VWR expands in Europe with TSL buy

US-based laboratory equipment specialist VWR International has boosted its presence in Europe via the acquisition of Technical Service Lab, a Dutch calibration and validation company.

TSL provides laboratory and process instrument calibration and validation services in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and France. Founded in 1993, it specialises in pipettors, balances and other laboratory instruments and has 42 employees, with annual sales of over €2 million.

The firm calibrates over 50,000 pipettors a year. In addition to its headquarters in Boxmeer, TSL maintains a sales office in Belgium.

The relationship between the two companies goes back several years, with TSL operating as a service partner of VWR. With the acquisition, this relationship is strengthened and TSL will become VWR's calibration service centre for Holland, Germany, Belgium and France. The company will continue to operate under the name TSL.

VWR, headquartered in Pennsylvania, US, is a $3 billion company providing scientific supplies and services to the pharma, life science, chemical, food and other industries.

"We are gaining significant synergies with the acquisition through the combination of both companies' service capabilities and expertise," said Patrick Surkyn, VWR's vice-president, instrumentation and services, Europe.

The aim is to provide as broad an array of products as possible, in keeping with the trend among pharmaceutical companies to seek 'preferred provider' agreements for equipment and supplies, simplifying procurement practices and pricing negotiations.

Bart van Roosmalen, current managing director of TSL, will lead the new organisation after its absorption into VWR.