaculture, animal feed, fortified foods, and nutritional labelling), water and environmental compliance, metals and alloys (including hallmarking), mechanical and metallurgical testing, corrosion testing, rubber/plastic/paint testing, and civil building materials. Its technology stack relies on conventional analytical instrumentation (ICP-OES, ICP-MS, AAS, ED-XRF, HPLC, FT-IR, ion chromatography, salt spray chambers, optical microscopes, and high-capacity UTM machines) rather than AI-driven methods. The company holds 12+ major accreditations, including NABL, FSSAI, APEDA, EIC, BIS, GAFTA, Tea Board, IOPEPC, CPCB, Ministry of Ayush, NPCIL, Airports Authority of India, and ISO 45001, making its test reports accepted by Indian regulatory authorities for export and domestic compliance.

The business model is professional services revenue, billed per sample or per test on a quote-based pay-as-you-go cadence, with no public pricing. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via website enquiry, phone, and email, with walk-in sample submission at physical labs and collection centers. The company is founder-owned, privately held, with no external institutional investors, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed funding rounds. Customer base is a mix of enterprise clients (L&T, NPCIL, Nissan, RITES, Airports Authority of India, Tea Board) and distributed SMB/long-tail clients across South India. Operating geographies remain confined to India, with no claimed global footprint.

Name

CHENNAI METTEX LAB PRIVATE LIMITED

Legal name

Chennai Mettex Lab Private Limited

Website

https://mettexlab.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Chennai Mettex Lab is a NABL-accredited Indian testing laboratory, founded in 1984, providing accredited chemical, mechanical, biological, water, and heavy metals testing across food, metals, environmental, and AYUSH verticals from three labs and twelve collection centers in South India.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Analytical Testing Services

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (541380)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Testing Laboratories (Microbiological, Chemical, Allergen) (AFALAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Release Testing & Batch Certification (QC) (HLAGADAC)

Keywords

• Analytical testing services
• Food safety testing
• Metallurgical testing
• Environmental compliance testing
• NABL accredited laboratory

Headquarters

HQ city

Chennai

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Laboratory Testing Services: Chennai Mettex Lab generates revenue through providing paid laboratory testing services across multiple domains including food and agricultural products, AYUSH and herbal drugs, water, environmental/pollution, microbiological, heavy metals (RoHS/ELV), metals and alloys, mechanical testing, corrosion testing, rubber/plastic/paint testing, and building materials. Services are delivered through NABL-accredited laboratory testing with per-sample or per-test pricing, typically quoted upon inquiry.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Chennai Mettex Lab is a NABL-accredited testing laboratory providing analytical testing and inspection services across food/agricultural products, AYUSH and herbal drugs, water, microbiological, environmental, heavy metals (RoHS/ELV), metals and alloys, mechanical, corrosion, rubber/plastic/paint, and building materials domains. Services are delivered through 3 laboratories (Chennai, Erode, Bheemavaram) and 12 collection centers across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, serving 5,000+ clients since 1984.

Product overview

Chennai Mettex Lab is a NABL accredited testing laboratory offering comprehensive analytical testing services across multiple domains. The company operates a platform of testing services organized into categories: Food & Agricultural Testing (including Ayush/Herbal drugs, Nutrition labelling, Shelf life studies, Pesticides/Contaminants, Packing materials, Marine/Aquaculture products, Tea, Animal feeds), Environmental Testing (Water, Pollution, Air monitoring), and Materials Testing (Metals/Alloys, Mechanical testing, Corrosion, Rubber/Plastic/Paint, Building materials). With 39 years of experience since 1984, the laboratory serves 5000+ clients through its facilities in Chennai, Erode, and Bheemavaram, providing both physical sample testing and inspection services using instruments including LC-MS/MS, GC-MS/MS, ICP-OES, AAS, and ED-XRF.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Food & Agricultural Products Testing Services Comprehensive testing for raw, cooked and packaged food items including dairy, fruits, vegetables, meat, tea, coffee, spices, oils, and beverages. Includes nutritional labelling, shelf-life studies, pesticide/antibiotic residue testing, microbiological testing, heavy metals analysis, and toxins testing for food exporters, manufacturers, and processors.
• Ayush & Herbal Drugs Testing Services Quality assurance testing for Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy drugs, herbal products, and patented/proprietary formulations. Covers syrups, powders, granules, tablets, capsules, ointments, Asava, Arista, Churna, Guggulu, Bhasma, and other traditional dosage forms under Ministry of Ayush approval.
• Water Testing Services Testing for packaged drinking water (IS 14543), drinking water (IS 10500), bore well, swimming pool, irrigation, fish culture, STP/ETP water analysis, and aquaculture water as per BAP standards. Covers CPCB/TNPCB norms and EU Directive 2020/2184.
• Microbiological Testing Services Pathogen testing in food, marine/aquaculture products, water, animal food, and nutritional supplements. Tests for Coliform, E.coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes, Vibrio species, Bacillus cereus, and environmental monitoring via swab and air sampler methods.
• Pollution & Environmental Testing Services Air monitoring including ambient air, work environment, indoor air, stack emission, noise, illumination, and meteorological monitoring. Also includes ETP/STP water analysis, sludge analysis, and soil/solid waste testing.
• Heavy Metals (RoHS/ELV) Testing Services RoHS compliance testing and ELV directive compliance testing for electronics, automotive, and construction materials. Tests for Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Hexavalent Chromium, PBB, PBDE, and Bromine in metals, alloys, rubber, plastic, paint and paper using ICP-OES, AAS, and ED XRF instruments.
• Metals & Alloys Testing Services Chemical analysis of ferrous and non-ferrous metals and alloys including gold purity analysis (hallmarking), platinum group metals, positive material identification (PMI) using XRF, and ROHS testing. India's first NABL Accredited Gold Analysis Laboratory for high purity gold (99.999%) per IS-1418.
• Mechanical Testing & Micro Structure Examination Services Tensile testing (25 kN to 1000 kN capacity), hardness testing (Vickers, Brinell, Rockwell), impact testing (Charpy, Izod), and microstructure examination using Leica DM 2500 microscope for ferrous and non-ferrous metals, stainless steel, cast iron, aluminium, copper, nickel and alloys.
• Corrosion Testing Services Salt spray corrosion testing (NSS, ASS, CASS) and inter-granular corrosion (IGC) tests as per ASTM A262. Includes humidity tests, failure analysis, and root cause analysis of failed engineering components.
• Rubber, Plastic and Paint Testing Services Physical and mechanical testing for rubber (tensile strength, hardness, tear strength, compression set, ageing), plastics (polymer identification, density, tensile/flexural/compressive strength), and paint testing (synthetic enamel, epoxy, PU paint) as per IS standards.
• Civil - Building Materials Testing Services Non-NABL testing for aggregate, sand, paver blocks, bricks, concrete cubes, cement, TMT rods, and structural steel. Tests include sieve analysis, compressive strength, water absorption, and mechanical properties.
• Marine/Aquaculture Food Products Testing & Inspection Services Testing and inspection for fish, fishery products, crustaceans, cephalopods, and feed. Includes antibiotic residue testing (Chloramphenicol, Nitrofuran, Tetracyclines), dye testing (Malachite Green), PFAS testing, and organoleptic inspection services for FSSAI, APEDA, and BAP certification.
• Tea Testing Services Comprehensive tea testing for black, green, instant, orthodox, CTC, Assam, Kangra, and masala tea. Includes pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), pesticide residues using GC-MS and LC-MS/MS, ethylene oxide, FSSAI compliance, and nutritional analysis.
• Animal Foods & Feeds Testing Services Analysis of raw materials for compounded feed including oil cakes, meals, grains, brans, tubers, molasses, and mineral mixture. Services include proximate analysis, vitamins/minerals, toxins (Aflatoxin), heavy metals, and pesticide residues testing.
• Nutrition Labelling Testing Services Nutritional analysis for food labelling including energy values, protein, carbohydrates, total fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, total sugars, added sugars, dietary fibre, and vitamin content for food manufacturers.
• Shelf Life Study Services Real-time and accelerated shelf-life studies to determine use-by/best-before dates for packaged food products. Includes sensory evaluation, physical, chemical, and microbiological testing at regular intervals.
• Pesticides Residues & Contaminants Testing Services Analysis of more than 700 pesticide, fungicide, plant growth regulator, antibiotic, mycotoxin, and heavy metal contaminant residue levels in food and agricultural products using GC/MS/MS and LC/MS/MS techniques.
• Packing Material Overall Migration Testing Services Overall migration testing for plastic packaging materials as per IS 9845 and FSSAI regulations. Tests for migration limits, specific migration of metals (Barium, Cobalt, Copper, Iron), phthalates, PFAS, and bis-phenols.
• Health Nutritional Supplements Testing Services Testing for nutraceuticals, health supplements, and food for special dietary/medical purposes. Analysis includes nutrition facts, vitamins, minerals, amino acids, prebiotics, probiotics, and compliance with RDA levels per ICMR and Codex Alimentarius standards.
• Fortified Foods Testing Services Analysis for fortified food products including fortified rice, rice kernel, milk, cereals, flour, vegetable oils, iodized salt, and iron-fortified products. Tests for folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin A, vitamin D, calcium, iron, and iodine to FSSAI fortification standards.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5000+ clients served since 1984
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories)coreOthersNABL provides ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation for the laboratory's chemical, mechanical, and biological testing services, validating technical competence and measurement traceability to international standards.
• FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India)coreOthersFSSAI regulatory recognition for food and agricultural product testing, enabling the lab to provide FSSAI-compliant test reports for food safety compliance.
• APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority)coreOthersAPEDA recognition allows the lab to provide testing services for agricultural and processed food exports requiring APEDA certification.
• BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards)coreOthersBureau of Indian Standards recognition for product quality testing and standards compliance verification.
• GAFTA (Grain and Feed Trade Association)coreOthersGAFTA recognition for providing testing services to members of the grain and feed trade association for export/import compliance.
• Ministry of AyushcoreOthersMinistry of Ayush and Tamil Nadu State Drug Licensing Authority (Indian Medicine) approved laboratory for AYUSH and herbal product testing.
• EIC (Export Inspection Council)coreOthersExport Inspection Council recognition for testing services related to export compliance and quality assurance.
• Tea Board IndiacoreOthersTea Board India recognition for providing tea testing and quality assurance services.
• IOPEPC (Indian Oilseeds and Produce Export Promotion Council)coreOthersIOPEPC recognition for testing services supporting oilseed and produce exports.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Vimta Labs: Vimta Labs is one of India's largest listed independent testing labs offering food, water, environment, pharma, and clinical testing. It is the closest direct Indian peer to Chennai Mettex in terms of multi-vertical NABL-accredited testing services and regulatory coverage.
• Choksi Laboratories: Choksi Laboratories is an Indian NABL-accredited testing lab offering food, water, environment, and pharmaceutical testing with multi-city presence. It is a direct Indian peer to Chennai Mettex with overlapping scope in food, water, and environmental testing.

Broad incumbents

• SGS India: SGS is the world's largest testing, inspection, and certification company with deep operations across food, materials, environmental, and metallurgical testing in India. It is the broadest incumbent benchmark for Chennai Mettex in terms of full-stack testing capability, though it competes at a much larger scale and global scope.
• Bureau Veritas India: Bureau Veritas operates commodity, food, and industrial testing laboratories across India serving government, agri-export, and manufacturing clients. Like SGS, it is a broad incumbent providing overlapping capabilities to many of the same end customers (L&T, NPCIL, exporters) as Chennai Mettex.
• Eurofins India: Eurofins is a global food, environment, and pharma testing leader with growing Indian operations including food contaminant and residue analysis (pesticides, mycotoxins, PFAS). Directly comparable to Chennai Mettex on food/agricultural and environmental testing scope.
• Intertek India: Intertek provides testing and certification across food, commodities, and industrial products globally with an India footprint. It overlaps with Chennai Mettex in food testing, metals testing, RoHS compliance, and export inspection services.
• TÜV India (TÜV Rheinland / TÜV NIT): TÜV Rheinland and affiliated TÜV entities provide testing, inspection, and product certification in India across food, industrial, and automotive segments. A broad incumbent comparable on RoHS, mechanical testing, and export certification lines.
• TÜV SÜD South Asia: TÜV SÜD operates food, environmental, and materials testing in South Asia with NABL-equivalent accreditations. Comparable to Chennai Mettex on food/commodity testing and RoHS/ELV compliance work for automotive and electronics manufacturers.

Regional players

• Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Labs / Referral Labs: BIS operates its own referral and testing laboratories across India for product certification under mandatory and voluntary schemes. Functions as a quasi-public sector testing competitor and partner; comparable on BIS-driven product testing scope that Chennai Mettex also serves.

Emerging players

• ECO Laboratories: ECO Laboratories is an emerging Indian testing lab focused on environmental monitoring, water, and food testing with regional operations. Comparable as an emerging domestic peer focused on similar regulatory-driven testing categories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/chennai-mettex-lab-private-limited

Compliance18 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 CHENNAI METTEX LAB PRIVATE LIMITED