ALS Limited
ALS Limited (ASX: ALQ) is a company headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, which provides testing, inspection, certification, and verification services out of over 370 sites across 65 countries. In 2012, the company was inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame.[2]
 | |
| Traded as | ASX: ALQ |
|---|---|
| Industry | Testing Services |
| Founded | 1863 |
| Headquarters | Brisbane, Australia |
Number of locations | 370 sites, 65 countries, 6 continents(end 2016)[1] |
| Services | Testing, Inspection, Certification, Verification |
| Revenue | AUD 1.365 billion (end 2016)[1] |
Number of employees | 11,500 (end 2016)[1] |
| Divisions | Minerals, Life Sciences, Energy, Industrial |
| Website | https://www.alsglobal.com/ |
History
Campbell Brothers
The company now known as ALS was founded in Brisbane in 1863 by a Scottish immigrant, Peter Morrison Campbell as 'Campbell Brothers', a soap manufacturer located in the suburb of Kangaroo Point. In 1881, the business moved to a site at Bowen Hills where it operated for the following 100 years, producing various soaps and cleaning chemicals.
In 1952, the company was publicly floated and listed on the local stock exchange as 'Campbell Brothers Limited'.[3]
In 2012, Campbell Brothers Limited was renamed 'ALS Limited', and has divested its former manufacturing businesses.
Australian Laboratory Services
ALS commenced laboratory testing operations in Brisbane as ‘Australian Laboratory Services' in 1976 as a privately owned company. The company initially provided analytical chemistry services for the oil shale and mineral exploration industries, and grew steadily in its first decade of operations. In 1981, Campbell Brothers acquired a controlling stake in Australian Laboratory Services, and purchased the remaining shares by the mid 1980s.[3]
Following rapid growth and diversification across Australia in the 1980s, ALS expanded into Asia and South America in the 1990s, before expanding into North America, Africa, and Europe in the early 2000s and finally the Middle East in 2011.[4]
ALS became one of the world's largest providers of laboratory analysis services to the minerals industry, after acquiring North American mineral laboratory groups 'Chemex Labs' in December 1999, and 'Bondar Clegg' in December 2001.
Operations
With more than 11,500 staff, ALS operates from over 370 locations in 65 plus countries throughout Australia, Asia, the Pacific, North America and South America, Europe, and Africa. The company is currently divided into several business streams:[5]
- Life Sciences: Operates laboratories specialising in environmental monitoring, food and pharmaceutical, electronics, and consumer products market sectors.
- Commodities: Provides testing services for the global mining industry in service areas such as geochemistry, metallurgy, coal, mine site services and inspection. Mineral services cover the entire resource life-cycle from exploration, spectral mineralogy, feasibility, production, design, development through to trade, and finally rehabilitation.
- Industrial: Provides diagnostic testing and engineering services for the energy, resources, transportation and infrastructure sectors.
References
- "2016 annual Report" (PDF). ALS Limited. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- "Hall of Fame". Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame. State Library of Queensland. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
- "Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame | ALS Limited (formerly Campbell Brothers)". leaders.slq.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- "Our history : ALS". www.alsglobal.com. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- Annual Report 2018 (PDF). ALS Limited. 1 August 2018. p. 15. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
