How much does a Laboratory Glassware Washing cost to buy?

A typical Laboratory Glassware Washing sells for 2x to 5x seller's discretionary earnings. With estimated SDE of $104K, expect to pay roughly $208K to $520K before adjustments for assets, debt, growth, and local market quality.

How much does it cost to start a Laboratory Glassware Washing?

Startup costs range from $40K to $250K depending on location, equipment, and scale.

Service

Laboratory Glassware Washing

Scientists hate washing beakers — compliance teams hate dirty ones more

Bottom line

Worth studying, but do not buy without strong local proof.

Laboratory glassware washing services clean, sterilize, dry, and return beakers, flasks, bottles, pipettes, and specialty labware for biotech labs, universities, hospitals, testing labs, and manufacturers. The niche exists because lab staff are expensive, contamination risk is costly, and many facilities would rather outsource repeatable cleaning than dedicate scientific labor to dish-room work.

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Acquisition score

Margin · multiple · SBA data

58Strong

Avg revenue

$400K/yr

$100K–$1.5M range

Profit margin

26%

~$104K SDE

Multiple

2–5×

of SDE

Est. buy price

$208K–$520K

startup: $40K–$250K

How It Works

Operators pick up dirty glassware or operate an on-site wash room, run validated wash and sterilization cycles, inspect and dry items, package them, and return clean inventory on a set schedule. Revenue comes from per-piece washing, monthly service agreements, on-site staffing, autoclave support, inventory management, and specialty decontamination work.

BizBite verdict

Watch / verify

Laboratory Glassware Washing has enough high-level data for a first look, but BizBite has not assigned a category-specific operating model yet. Treat the score as preliminary.

58Strong

low data confidence · 40/100medium financing fit

Why it may work

No strong positives yet. More verified data needed.

Be careful

!Source link status has not been verified yet
!No last-checked date yet
!No SBA category enrichment yet
!No category operating model yet
!Low data confidence

Deal Calculator

Priced off $104K SDE — can this deal service its own debt?

2.13×

DSCR · Lender-comfortable

Purchase multiple — 3.2× SDE ($335K)

Category range: 2×–5× SDE

Down payment — 10% ($34K)

SBA minimum equity injection is 10% for change-of-ownership

Interest rate — 10.50%

Typical SBA 7(a) range: 9.5–12% (prime-based)

Loan term — 10 years

Standard SBA 7(a): 10 years for business acquisition

Purchase price

$335K

3.2× of $104K SDE

Cash to close

$44K

$34K down + ~3% closing

Debt service

$4K/mo

$49K/yr on $302K loan

Cash-on-cash

127%

cash back in ~10 mo

Debt service coverage · what the lender sees

2.13×+$5K/mo after debt

Most SBA lenders want ≥1.25× coverage; 1.5×+ is a strong file.

SDE = revenue × margin estimate for this niche; it includes owner compensation, so budget your salary out of cash flow. Excludes working-capital injection, capex reserves, and taxes. Actual SBA terms vary by lender and borrower.

Pros

+Recurring demand from labs with daily glassware turnover
+Contamination control makes quality more important than lowest price
+Sticky once embedded in lab workflows
+Can expand into lab support staffing and consumables

Cons

-Quality failures can damage research or clinical workflows
-Specialized washers, validation, and documentation are required
-Customer concentration can be high in smaller biotech markets

Best For

Lab operations, facilities, cleaning, or healthcare-service buyers who can run process-heavy recurring work

Operating Costs

Costs include lab washers, detergents, purified water, sterilization equipment, PPE, racks, transport bins, insurance, trained staff, documentation, and pickup routes. Margins depend on volume per route and quality-system discipline.