Swedesboro-based Thomas Scientific announced Tuesday that it officially acquired North Central Instruments (NCI), a Minneapolis-based laboratory equipment and cleanroom supply provider.
The deal immediately expands the national footprint of Thomas Scientific, which is North America’s largest pure-play distributor of scientific products.
The acquisition of NCI marks Thomas’ first foray into the Midwest, serving as a geographical addition to its existing national network of eight distribution centers while increasing the company’s ability to deliver solutions in multiple-end markets.
“The NCI acquisition is a huge for our current and future combined customers,” said Thomas Scientific CEO Charles Simmons in a statement. “We can now offer them an even broader technical suite of solutions, thus furthering our mission to be their most trusted partner in science.”
For the time being, NCI will continue to operate independently under Thomas Scientific’s umbrella.
“NCI is extremely excited to partner with Thomas Scientific. The synergy is apparent not only in the markets we serve, but also the culture of our companies,” said Brad Johnson, who has served as NCI president since 2001. “We look forward to continuing to provide the best possible service to our customers as a member of the Thomas family.”
The acquisition is Thomas’ fifth since 2017, which has added multiple locations, product lines and teams of subject matter experts.
“The acquisition of NCI will give Thomas Scientific a more substantial presence in the Midwest to more effectively meet our customers’ inventory and delivery requirements,” said Chris Pease, VP North American Operations at Thomas. “We are very excited about the opportunity and look forward to partnering with NCI’s very talented team to serve science.”
