Hudson Robotics acquires TomTec for lab automation boost

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Tomtec Inc., an automated liquid handling instruments company based in Hamden, Conn., has been acquired by Hudson Robotics, a New Jersey-based designer laboratory automation solutions. Financial details of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Hudson said the acquisition expands its liquid handling capabilities by adding an additional 96-head automated liquid handler and provides an entry point into the sample preparation segment for bioanalytic segments within the life sciences research and development (R&D) market. The combined company of Tomtec and Hudson will leverage a larger liquid handling instrumentation portfolio and additional engineering expertise to help automate more customer workflows in new markets.

“We are thrilled to partner with Tomtec,” said Andrew Witschi, CEO of Hudson. “The acquisition aligns with our vision of expanding our liquid handling portfolio both in terms of capabilities and new addressable markets to enable us to bring Hudson’s core strength in integration and automation to bear with a broader set of instrumentation and to new customers.”

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“I am excited to join the Hudson team and continue building on the legacy of Tomtec,” said Tomtec CEO and Board Member of Hudson, Sal Iacono. “The microplate handling robots and additional automation technology of Hudson combined with the Quadra4 and Tomtec instrumentation will help bring new solutions to our core mass spectrometry market to help our customers be more productive. I look forward to contributing to the growth initiatives of the company to create value for our customers and stakeholders.”

The global market for laboratory robotics could expand from $185.8 million in 2020 to $274.49 million by 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.72%, predicted Mordor Intelligence. In mid-December, we got a look at how mobile manipulators, which combine collaborative robot arms and autonomous mobile robots from ABB, will boost R&D productivity in biopharmaceuticals, chemical engineering and chemistry, and new-energy materials. The robots can perform complex tasks such as opening lids and placing lab equipment, handling liquids, adding samples, and doing magnetic stirring with minimal supervision, said ABB.