7 January 2026
The company joins the Velaris family of existing brands – Skalar Analytical, LCTech, PromoChrom, EST Analytical, GERSTEL and TE Instruments – expanding Velaris’ product and service capabilities and global presence
BREDA, the Netherlands (Jan 7, 2026)— Velaris, a platform of laboratory-automation brands backed by global investment firm Battery Ventures, today announced the acquisition of Markes International (“Markes”) from strategic investor Schauenburg International and its founders Alun Cole and Elizabeth Woolfenden.
Markes, founded in 1997, in Bridgend, Wales is a recognised global provider of specialist analytical technologies that enhance the sensitivity, separation and interpretive power of gas chromatography (GC) and GC–mass spectrometry (GC–MS).
Through complementary strengths in sample preparation, sample introduction, advanced chromatographic separation, mass spectrometry and data processing, Markes International supports laboratories worldwide addressing increasingly complex analytical challenges across environmental, food, security, industrial and life science end markets. Working with their distribution channels, Markes enables a generation of reliable, high-quality data and deeper analytical insight to support informed decision-making in demanding scientific and regulatory environments.
Joining Velaris’ existing brands, Markes provides a complementary product offering for commercial, academic and government laboratories worldwide. The strength of the company in Europe and North America together with local assembly in China will enhance Velaris’ presence and greatly expand regional sales and service capabilities.
“Markes has built a strong position through innovation, technical excellence and the dedication of our talented teams earning the trust of customers worldwide. Joining the Velaris family marks an important milestone in our journey, creating a compelling platform to work alongside a group of complementary businesses and expand our capabilities. This combination strengthens our ability to support our customers and the markets we serve, while creating meaningful development opportunities for our people,” said Nigel Fry, CEO of Markes International.
"Markes is recognised worldwide as a leading global designer and manufacturer of advanced, high performance analytical instrumentation and software for challenging GC & GC–MS analyses, and this is an excellent extension of Velaris’ market leadership," said Amod Kher, CEO of Velaris. "The brand represents technical leadership in thermal desorption and adjacent separation technologies and is committed to providing the best products and application support to end users. We look forward to working with the management and associates of Markes as we build on the strong foundation that it has established in this attractive growth market."
“As we approach three years since our initial investment in Skalar Analytical, we are pleased to see the various acquisitions come together to form a cohesive group under the Velaris brand,” said Zack Smotherman, a Battery general partner who serves on Velaris’ board. “We are excited to add Markes to Velaris as we continue building a unified portfolio of complementary analytical instrumentation and automated sample preparation technologies and believe the reorganisation under the Velaris brand will help simplify the story by aligning our offerings by end markets.”
Velina Allerkamp, Co-CEO of Schauenburg International said, “we are extremely glad to see Markes International become part of the leading platform for laboratory automation Velaris. During the last 13 years of partnership, Markes has delivered breakthrough innovation and expanded its global footprint significantly. We wish Velaris all the best as they continue the journey and thank the founders Elizabeth Woolfenden and Alun Cole for over a decade of great partnership.”
Proud of Markes’ success, Founders Alun Cole and Elizabeth Woolfenden wholeheartedly agree. Speaking earlier today Elizabeth said, “it has been an immense privilege to have worked alongside so many wonderful people over the years. Velaris values and shares Markes’ passion for technical innovation, expertise and customer support and becoming part of this group is the best possible next step for the business. We wish Nigel and the whole team every success.”
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About Markes International
Markes International provides advanced technologies for gas chromatography (GC) and mass spectrometry (MS), for applications including environmental monitoring, materials testing, food and beverage analysis, flavour and fragrance science, defence and forensics.
Markes develops thermal desorption and automated sample preparation technologies for the analysis of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds in air and materials. Its portfolio supports targeted and untargeted analysis, enabling method compliance and increased throughput across the widest range of sample types and analytes on a single platform for cryogen, solvent and cylinder-free operation.
SepSolve Analytical, (Markes sub-brand) complements this with high-performance GC and GC×GC platforms, time-of-flight mass spectrometry and advanced data-processing software, delivering enhanced separations and deeper analytical insight.
Together, Markes and SepSolve provide integrated, end-to-end analytical workflows from sample introduction through to more actionable insightful data for laboratories worldwide.
Learn more at www.markes.com
About Velaris
Velaris is home to some of the world's leading brands in laboratory automation and is supported by the global investment firm Battery Ventures. Following an initial investment in Skalar Analytical, a provider of wet chemistry analysis, in 2023, Velaris has grown further in the field of environmental sciences on a global scale organically and through acquisitions.
In 2024, GERSTEL, a major player in the flavour, fragrance and food science industry, joined the group, followed in 2025 by Trace Elemental Instruments, which develops and manufactures combustion analysers for petrochemical and industrial applications. Supported by its leading brands, Velaris provides its customers with rapid innovation and excellent customer service, powering scientific research around the world.
Learn more at www.velaris.com