Lab Equipment Suppliers … Nothing is hidden!

Laboratory Equipment Suppliers are those entities which primarily sell cooling incubators, ovens & dryers, chillers, freeze dryers and other things like those. In this article I will explain more about lab equipment suppliers; and how to find the best choice in the laboratory equipment industry according to your needs.

Generally speaking, a laboratory equipment is a device or instrument used for scientific purposes; such as the study of both natural and theoretical phenomena. The lab equipment industry is driven by “growing innovation and funding for life sciences research, improving clinical capability, expansion in the numerous areas of application, policy initiatives and increasing partnerships between academia and industry.”

Effect of Cost on Lab Equipment Market

High cost of equipment, however, somehow obstructs the growth of this market. Laboratory Equipment Suppliers in the market face major challenges as the reach of developments in this segment is relatively small.

Better quality equipment and time-saving, auto-precision tools are desperately required on the market. This leads to outsourcing manufacture to emerging economies.

China, Asia’s second-largest laboratory equipment market so far, is one of the fastest-moving markets in the world; rising at about 20 percent annually.

It means many countries import laboratory countries form other countries but manufacturing it by themselves in order to optimize the cost of laboratory equipment. So if anything happens and cut this thread between manufacturing country to importer country, both sides will have problems.

Recently, form late 2019 till now, May 2020, all the countries are facing a big issue by the pandemic of Coronavirus. And this issue caused many problems regarding to shortage of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.

Applications of Lab Equipment

Lab equipment industry has been experiencing steady growth due to sustained demand from a diverse end-market. Demand is expected to be high in the emerging economies such as India and China.

The market for laboratory equipment and supplies will be influenced by factors such as increased demand from the pharmaceutical industry, steady demand in the North American public sector and demand for modern automated hybrid platforms.

Pharmaceutical companies account for 38 percent of overall laboratory equipment and services market and look forward to emerging hybrid technologies. Nevertheless, the financial crisis and the high cost of acquisition slowed down the pace of advanced technology and automation adoption.

Laboratories are used by a wide variety of industries, whether for analysis, study, product design or manufacturing. A different assortment of laboratory equipment, supplies and scientific products is needed for each industry and application. it means there’s a critical need for laboratory equipment suppliers who understand the clients needs, know the lab equipment market and can provide the best equipment with the most effective after sale services.

However, the general groups of such products continue to remain unchanged. There are sterilization and cleaning supplies; instrumentation, for testing, identification and analysis; storage and containment equipment ranging from beakers, microscope slides and test tubes to custom-made vacuum chambers. Here you can see some laboratory equipment such as Autoclaves, Freeze Dryers and Spectrophotometers.

Clean-room equipment such as filters and decontamination supplies; Handling and protective gear including aprons, gloves and goggles; and operating equipment and instruments that can be as complex as robotic arms and centrifuges, or as simple as scalpels and prongs.

Chemical & Biological Lab Equipment

There are also laboratory devices within industries that find use in most laboratories. For example, chemical laboratories are likely to feature equipment such as fume hoods and blowers, a large variety of glassware, and numerous storage cabinets and containers.

Furthermore, most lab staff use similar forms of protective gear. This includes, at the very least, sterilized gloves and glasses, although it can also require full length clothing and protection. And for sterilizing such equipment, the technicians may ask laboratory equipment suppliers for providing more complex equipment such as a simple sterilizers or a complex autoclave which is programmable.

For most laboratory materials, the basic criteria are that they are as inert, reliable and, in certain cases, able to withstand specific test procedures. It is for this purpose that silicone rubber and glassware are widely used in laboratories. The glassware is very often heat-resistant Pyrex, or some form of composite reinforced glass. Several other commonly used materials include stainless steel, aluminum, plastics, and wood.

Instrumentation is an important part of laboratory research. For most biological and chemical facilities, microscopes are essential equipment, as are leak detectors, temperature sensors, and precise weighing instruments.

This instrument can range from simple thermometers to complex microscopes with electrons. Many operations include pressure gages, flow meters, spectrometers, and a wide range of other sensors and measuring devices.

Heating and cooling appliances are often found in many laboratories; whether they consist of a refrigerator or freezer used for storage. Standard freezers usually can work at a temperature of -70°C like Standard Pilot Freeze Dryer PSFQ 4320 but there are some extreme freezers which can work at below degrees. An oven used for research or a heater used to maintain the temperature of a biological specimen.

Market Analysis & Predictions

In 2018, the global market for laboratory equipment was estimated at USD 45.3 billion and will hit USD 62.6 billion by the end of 2025, rising at a CAGR Compound annual growth rate) of 4.1 percent in 2019-2025.

The lab equipment based on spectroscopy technology dominated the market for life sciences and laboratory equipment in 2017; and will continue to dominate through 2023. Mainly because of the “growing need for sophisticated instruments for separating and purifying molecules from the proteomics & genomics-based research, increased government funding for R&D in developing countries, and increased life science-based research projects.”

The demand for DNA amplifiers and analyzers is expected to see the fastest growth throughout the forecast period; due to “growing need for rapid analysis and more accurate tests, growing numbers of chromosomal and genetic aberrations, and the need for large quantities of samples to be identified from small volumes.”

The North American region and Canada are the largest markets for life sciences and laboratory equipment, owing to increased drug discovery & development initiatives, increased support for life science research from various private & public agencies, increased life sciences-based (Biotechnology/Health) research, the presence of several main vendors in this area, and increased development of healthcare technology.

However, regions of Asia Pacific and Latin America are predicted to see substantial growth over the forecast period; Because of “the rapidly increasing healthcare and biotechnology industry in this region’s developing countries, increased investment by government and non-governmental bodies in this field, increasing outsourcing of work in the life sciences industry, a high population zone and numerous technological developments in the area.”

Lab Equipment Suppliers Challenges

Across all clinical trials, lab instruments and consumables play a significant role. Today, developing countries are the future arena for clinical trial pharmaceutical companies. This transition by pharmaceutical firms to developing nations, causes the laboratory equipment suppliers to switch to these countries. Among emerging economies, the largest number of clinical trials are being performed in China and Latin America; which is expected to increase in the coming years.

Nevertheless, these regions do have very few well-established regional players. The national Laboratory Equipment Suppliers also have very small portfolio of goods and service capabilities across nations. Therefore, buyers claim to face serious problems due to insufficient equipment and services available. They’re also under pressure to decrease the cost of providing laboratory equipment due to government pressure to reduce drug prices.

Insufficient laboratory equipment and services caused by Covid-19 outbreak leads many laboratory equipment suppliers like Felixtrument to define volunteering project to supply lab instruments for laboratories globally.

Lab equipment suppliers also face some other challenges such as:

• Problems concerning quality assurance to avoid product recalls, because the credibility and brand identity are affected by product recall.
• Costs Profitability and attractive discounts for consumers
• Obtaining government tax breaks and other benefits

And finally, one of the worst challenges Lab Equipment Suppliers face; which is happening right now all over the world due to coronavirus; is delays and cancellations of product shipments. This alone not only can hurt the supplier company economically; but also can cause delay in production of emergency solutions and millions of people may be affected.