LabWare
Corporate brand
UnclaimedLabWare is a laboratory-informatics software company best known for its laboratory information management system, LabWare LIMS.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
LabWare is a laboratory-informatics software company founded in 1987 by Vance Kershner. The company develops software for managing laboratory information, workflows, instruments, samples, test results, and associated operational data. Its principal offering, LabWare LIMS, is a laboratory information management system used by organizations that need to control laboratory processes and maintain traceable records across testing and quality operations. The company is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, and has expanded its commercial and service presence internationally. Reference material describes offices in approximately 40 countries and customers in 125 countries, indicating a broad global footprint rather than a business limited to one national market. LabWare maintains a training facility at the Oberod Estate in Centreville, Delaware. Its customer base includes major pharmaceutical companies such as Wyeth, Teva, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Merck, and Bristol Myers Squibb, as well as organizations in food and beverage, forensic science, nuclear power, environmental testing, and water-quality analysis. LabWare's software is used in contexts where laboratories must organize samples, standardize testing procedures, connect analytical instruments, preserve audit trails, and make laboratory data available for operational or regulatory purposes. In addition to LIMS, the company is described as developing electronic laboratory notebooks and laboratory data-analytics capabilities. These products place LabWare within the laboratory software and broader enterprise informatics market, where customers often seek integration between laboratory operations, manufacturing, instruments, and analytics. The company has pursued ecosystem relationships to extend the usefulness of its platform. In 2021, LabWare partnered with CTI Clinical Trial and Consulting Services, a global contract research organization. In 2023, it announced an integration between LabWare LIMS and Körber's PAS-X manufacturing execution system for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical applications. In 2024, LabWare and Mettler Toledo announced a plug-and-play integration intended to connect LabWare LIMS with Mettler Toledo instruments and improve laboratory productivity. LabWare also acquired data-analytics company CompassRed in March 2022, adding an analytics-related capability to its portfolio. Technically, LabWare has used Visual Smalltalk Enterprise in product development and joined the Pharo Consortium in October 2014. In January 2024, the company was reported to support efforts associated with the Cuis Smalltalk community. Its history also includes repeated industry recognition: LabWare received Scientific Computing and Instrumentation Readers' Choice Awards in the LIMS category from 2000 through 2008, and later received recognition from Frost & Sullivan, the Delaware Bioscience Association, MYTECHMAG, and Drexel University's LeBow College of Business. LabWare remains an active, privately held laboratory-software provider with an international customer and partner network.
History
LabWare was established in 1987 by Vance Kershner and developed as a specialist provider of laboratory-informatics software. Its core business became centered on laboratory information management systems, software used to organize laboratory samples, testing workflows, results, records, and related quality processes. The company's principal product, LabWare LIMS, enabled it to serve laboratories that require structured data management and traceability across regulated or technically complex environments. Over time, LabWare broadened its software scope beyond traditional LIMS functionality. Reference material identifies electronic laboratory notebooks and laboratory data analytics among its offerings, reflecting the increasing importance of digital documentation, analytical visibility, and the reuse of laboratory data. The company's customer base expanded across pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, forensic science, nuclear power, environmental testing, and water testing. Pharmaceutical users named in reference material include Wyeth, Teva, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Merck, and Bristol Myers Squibb. LabWare software has also been used for testing water, soil, food, and air quality in several countries. LabWare's international growth produced offices in roughly 40 countries and customers in 125 countries, while its headquarters remained in Wilmington, Delaware. The company also operates a training facility at Oberod Estate in Centreville, Delaware. This geographic model combines a central corporate base with international implementation, support, and training capabilities, which are important in laboratory software because deployments commonly require configuration for local procedures, instruments, quality systems, and regulatory requirements. The company has developed within the Smalltalk software ecosystem. It uses Visual Smalltalk Enterprise in product development, joined the Pharo Consortium in October 2014, and was reported in January 2024 to support efforts associated with the Cuis Smalltalk community. These affiliations are part of LabWare's technical history and distinguish its development background from software companies built primarily around more mainstream enterprise programming platforms. LabWare has also grown through partnerships and acquisition. In 2021, it announced a partnership with CTI Clinical Trial and Consulting Services, a full-service contract research organization. In March 2022, LabWare acquired CompassRed, a data-analytics company. In 2023, LabWare and Körber announced an integration linking LabWare LIMS with Körber's PAS-X manufacturing execution system for pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing. In 2024, LabWare and Mettler Toledo announced a plug-and-play integration intended to connect LabWare LIMS with Mettler Toledo laboratory instruments and streamline laboratory work. Industry recognition has accompanied the company's development. LabWare won Scientific Computing and Instrumentation's Readers' Choice Award in the LIMS category each year from 2000 to 2008. LabWare LIMS received a Frost & Sullivan Product Quality Leadership Award in 2004, and LabWare received Frost & Sullivan's European LIMS Company of the Year award in 2008. Later recognition included Delaware Bioscience Association Company of the Year in 2016, inclusion in MYTECHMAG's 2021 list of leading oil-and-gas technology solution providers, and an Analytics 50 honor from Drexel University's LeBow College of Business in 2023. LabWare is an active, privately held laboratory-software company with a global customer and partner network.
- 2024
Support for the Cuis Smalltalk community
[1]The Cuis Smalltalk community announced that LabWare supported its efforts.
- 2022
CompassRed acquisition
[1]LabWare acquired CompassRed, a data-analytics firm.
- 2016
Delaware Bioscience Association names LabWare company of the year
[1]The Delaware Bioscience Association honored LabWare as its company of the year.
- 2014
LabWare joins the Pharo Consortium
[1]LabWare joined the Pharo Consortium, reflecting its continuing relationship with the Smalltalk development ecosystem.
- 2008
LabWare receives European LIMS company award
[1]Frost & Sullivan named LabWare its European Laboratory Information Management Systems Company of the Year.
- 2004
LabWare LIMS receives Frost & Sullivan product-quality recognition
[1]LabWare LIMS received a Frost & Sullivan Product Quality Leadership Award.
- 1987
LabWare is founded
[1]Vance Kershner founded LabWare, which went on to specialize in laboratory-informatics software and LIMS.
Products and positioning
A global laboratory-informatics provider focused on LIMS, laboratory workflow management, data integrity, analytics, and integration with laboratory instruments and manufacturing systems.
Laboratory information management system
LabWare LIMS
LabWare's flagship laboratory information management system is designed to manage laboratory samples, workflows, test results, records, and operational data. It is used across pharmaceutical, food and beverage, forensic, nuclear, environmental, and water-testing settings. Its role is to provide structured laboratory data management and traceability while supporting connections to instruments and wider enterprise systems.
Laboratory informatics
Electronic laboratory notebooks
LabWare develops electronic laboratory notebook capabilities as part of its laboratory-informatics portfolio. These tools are intended to replace or supplement paper-based experimental records with digital documentation that can be organized, retained, and connected with other laboratory information.
Data analytics software
Laboratory data analytics
Laboratory data-analytics capabilities extend LabWare's focus from record management toward interpretation and operational use of laboratory information. The company strengthened this area through its 2022 acquisition of CompassRed, a data-analytics firm.
Brand decisions
2024
Integration with Mettler Toledo instrumentsProduct launchBackground
Laboratories seek direct connections between informatics platforms and analytical instruments to reduce manual data handling.
Action taken
LabWare and Mettler Toledo announced a plug-and-play software integration connecting LabWare LIMS with Mettler Toledo instruments.
Aftermath
The integration was intended to improve laboratory productivity and instrument connectivity; detailed adoption or financial outcomes were not disclosed.
2023
Integration with Körber PAS-XProduct launchBackground
Pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturers increasingly require laboratory systems to exchange information with manufacturing execution systems.
Action taken
LabWare and Körber announced integration between LabWare LIMS and Körber's PAS-X manufacturing execution system.
Aftermath
The integration was positioned to connect laboratory and manufacturing workflows; no quantified commercial results were provided.
2022
Acquisition of CompassRedM&ABackground
LabWare operated in a laboratory-software market increasingly focused on analytics and the broader use of laboratory data.
Action taken
LabWare acquired CompassRed, a data-analytics company.
Aftermath
The acquisition expanded LabWare's stated capabilities in data analytics; detailed transaction terms and subsequent financial effects were not provided.
Sources2 sources
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