Laboratories analyse hundreds of samples a day for many different tests, which are performed on a variety of analysers. In these busy labs, the logistics of organising and analysing the large number of samples is labour-intensive and time-consuming.
Aim Lab Automation Technologies (ALAT) designs and manufactures robotic instruments used in pathology and industrial labs. These instruments automate pre- and post-analytical sample processing tasks, increasing efficiency and minimising manual handling errors.
For example, ALAT’s workstations recognise the type of tube the sample arrives in (which determines what it is used for), de-caps the tube and divides the content into other tubes, labels and seals these new tubes, and sorts them into different analysers for testing.
Export sales grew by 66 per cent during 2015–16 and accounted for 92 per cent of ALAT’s total revenue. ALAT’s products were sold into 39 countries, with the company achieving its first sales in Costa Rica, Finland, Israel, the Philippines and Uruguay.
In the past year, ALAT manufactured 1,200 autosamplers for a major scientific instrument company and signed a two-year contract with a Chinese distributor to sell its PathFinder products. The company also worked on enhancing its Pathfinder 900 product, with the first unit to be installed next year.
Judges described Aim Lab Technologies as “a great export success story” with the company having a diversified business by both geography and end user industries.
Australian Made Campaign Ltd is a proud sponsor of the Manufacturing Award category.
