Testing firm brings expertise in-house
A NORTH west company which provides DNA paternity and drug testing services has added an new string to its bow after buying a key piece of equipment.
Warrington-based Alpha Biolaboratories has invested £75,000 to provide an in-house hair alcohol testing service after securing funding from Lombard, the asset finance arm of NatWest.
It has bought a TSQ Quantum testing machine, which is used to provide hair alcohol tests. Alpha previously outsourced the service to another firm. The investment will provide the company with considerable cost savings and shorten the length of time taken to obtain results.
Founded in 2004, by biochemist Dave Thomas, Alpha Biolabs undertakes drug and DNA analysis on behalf of law firms, civil courts, local authorities, public and private sector organisations.
The investment is the latest milestone for the company which has 19 staff – last year it moved to new office and laboratory facilities at Carina Park.
Managing director Dave Thomas said: “The use of hair testing to determine patterns of alcohol consumption is becoming increasingly common, particularly as the benefits of this type of testing become more widely known.
“By bringing this service in house we can provider a quicker response to our clients and are confident of further growth in this field.”
Hair alcohol testing is used to detect long term patterns of alcohol consumption. It is becoming increasingly common in both the judicial and corporate sectors.
One of its key uses is in child custody cases to protect kids from parents or guardians who may have an alcohol problem. It is also widely used in the maritime, rail and aviation industries.
Unlike traditional methods such as blood testing, which can only detect alcohol consumed a few days prior to the test, the use of hair analysis can give a record of consumption over the previous three to six months.
Alex Bodie, Lombard relationship director, added: “This is a sound investment in financial terms and also enhances Alpha’s reputation in this niche market. We are very happy to provide the financial backing for this project.”
