As allies, the GenTech and Conquer union creates a global force, offering a robust service network with unmatched resources and an unparalleled inventory of refurbished analytical instruments. LabX caught up with Yvette Pagano, Chief Commercial Officer at GenTech to discuss the acquisition and the current and future plans for this combined powerhouse.
Image Credit: GenTech Scientific
GenTech Scientific was founded in 1996 and is a pioneer in the refurbished analytical instruments industry. GenTech continues to offer installation, training, maintenance, and repair services aimed at helping academic and industry scientists further their research.
Conquer Scientific was founded in 2003 to provide researchers with high-quality, pre-owned analytical instruments at affordable cost, with expert services and support.
The GenTech portfolio includes MS, LC-MS, GC-MS, HPLC, and ICP instrumentation. Since being acquired by Lakelet Capital, GenTech has continued to build on its strengths of not only being a source for high-quality refurbished instruments but a provider of premium support services. Moving forward, GenTech aims to build on the relationships it has forged with partners across multiple applications and industries.
Our goal as we work together and for the combined force is to provide end-to-end solutions for our customers. My future vision for GenTech and Conquer is for someone to come from a start-up situation and not just get instruments and services, but get consumables, support for methods development, and be provided with consultation. Essentially, we want to become a one stop shop for all customer needs.”
Yvette Pagano, Chief Commercial Officer, GenTech
The complete solutions strategy extends across numerous areas including cannabis, toxicology, food and beverage, and other high-growth industries. “This includes building our relationships with partners and leveraging expertise to provide solutions for our customers,” says Pagano.
Current GenTech partners include LabTech, a global manufacturing company focused on products in sample preparation, temperature control, and analytical instrumentation. Another primary partner, Toxicology Solutions LLC, is a full-service consulting firm offering expert analysis and support for laboratories. Toxicology Solutions services include accreditation/audit preparation, method development and validation for new instruments, standard operating procedure (SOP) development, and training.
“Scientific customers often come with an idea of particular make and model of an instrument,” says Pagano. “They know what they want and hope to achieve, and we are ready to provide those products. Sometimes questions come up such as ‘is this instrument sensitive enough for my needs?’, which can be referred to in-house technicians to provide guidance. If inquiries extend beyond the level of in-house expertise, we refer our partner services.” This synergy of expertise has resulted in several jointly developed methods between GenTech and its partners. Created and validated by a preferred partner — Carol Seagle, scientist and owner of Toxicology Solutions, LLC — GenTech is now able to offer a method for cannabis potency testing. The Cannabis Potency Package provides the full range of services to support laboratory’s success.
Conquer offers analytical instrumentation and a range of devices including microplate readers, spectrophotometers, qPCRs, centrifuges, and other general lab equipment. The acquisition of Conquer Scientific brings not only an expanded inventory of instruments but a host of scientific and strategic advantages.
The theme with Conquer Scientific is for scientists by scientists. Instruments that are acquired are tested and offered for resale to the academic and industry scientific community. These are typically customers who know what they are looking for and ultimately locate affordable pre-owned instruments, which we back up with 30-day warranties and stand by the quality of these offerings. In certain cases, instruments may be refurbished and supplied with methods as well.”
Yvette Pagano, Chief Commercial Officer, GenTech
Dr. Fatih Büyüksönmez, founder and former CEO of Conquer and current Chief Scientific Officer of the new joint venture, has a background in environmental testing and organic compound analysis. While with Conquer, he leveraged his expertise to assist customers interested in terpenes testing and contaminants analysis, which applies to cannabis, environmental, and food industries. Dr. Büyüksönmez will continue to offer his input to investors and customers looking for scientific knowledge of the right equipment and solutions for testing.
GenTech, on the other hand, will continue to be the gold standard in "offering high-quality, certified refurbished instruments". Installation, on-site training, and maintenance will continue to be featured services. “Beyond these services, our partners are positioned to offer assistance with method development, and combined with the efforts of Dr. Fatih Büyüksönmez, we have very good coverage on the applications front.”
“We are a service organization as well, and we’re growing our offerings to service all makes and all models of instruments. Even if you didn’t buy it from us or if it’s out of warranty, we’ll take care of you,” states Pagano. “We also buy instruments. We’ll service any instrument and we’re always looking to buy. Whether you're moving or closing a lab, or want to trade in, trade up or trade down, we are constantly looking for solutions to expand our inventory and provide solutions to customers. These are two major themes that we strive to convey.”
The combination of these great companies is also strategic from a geographic perspective. “We’re less than an hour away from the Canadian border in the East and the Mexican border on the West coast. So, we’re well positioned to service our neighbors on both sides of the country,” explains Pagano. “Conquer is drawing scientists, universities, and people from around the world. So is GenTech.” The product and service offerings are complementary and also unique. “We really don’t see much overlap at all.” Stacy Gertis, Marketing Manager at GenTech adds, “The portfolio of offerings has expanded, with twice the inventory and twice the service.”
GenTech and Conquer will continue to be a presence at conferences and trade-shows.
We attended the Emerald Conference in early 2022 and we plan to attend the MJ Biz conference later this year. Toxicology is a big area of interest and we plan to attend the Society of Forensic Toxicology annual meeting. We are going to American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) and other conferences across a wide spectrum of applications. Food and psychedelics are fast moving areas that we may explore through conferences as well.”
Stacy Gertis, Marketing Manager, GenTech
The presence of both GenTech and Conquer at these shows will no doubt help spread the word that these two industry leaders are now joining forces. “We will be present at these events to represent both companies,” says Pagano. “We plan to display to those in attendance the ‘puzzle pieces’ vision, of two leading companies now fitting together to form the largest analytical instrument reseller in the world.”
Visit the GenTech website to learn more.
This editorial was written by LabX and published in partnership with GenTech Scientific