For the past 30 years, LabX has successfully connected researchers, manufacturers, and industry leaders with access to high-quality equipment, affordable products, and expert selling solutions. What started as a simple website for classified listings has become an invaluable tool for the scientific community over the years. LabX now offers not only a marketplace with a seamless user experience but also a host of laboratory services and a buffet of top-class technical content. As we celebrate our 30th anniversary, we look back at LabX’s history and the resolve that brought us to where we are today.

Humble beginnings

Today, LabX is part of the LabX Media Group (LMG), offering a variety of publishing and laboratory services—but this wasn’t always the case. First founded in 1995 by Bob Kafato in Winnipeg, Manitoba, LabX began as a simple online marketplace aimed at bringing sellers and buyers of laboratory equipment together.

“The inspiration came from putting together various factors,” says Kafato. “As a sales rep for Waters, I had a good customer tell me that they were going to order one of our robot samplers. After a few weeks, I called them up to find out where the order was, and they told me that they had purchased three used robots for the same price as one of our brand-new units. That’s when I learned about the used lab equipment market. I started looking into used lab equipment marketplaces and found there were no websites with lab equipment for sale. So, I started up LabX.”

In 1999, Labx.com was sold to VerticalNet and remained with them for two years until Kafato repurchased it in 2001. After reacquiring LabX, Kafato moved its offices to Midland, Ontario, where it remains to this day.

“LabX once started as a strictly pre-owned equipment classified website,” says Ken Piech, co-founder and executive vice president of LabX Media Group. “But LabX has matured in the past decades and has grown to be a much larger and vibrant marketplace that serves all the needs of the lab buyer and plays host to all types of pre-owned and new laboratory instrumentation and supplies.” 

LabX's evolution

Over the years LabX grew in size and registered users. Eventually, LabX started acquiring and starting numerous other brands. “In 2009, Labx.com took a step back from growth, but overall we grew because of our launch of Lab Manager,” continues Kafato. By 2012, Lab Manager magazine (currently celebrating their 20^th anniversary!), LabWrench, MedWrench, and The Scientist, were all under the LabX umbrella. That same year, LMG was established to differentiate the umbrella company from the original LabX marketplace brand.

As LMG grew, LabX remained a go-to marketplace matching buyers with laboratory equipment sellers. Staying true to its original function, LabX has evolved with the industry it serves, and introduced editorial content from in-house experts on topics ranging from buying guides to changes in the market. Additionally, LabX now hosts LabXpo—major webinar events where industry leaders speak directly to researchers and prospective buyers.

“We have had a tough time, [over] the past 18 months, coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic,” mentions Kafato. “The good news is that we seem to have stabilized and are progressing forward.” In response to the changes brought on by the pandemic, LabX underwent significant upgrades, improving both the buying and selling experience. These changes made 2024 one of LabX’s busiest years for buying activity since 2019.

Now in its 30^th year, LabX plans to showcase exciting products and services to buyers so they can discover content from our most dedicated vendors—making it all easier than ever before.

Impacts on scientific research

Finding new ways to empower scientists has been Kafato’s guiding principle, long before LabX’s inception. “In University, I asked my organic chemistry professor for guidance on what path to take in education,” says Kafato. “[My professor] said, ‘learn a little about everything and contribute to science.’ So that was the pathway that has guided our business.”

True to this principle, LabX has strived to be a reliable resource that can contribute to scientific research. By supporting individuals, manufacturers, and resellers of fairly priced refurbished and new equipment, LabX has helped countless scientists and labs worry less about being able to afford equipment and focus on research. “I'm very proud of the longevity of the platform and how it's become a go-to resource for lab equipment purchasing,” says Piech. “Over the years, I've heard many great stories of people building their labs off the pre-owned equipment they purchased from LabX, when it was the only way they could afford the instrumentation.”

Be it supporting laboratory equipment sellers, connecting lab professionals to these sellers, or providing informative purchasing resources, LabX has, is, and aims to be the place where scientists come to shop. “I think the LabX platform has certainly made a positive impact on the science community over the past 30 years and is a pretty unique and special place,” concludes Piech.