LabVantage

LabVantage Solutions, Inc.
PredecessorLaboratory MicroSystems
Founded1981 (1981) in Troy, New York
Founders
  • Mark Chudzickin
  • Michael Boskin
HeadquartersSomerset, New Jersey
Key people
  • Mikael Hagstroem (CEO)
ParentThe Chatterjee Group
Websitewww.labvantage.com

LabVantage Solutions, Inc. is a laboratory information management system (LIMS) provider based in Somerset, New Jersey. Founded in 1981,[1] LabVantage is the third largest LIMS provider in the world.[2]

Laboratory MicroSystems was founded by Mark Chudzicki and Michael Boskin in 1981.[3] Chudzicki started the company when he was attending graduate school at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.[4] The company began making money several years after it was founded but needed a $100,000 loan from New York state's Corporation for Innovation Development.[4][5] Laboratory MicroSystems received financing from 100 Capital District shareholders in 1985.[6] The company in 1986 was based in Hendrik Hudson Hotel, a downtown Troy hotel that was refurbished into an office building, employed 15 people, and had annual sales of $1 million.[4]

It was named to the Inc. 500 in 1987 after a 532% increase in sales in its first five years in business.[7] The company in 1988 primarily served Fortune 500 companies including General Electric, Dow Corning, Pennzoil, DuPont, Monsanto, and Exxon.[6] It set up software that cost between $10,000 and $70,000 in 1990.[8] Chudzicki and Boskin in 1990 sold the company, which had 12 employees at the time, to Instron.[3] The offer was for about $2.5 million, half to be paid in Instron stock and half to be paid in cash.[8] The acquisition was finalized at $2.42 million to be distributed among Laboratory MicroSystems' 100 shareholders.[9]

In 1997, Instron sold Laboratory MicroSystems to Axiom Systems, a subsidiary of Purnendu Chatterjee's The Chatterjee Group, which renamed the company to LabVantage.[3][10] Strategic Directions International said in a 2000 report, "by the late 1990s, the company appeared to have lost its way" because the numerous products LabVantage had to maintain caused it to be "overwhelmed" which hurt its client contentment.[10] The report further noted that the company's sales failed to increase meaningfully in the past few years.[10]

In 2005, about half of the company's employees work in India, while 60 employees are in North America and 20 are in Europe.[11]

LabVantage's customers in the United States include Aventis, Pfizer, and Unilever's Best Foods (now called Hellmann's and Best Foods).[2] In India, LabVantage provides services for GAIL, Indian Oil Corporation, and Reliance Industries.[12]

References

  1. ^ "LabVantage Solutions, Inc". BusinessWeek. Archived from the original on 2007-10-30. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
  2. ^ a b "US firm to double workforce in city". The Indian Express. 2005-11-16. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  3. ^ a b c Orenstein, David (1997-04-25). "Troy's Laboratory Microsystems Is Sold for Second Time". Times Union. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  4. ^ a b c Herbers, John (1986-06-07). "State Leads in Replacing U.S. Economic Aid". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  5. ^ David, Peter (1983-09-01). "US high technology: States compete with novel bait". Nature. 305 (5929): 7. doi:10.1038/305007a0.
  6. ^ a b Brown, Cailin (1988-11-18). "Laboratory Microsystems Plans $600,000 Expansion". Times Union. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  7. ^ "Business". Times Union. 1987-12-13. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  8. ^ a b Denn, James (1990-03-01). "Software Developer Gets Buyout Offer". Times Union. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  9. ^ Denn, James (1990-05-04). "Instron Purchases Troy Computer Firm for $2.42 million". Times Union. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  10. ^ a b c "The LIMS Market and LVS". Instrument Business Outlook. Strategic Directions International. 2000-09-30. Archived from the original on 2019-11-25. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  11. ^ "LabVantage to double staff in India". Rediff.com. 2005-12-07. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  12. ^ "LabVantage to hire more". The Telegraph. 2005-11-16. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2009.