With pressure to cut costs, declines in funding and rising operating expenses, it’s no surprise that universities are feeling the pinch.
As a result, the challenge for the higher education sector is to ensure research income keeps pace with expenditure – forcing many to trim the budget for capital investment in order to balance the books.
In the UK, universities collectively recorded a £5.3 billion deficit on research activities in 2022–23, according to a Universities UK briefing, and more recent surveys of university finances suggest many institutions are scaling back on equipment upgrades.
This makes it more important than ever for universities (not just in the UK but across the world) to be creative about their budgets – and consider carefully how equipment and parts for their laboratories are sourced.
Here, we look at some of the ways we are helping these institutions:
It’s a challenging environment – but, with the need to invest in lab equipment as acute as ever, there is a need to procure resources more cost-effectively. More and more universities are getting in touch with us and inquiring about buying our pre-used, refurbished lab equipment – and are liking what they see.
Because in our industry, second-hand doesn’t mean second-best – professionally reconditioned instruments can achieve the analytical capability of a new machine without the price tag, with comparable performance and extended service life as well.
Which means that, for a growing number of universities, buying refurbished lab equipment is a practical, proven solution.
Using reconditioned parts can also reduce costs in a university laboratory by up to 70%, compared to buying new – and many universities reach out to us to inquire about this.
The LC Services Reconditioned Parts Exchange Programme allows them to purchase a reconditioned part and send over the faulty one, where we’ll either credit the difference against a future purchase or refund the difference.
This means, instead of replacing entire systems, universities can save time and money by optimising the value of their existing equipment – replacing high-wear components, such as PCB’s, Power supplies, Injectors, valves and so much more.
Whether universities are running long-term research projects or simply need short-term support for student experiments, our chromatography services are designed to flex with their lab’s needs.
Added to this is ongoing support; we provide training of basic maintenance and troubleshooting of equipment. These are hands-on courses focusing on hardware and troubleshooting knowledge from our expert engineers. This will equip you with the knowledge of basic faults, extend the life of your investment and optimise running time of your laboratory machines.
And the response to our six-month warranties and our UK service plans that our customers benefit from – something which crops up positively in our reviews – make it clear that going pre-used isn’t just a cheap option for universities.
Instead, it’s rich with rewards – a smart, strategic investment to save time and money that an increasing number of universities are making each year.
We specialise in high-end analytical instruments like Liquid Chromatographs (LC), Gas Chromatographs (GC), and Mass Spectrometers (GCMS), which are essential for both teaching and research.
So extending the useful life of these systems keeps functional equipment out of landfills and reduces demand for new manufacturing, benefitting the circular economy.
It cuts down the energy required to manufacture new equipment – cutting down on carbon emissions – and also recovers and reuses the valuable materials and hazardous components within the units, rather than contributing to the growing e-waste problem.
And it’s good PR. Using refurbished equipment underlines a university’s commitment to sustainability, which is something that surveys reveal students care about, and which can be integrated into teaching about responsible consumption and life cycle thinking in chemistry and environmental science programmes.
So, who’s buying our equipment? And what are they using it for?
A look at our Trustpilot rating page shows that we have satisfied customers all over the UK and worldwide, and from a wide range of university departments, including quality control labs, chemistry and analytical teaching labs and research labs with high instrument demand.
But with the cost for new systems running into the tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds per unit, universities are among the keenest to source and buy pre-used equipment from us.
And, if the reviews are anything to go by, they’re more than happy they did.
So, why choose LC Services for your university lab? As we have shown, we can help with cost-effective support – helping you to stretch your budget further with refurbished parts and flexible servicing options.
We also have proven partnerships with universities and their labs, helping them with tailored chromatography solutions.
And, don’t forget, we’re more than happy to provide a no-obligation quote based on your specific requirements – whether it’s a one-off service, part replacement or longer-term support.
Find out more about how we support universities here and send us an enquiry about your lab here: https://www.lcservicesltd.co.uk/chromatography-support-for-university-laboratories/
