BUSINESS AREA

Business Area Labtech

The business area Labtech offers products, solutions and services in fields such as diagnostics, biomedical research and laboratory analysis. Customers include hospitals, research laboratories, pharmaceutical companies and participants in the food industry, primarily in the Nordic region and the rest of Europe.

Subsidiaries in the business area Labtech has well developed local sales and service organisations to be able to work closely with customers and suppliers. The companies have strong market positions and highly qualified personnel. The products that are offered are used to diagnose diseases or to conduct research and include equipment, as well as consumables and reagents. Training and technical service are also offered to ensure effective use of the equipment. In all, 90 percent of sales in this business area comprise products from leading manufacturers and 10 percent comprise own brands. About 75 percent of net sales took place through public procurement procedures in 2020.

 
Market trend in 2020

Growth in the Labtech business area has been largely driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, as other treatments have been reduced to a minimum in hospitals. During the year, extensive COVID-19 testing was conducted in all markets and our diagnostic companies were able to offer both instruments and large volumes of certified tests from several different manufacturers. We have mainly sold PCR tests, which are used to detect ongoing infection. For our companies, it has been a competitive advantage to be able to offer solutions from several suppliers in order to secure customers' access to products.

In connection with the treatment of COVID-19 patients, the hospitals' intensive care units, ICU, have had a very high consumption of various tests to obtain information about the patient's status. Our product area Blood Gas Analysis, which provides important information about the patient's lung function, had high growth during the first half of the year, both on new instruments but above all on reagent consumption. During the summer, fewer COVID-19 patients were treated at ICU, but in the autumn a second wave arose and demand increased again.

During the pandemic, many customers have deviated from normal purchasing routines and instead made purchases via direct procurement to gain quick access to products. The extensive sales of instruments to the diagnostic laboratories during the year contribute to a larger installed base, which in turn opens up for increased sales of reagents for many years to come.

Demand was strong within the research companies during the first months of the year, until the outbreak of COVID-19, when the market situation changed radically. Initially, the activity of the academic customers decreased and in several countries the universities were closed due to restrictions, but during the second half of the year we experienced a recovery. Many research teams that work with various COVID-related projects have received increased funding for their research from both private and government actors, which has driven demand for several of our products. Despite a strong focus on virus research, we also see a positive sales trend in other research areas and to the pharmaceutical companies. However, sales to veterinary and food customers have been weaker. Sales of our advanced materials analysis materials to academic clients in China and the US were also relatively weak during the year.

Attractive partner

AddLife and the Labtech business area continue to attract acquisition candidates and leading niche suppliers. In this business area, many players are looking for an attractive partner with access to highly competent staff and a wide distribution network across Europe. The freedom associated with being a distributor enables the companies to quickly respond to a changing market and they have the opportunity to offer customer-tailored solutions.

In January 2020, the business area acquired the Italian company Euroclone. Both integration of the company and its development went smoothly during the year, despite the restrictions on in-person meetings during most of the year.

LABTECH’S STRENGTHS

• Dedicated employees with a high level of education and many years of experience in each segment
• Customers are offered high-quality products, a high level of service, continuing education opportunities and advisory services
• Long-term collaborations with leading suppliers and exclusive distribution rights on AddLife’s markets
• Strong organisation for technical service with local support