What collaborative testing services does

Collaborative Testing Services (CTS), Inc., founded in 1971 and headquartered in Sterling, Virginia, operates an interlaboratory proficiency testing business serving laboratories across more than 80 countries. The company runs nine core testing programs covering agriculture (ALP), color and appearance, containerboard, fasteners and metals, paper and paperboard, plastics, rubber, wine, and a dedicated forensic program (CTS-Forensics) spanning ten forensic disciplines. Each program enables participating laboratories to benchmark measurement performance against consensus values derived from thousands of other labs, supporting quality assurance objectives and compliance with accreditation requirements set by ANAB, A2LA, ASCLD/LAB, NVLAP, UKAS, SCC, and NADCAP. CTS is a privately held, 100% employee-owned company under an Employee Stock Ownership Plan established in 2006, with a workforce of 11-50 employees.

CTS's underlying analytical technology relies on classical multivariate statistics applied to participant data: Youden two-sample plots, 95% control ellipses (Hotelling's T2 multivariate control charts), principal components analysis, and comparative statistics based on consensus values. The CTS Customer Portal (cts-portal.com) serves as the unified platform for subscription administration, testing instructions, data entry and history, order management, report delivery, and digital test downloads, while the Lightspeed-powered e-commerce store handles test enrollment and purchase. Performance Analysis Reports are individualized per laboratory, include Trend Charts and Quality Manager Reports for multi-location organizations, and surface Action Items that flag potential measurement problems.

Revenue is generated primarily through prepaid proficiency testing subscriptions (typically 3-12 cycles per year depending on program) and individual test purchases, with forensic on-demand tests priced at $235 per test. Distribution is direct via website, phone, and email, supplemented by long-standing trade-association partnerships with TAPPI (paper), ASEV (wine), ASTM Committee D20 (plastics), and the Manufacturers Council on Color and Appearance. Customer segments include independent and in-house testing laboratories, crime and forensic laboratories, manufacturing QA functions in paper, containerboard, plastics, rubber, metals, fasteners, and color, and agricultural testing laboratories.

Name

collaborative testing services

Legal name

Collaborative Testing Services, Inc.

Website

https://collaborative-testing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Collaborative Testing Services, founded in 1971, provides accredited interlaboratory proficiency testing programs across nine industries (agriculture, color, containerboard, metals, paper, plastics, rubber, wine, forensics) for thousands of laboratories in 80+ countries under ANAB ISO/IEC 17043 accreditation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Proficiency Testing Services

NAICS

Testing Laboratories and Services (54138), Testing Laboratories and Services (541380), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690)

SIC

Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Interlaboratory Comparisons & Ring Trials (Food) (AFALAKAB)

Keywords

• Interlaboratory proficiency testing
• Laboratory quality assurance
• Forensic proficiency testing
• Industrial materials testing programs
• Lab measurement competence

Headquarters

HQ city

Sterling

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Proficiency Testing Subscriptions: Prepaid subscriptions for interlaboratory testing programs across multiple industries. Subscriptions include multiple testing cycles per year (ranging from 3 to 12 cycles depending on program). Customers select specific tests and pay per test or program.
2. Individual Test Products: Individual test products sold through the CTS store, such as DNA On-Demand Casework tests priced at $235.00 per test.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Collaborative Testing Services operates nine industry-specific interlaboratory proficiency testing programs (Agriculture, Color, Containerboard, Fasteners & Metals, Paper, Plastics, Rubber, Wine, and a separate ten-discipline Forensic program) that laboratories subscribe to on a prepaid, multi-cycle basis. Participants receive physical test samples, submit measurements, and obtain individualized statistical performance reports comparing their results against consensus values from peer laboratories worldwide, supported by a unified customer portal and proprietary multivariate statistical analysis.

Product overview

Collaborative Testing Services (CTS) offers a comprehensive portfolio of interlaboratory proficiency testing programs designed to help laboratories meet quality assurance objectives. The company operates nine core testing programs: Agricultural Laboratory Proficiency (ALP), Color and Appearance, Containerboard, Fasteners & Metals, Paper and Paperboard, Plastics, Rubber, Wine, and a separate Forensic Proficiency Testing Program. These programs function as standalone testing offerings that laboratories can select individually to create customized testing subscriptions. CTS also provides a unified Customer Portal as the central platform for managing all test subscriptions, submitting data, accessing reports, and interpreting results. Each testing program has its own enrollment schedule, testing frequency (weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual), and specific test parameters tailored to industry requirements. The programs enable laboratories to compare their measurements against consensus values from other participating laboratories worldwide, with over 80 countries represented.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CTS Customer Portal: Comprehensive client portal for test subscription management, data management, reports, and test delivery
• CTS-Forensics

Products and services

• Agricultural Laboratory Proficiency (ALP) Program Interlaboratory proficiency testing program for agricultural laboratories covering agronomic soils, carbon sequestration soils, botanicals, and water analyses, including soil analyses (salinity, pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, micronutrients), botanicals analyses, water analyses, and carbon sequestration testing.
• Color and Appearance Program Interlaboratory testing program for color and appearance measurement, including color measurement tests, spectrophotometric analysis, and evaluation of laboratory ability to measure color on individual samples with small color differences.
• Containerboard Interlaboratory Testing Program Collaborative reference program for corrugated packaging materials including linerboard (weekly and monthly), medium, corrugated boxes, corrugated fiberboard, and automated testing systems, covering bursting strength, ring crush, STFI, flat crush, edgewise compression, and box compression strength.
• Fasteners & Metals Interlaboratory Testing Program Comprehensive proficiency testing program covering dimensional tests, fastener tests, chemical analysis, hardness testing, impact tests, metallography, and tensile tests for raw material manufacturers, product manufacturers, fastener manufacturers, and independent testing laboratories.
• Paper and Paperboard Interlaboratory Testing Program Interlaboratory testing program for paper and paper products covering dimensional tests, mechanical tests (burst, tear, tensile), optical tests (brightness, opacity, color, gloss), and physical tests (roughness, grammage, moisture).
• Plastics Interlaboratory Testing Program Proficiency testing program for plastics covering ASTM and ISO test methods including tensile properties, DTUL, flexural properties, notched Izod/Charpy impact, flow rates, specific gravity, Vicat softening, ash content, TGA, DSC, film testing, and optical properties.
• Rubber Interlaboratory Testing Program Proficiency testing program for rubber testing covering raw and vulcanized rubber properties including physical, mechanical, and chemical tests for tire manufacturers and industrial gasket makers.
• Wine Interlaboratory Testing Program Interlaboratory testing program for wine industry laboratories covering analytical properties including sugar content, alcohol, pH, acidity, sulfur dioxide, and other wine chemistry parameters, conducted three times yearly in coordination with ASEV.
• Forensic Proficiency Testing Program (CTS-Forensics) Proficiency testing for forensic laboratories covering ten disciplines including Forensic Biology/DNA, Drug Analysis, Firearms & Toolmarks, Latent Prints & Impressions, Questioned Documents, Trace Evidence, Toxicology, Crime Scene, Digital & Multimedia Evidence, and Anthropology.
• DNA On-Demand Casework Testing
• Body Fluid Identification On-Demand Testing On-demand proficiency testing for body fluid identification including neat blood, neat semen, blood-semen mixtures, and randomized samples.
• Human DNA SNP Analysis Testing Proficiency testing for single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis in human DNA testing with enrollment windows for annual testing cycles.

Quantifiable outcome

• Thousands of organizations in 80+ countries use CTS tests
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, historical and minor.

• ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB)coreOthers · 1 January 2014ANAB provides CTS with accreditation to ISO/IEC 17043:2023, the international standard for proficiency testing providers. CTS has been accredited since 2014 and is currently accredited under this standard, which is critical for recognition by other accreditation bodies and customer confidence.
• Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry (TAPPI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTAPPI provides ongoing guidance for CTS Paper Program. Historical partnership dating to 1969 for paper and paperboard testing standards. TAPPI technical committees receive state-of-industry insights from CTS testing data.
• American Society for Enology and Viticulture (ASEV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASEV acts as liaison body for CTS Wine Program since 1999. ASEV Laboratory Proficiency Testing Guidance Committee provides insights into winery laboratory operations. CTS wine program featured on ASEV website.
• American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA)coreOthersA2LA recognizes CTS proficiency testing programs for lab accreditation purposes. A2LA was instrumental in helping establish requirements for fastener testing and recommended CTS to Naval Shipyard laboratories.
• National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP)coreOthersNVLAP recognizes CTS interlaboratory testing programs for lab accreditation requirements. NVLAP and NIST were instrumental in establishing fastener testing requirements.
• ASTM Committee D20 (Plastics)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASTM D20 appointed committee members to serve as CTS Plastics Program advisory committee when program was initiated in 1992. Three test methods were selected for initial program.
• National Bureau of Standards / National Institute of Standards and Technology (NBS/NIST)historicalStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistorical partnership from 1971 onward. NBS (now NIST) developed formalized interlaboratory testing concept in late 1960s. CTS assumed full responsibility for programs in mid-1970s. Programs for paper, containerboard, and rubber originated from this partnership.
• UK Accreditation ServiceminorOthersInternational accreditation body that recognizes CTS proficiency testing programs. Memorandum of Understanding exists between UKAS and other organizations worldwide.
• Standards Council of CanadaminorOthersCanadian accreditation body recognizing CTS proficiency testing programs. Memorandum of Understanding exists between SCC and other organizations worldwide.
• National Aerospace Defense Contractors Accreditation Program (NADCAP)minorOthersIndustry-specific accreditation program recognizing CTS proficiency testing for aerospace and defense contractors.
• The Manufacturers Council on Color and Appearance (MCCA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMCCA serves as Program Affiliate for CTS Color & Appearance Program since 1985. Originally partnered with NBS in 1972 for color and color difference surveys.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• LGC Group: LGC Group is one of the world's largest life science measurement and testing companies and a major global proficiency testing provider through its LGC Standards and AXIO Proficiency Testing divisions. It directly competes with CTS in interlaboratory PT schemes across multiple industries, particularly food, environmental, and clinical sectors, but operates at vastly greater scale and breadth.
• Merck (Sigma-Aldrich) / MilliporeSigma: MilliporeSigma (the life science business of Merck) is a leading global supplier of reference materials, certified standards, and proficiency testing programs (e.g., Sigma-Aldrich PT schemes and Supelco standards). It overlaps with CTS wherever CTS programs require certified reference samples, and is a much larger incumbent in analytical measurement.

Direct peers

• NSI Lab Solutions: NSI Lab Solutions is a US-based proficiency testing provider accredited to ISO/IEC 17043 that offers PT schemes for forensic, clinical, and analytical laboratories. It is the closest direct competitor to CTS's CTS-Forensics division, particularly in DNA, drug analysis, and toxicology proficiency testing.
• Phenova: Phenova is an ISO/IEC 17043-accredited proficiency testing and reference materials provider focused on environmental, cannabis, food, and analytical chemistry laboratories. It competes with CTS in the regulated-laboratory PT market with overlapping customer segments.
• ERA (Environmental Resources Associates): ERA, a Waters Corporation business, is a major US proficiency testing provider accredited to ISO/IEC 17043, primarily serving environmental, drinking water, wastewater, and soil laboratories. It is directly comparable to CTS as an accredited PT provider serving regulated testing labs in North America.
• Absolute Standards Inc. Absolute Standards is a US provider of certified reference materials and proficiency testing samples, including PT schemes for analytical and environmental laboratories. It operates in the same accredited PT ecosystem as CTS, with similar laboratory customers.

Regional players

• INSTAND e.V. INSTAND is a German non-profit proficiency testing organization accredited to ISO/IEC 17043, primarily serving medical and clinical laboratories across Europe. It is comparable to CTS's forensic and clinical-adjacent PT activities but operates mainly in European markets.
• UK NEQAS: UK NEQAS is a UK-based consortium of proficiency testing schemes, primarily serving clinical and forensic laboratories in the UK and internationally. It is comparable to CTS as an accredited PT provider for forensic and clinical labs, though it is geographically anchored in the UK.
• Labquality: Labquality is a Finnish-based ISO/IEC 17043-accredited proficiency testing provider serving medical, clinical, and industrial laboratories across Europe. It is comparable to CTS as an accredited multi-discipline PT provider serving regulated testing labs, with a regional European focus.

Others

• RTI International (metals/fasteners PT): RTI International is a non-profit research institute that historically collaborated with NBS/NIST on interlaboratory testing and runs proficiency testing programs for metals and related industrial sectors. It is an adjacent ecosystem participant comparable to CTS's industrial materials PT programs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about collaborative testing services