OUR HISTORY
Our history has formed us into who we are today, and our expertise is based on 50 years of business history. Our ambition to stay ahead and to improve is a part of our DNA. We are proud of what has been, but we keep our eyes on the future and challenge ourselves to constantly improve.
The start in 1973
The LABEX Group was founded in Helsingborg in 1973 by Leif Pihlqvist who, after a successful career as a pharmaceutical consultant, decided to start his own diagnostics company, Svenska Labex AB.
During the first years, Svenska Labex AB developed and manufactured a control material that was used to ensure the function of clinical instruments. Svenska Labex AB also started several distribution collaborations with diagnostics companies in areas such as hematology, serology, and coagulation. These products were successfully sold to hospitals around Scandinavia and Svenska Labex AB also developed its own production operations in the hematology area. The company grew and the production of hematology reagents was moved to a separate company, Labex Reagens AB, which in the long run also began to export reagents outside of Scandinavia’s borders.
1976 Establishment in Denmark
In 1976, the company Labex ApS was founded in Denmark. Until then, sales and support had been carried out by Svenska Labex AB. During the first years, the office was situated in Helsingør harbor, just across the sound from Helsingborg, but as the business grew, the office moved to Vedbæk. Today, Labex ApS is located in Valby, on the outskirts of busy Copenhagen.
1988 Launch of the gel technology
In 1988, a fantastic breakthrough took place when one of LABEX’s suppliers, DiaMed, launched a new type of blood typing technology, the gel technology, which would revolutionize the way blood group determinations are performed around the world. In Scandinavia including Iceland, Labex led the market adoption of this technique as a routine method and today the gel technology is used in virtually all blood banks in Scandinavia and the rest of the world.
1990 Establishment in Norway
In 1990, the company Norsk Labex AS was formed to support customers in the Norwegian market. For several years, the business was in Vollen Marina south of Oslo. Today we have moved closer to Oslo and have a modern office in Høvik.
1991 Labex Instrument AB
In 1991, another LABEX company was started, Labex Instrument AB. In 2017, Labex Instrument AB merged with Svenska Labex AB and products and customers today constitute the backbone of our Life Science business area.
2007 DiaMed is acquired by Bio-Rad
In 2007, DiaMed became the Bio-Rad Immunohematology division. LABEX is today a valued Channel Partner to Bio-Rad’s Immunohematology division and in 2015 LABEX increased its
cooperation with Bio-Rad, becoming Channel Partner for one more product area, Bio-Rad Infection Diagnostics.
2018 LABEX Healthcare and LABEX Life Science
We continue to grow with exciting new products and divide the business into two business areas, Healthcare and Life Science.
Healthcare includes diagnostics and medical devices for healthcare, primarily in the areas of transfusion medicine, clinical immunology, and clinical microbiology.
Life Science targets a broader customer segment, e.g., in the pharmaceutical industry, biotech and universities.
Our history has formed us into who we are today, and our expertise is based on 50 years of business history.