Most laboratory automation suppliers start with a product catalogue and work backwards. If your plate layout, your sealing format, your colony picking protocol or your assay prep routine does not fit, you are expected to adapt your science around their hardware. At Kbiosystems, the starting point is the other way round. We begin with how your lab actually works. Then we decide what gets built, modified or supplied.
Bespoke, modified or standard
Three routes to the right fit
Automation that fits your workflow changes more than throughput. It reduces rework, removes sources of variability, and gives skilled scientists back the hours they currently spend on repetitive plate handling. Kbiosystems offers three routes to that fit, and the right one depends on your requirements, not our catalogue.
- Fully bespoke systems, engineered from the ground up around your workflow
- Modified standard equipment, adapted to your exact plate formats, throughput or integration requirements
- Standard products include sealers, colony pickers, evaporators, label applicators, plate handlers, PCR systems. All integration-ready and fully supported
Our Approach
From first call to commissioning, one team
Every project begins with a conversation, not a form. You describe your plate layout, your throughput target, your integration constraints and what is not working with your current setup. An engineer assesses feasibility in that same conversation, not two weeks later after a sales referral. Design, prototype, build and commissioning all happen in Basildon under the same roof. The person who works out how to solve your problem is one of the people who builds the solution.
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![In-house engineering and design]()
All mechanical, electrical, firmware and software work takes place in Basildon, under one roof. No outsourcing. No external contractors. No interpretation lost between departments. This is what keeps Kbiosystems lead times short and specifications intact from the first conversation through to the finished system.
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![Prototype, test and manufacture]()
We prototype and validate before building at scale. Manufacturing runs entirely in our own facility, which gives us full control over quality — and the flexibility to respond when your requirements change mid-project. Larger and more rigid suppliers cannot match this once their production lines are committed.
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![Installation and after sales]()
Delivery is not the end of the project. Kbiosystems engineers carry out installation, factory acceptance testing and site acceptance testing, and stay available directly once the system is live. Every lab is different. The engineer who supports your system is the engineer who built it.
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![OEM Manufacturing partners]()
For laboratory instrument companies who need a trusted UK engineering and manufacturing base, Kbiosystems builds complete systems and subsystems shipped under your brand. Named reference OEM partnerships include plate sealer systems sold under major global laboratory brands. NDA-comfortable from the first conversation.
Where Kbiosystems equipment fits
The lab environments we build for
Kbiosystems equipment supports the key processing steps inside automated laboratory workflows, from plate sealing, colony picking, sample identification, barcode labelling, nitrogen blowdown evaporation to PCR automation and microplate handling. Our systems integrate with the liquid handlers, incubators, imaging systems and robotic platforms already in your lab. We do not replace your workflow. We remove the bottlenecks within it.
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Genomics and molecular biology
Automated microplate sealing for PCR prep and sample storage. Barcode labelling for sample ID and traceability. Microplate handling that integrates with liquid handlers and robotic systems. Our Ultraseal range and eGecko applicator slot into existing genomics and molecular biology workflows without forcing a redesign.
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Microbiology
Automated colony picking, plate replication, petri dish and plate barcode labelling, and integration with incubators and imaging systems for microbial culture workflows. The K6 and K8 colony pickers handle the critical steps from initial culture through strain selection and downstream analysis.
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Synthetic biology
Colony picking for strain libraries, high throughput screening prep, and microplate processing within automated synthetic biology workflows. Systems that scale with your team and keep up with the rapid iteration synthetic biology demands — whether you are a research group of three or a commercial biotech running three shifts.
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Drug discovery and screening
Microplate sealing for assay prep and long-term storage, plate ID and tracking, and integration with automated high throughput screening platforms. Kbiosystems equipment protects sample integrity and maintains full traceability through the assay lifecycle — from compound plating to endpoint readout.
The people we work with
Who we build for
Kbiosystems works with scientists, lab managers, automation engineers, OEM product managers and R&D directors across life sciences, pharma, diagnostics, synthetic biology and plant and animal research. From university research groups to world-leading pharmaceutical companies, and from startup labs on defined budgets to OEM partners integrating our hardware into their own product lines.
- Lab managers needing reliable, scalable laboratory automation
- Scientists and technicians who want the system to fit the workflow, not the other way round
- Automation engineers evaluating integration and direct technical access
- OEM partners looking for a trusted UK manufacturing base
- R&D directors choosing a long-term automation partner, not a one-off supplier
From standard to fully bespoke
One supplier. Every point on the spectrum.
Most suppliers offer a fixed product range, or full custom builds. Kbiosystems offers both. If the standard Ultraseal handles 90% of what you need and the last 10% is a non-standard plate format, that is a modification project, not a bespoke build. We never force a square peg into a round product category.
Two real projects
What this looks like in practice
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![A modified colony picker<br> for a global pharmaceutical R&D lab]()
Custom Lab Automation ProjectsA senior scientist at a global pharmaceutical company needed high-throughput automated colony picking with two very specific requirements built in. Regional picking, and control clone picking to the lab’s own plate layout. The standard K8 was the right platform. What mattered was engineering those requirements into the system before it arrived, not after. The result: a modified standard product at a fraction of the lead time and cost of a ground-up build, and significant scientist hours returned to complex analytical work.
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![From visuals to launch for<br> a UK lab automation hardware company]()
Custom Lab Automation ProjectsA UK-based lab automation hardware company came to Kbiosystems with high-level visuals and concept descriptions rather than a finished specification. The engineering work involved translating intent into manufacturable reality and had to happen through the partnership itself. Because design, engineering and manufacturing all sit under one roof in Basildon, concepts were tested for buildability, tolerance and risk early in the process, not after tooling was committed. The product launched on time with its design intent intact. The partnership continues to adapt to changing order volumes and delivery schedules as the business grows.
By the numbers
Proven in demanding laboratory environments
More than three decades of dedicated laboratory automation engineering, supporting research organisations, diagnostic companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers and OEM partners. ISO 9001:2015 certified. Part of the Porvair Laboratory Division, alongside Porvair Sciences, J.G. Finneran, SEAL Analytical and Ratiolab.
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32+
Years designing and building laboratory automation in the UK
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30+
30+ years expertise in automated sealing systems
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17+
ISO 9001 Certificated since 2009
faq
Frequently Asked Questions
Most common Questions about Custom Laboratory Automation.
Tell us about your lab, your challenge or your project timeline. An engineer will respond directly.