LABPro Biomedical, based in Ontario, Canada, buys, sells, services and repairs used laboratory and medical instrumentation. The company, founded in 1999 to provide service to clinical and industrial facilities throughout Southwest Ontario, has since expanded with the inclusion of a business partner, Shane Trembly, to provide representation in all of Ontario. LABPro's biggest growth area, according to owner Michael Wright, has been through Internet marketing. The now three-person firm offers service support to large OEMs and has customers purchasing its used medical and laboratory instrumentation around the world.

"The Internet has turned us into a worldwide marketer," says Wright. "We're now able to actively market used equipment anywhere. Through strategic alliances and strong relationships we have an excellent source of quality used instrumentation which we're able to actively market and sell."
As a result, LABPro Biomedical also finds itself in a position to donate used equipment to needy laboratories around the world. "Recently, we've been working with a charity based out of Laurention University in Sudbury that's helped set up a laboratory in Madagascar specializing in the diagnosis of cancer, and HIV/AIDS," Wright explains. "Being in the position to donate equipment that would otherwise have ended in a land fill is a win-win for everyone. We're glad our growth lets us give help where it's needed."

The company, which also serves as an authorized rep for both in- and out-of-warranty equipment, plans to continue its growth by fine-tuning its support architecture for OEM clients such as McKesson, VWR International, Radiometer, and Bayer Healthcare. "It's a struggle for OEMs to put together a cost-efficient support structure that's also responsive to customer's needs," Wright says.

LABPro specializes in OEM support, direct service on a wide range of general laboratory instrumentation, and is an active purchaser/reseller of quality used laboratory and medical instrumentation.

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