Laucks Labs Grows With Acquisition Of Yakima Firm

SEATTLE

Laucks Testing Laboratories Inc., a company with an 84-year history in the Northwest, just expanded with the addition of TR Applied Science Inc. of Yakima.

The acquisition came last week as Laucks, based in Seattle, intends to expand in Eastern Washington.

Laucks offers chemical and microbiological testing services for the Pacific Northwest, with more than 1,000 clients served in just the past year.

The company tests a broad range of products and materials, including air, food, industrial chemicals and water, for safety regulations.

The Yakima company "will give us a presence in Eastern Washington," said Jim Owens, president of Laucks. "It doesn't have the lab support that Western Washington does."

Tamis Root, former owner of TR Applied Science, agreed, saying her company was unable to take on larger projects. "We're primarily a food laboratory," she said. "But we wanted to do more."

She saw the union with Laucks as an opportunity to expand.

"We thought we could work together. It seemed like a good thing to merge," she said.

Irving Laucks founded Laucks Laboratories in 1908, not long after Yukon gold first made its appearance in Seattle.

At first, the company provided only metallurgical test services for gold-field operations.

But over the years, Laucks tests have been applied to a wide range of substances, from certifying imports and exports to analyzing food and water.

In 1951, under new ownership, the company's name was changed to Laucks Testing Laboratories Inc. and Francis Owens became president.

Today, Laucks plays a role in the nation's environmental cleanup. Since 1985, it has been a longstanding contractor for the Environmental Protection Agency's toxic-waste cleanup program, Superfund.

Laucks also works with the state Department of Ecology, testing water for much of Washington, including King County.

"They're a good full-service lab," said Dave Bingham, drinking-water test officer for the state of Washington.

Laucks can analyze all types of food, with a special expertise in dairy products. Many organizations, including water districts, meat processors and restaurants - use the company's chemical services and its microbiological ones, too.

Owens said the organization often tests for pollutants and hazardous wastes.

"Most of our work is for the environment," he said. "We're probably 80 percent environmental."

He hopes the addition of TR Applied Science, will continue Laucks' long environmental tradition in the Northwest.