It should feel good!
Our goal is that you should have a positive feeling after completing a business transaction with Kovalent or after any contact you have had with us. We believe that such a positive feeling is created when we together succeed in achieving a ”win-win” situation. A good contact, or a good and successful business deal, always produces a positive feeling!
As you have probably already figured out, we at Kovalent are convinced that our purchasing decisions are based on feelings. Consequently it is important for our company to ensure that things also feel good for our personnel. We are convinced that our customers will notice the difference if our personnel are happy in their work. It always feels better to do business with someone who obviously likes what they do. Furthermore, it is much more enjoyable to manage a company where people feel secure and fulfilled in their daily work. Simply put - it feels better!
Confidence, trust and security are all concepts which build up a positive feeling over time. These concepts are unique for each individual, and trying to build the right feeling for each and every customer is something which we believe is truly worth the effort.
Behind every successful organisation you will always find a number of people who are passionate about what they do, and Kovalent is no exception. As Kovalent’s CEO I therefore wish to take this opportunity to emphasise my gratitude and admiration for our dedicated and competent personnel. They are the ones who make it happen!
Mikael Alfredsson
Kovalent AB was founded in 1992 by Jan Brattberg and Mats Grapne. We have a long experience within the field of sample preparation and chemical analysis techniques. Our core areas of business are GC (gas chromatography), GC/MS (gas chromatography/mass spectrometry), HPLC, sample preparation (digestion, extraction, ashing, synthesis) and evaporation, HPTLC/TLC (thin-layer chromatography). We have long-standing experience of HPLC, and we currently represent the Japanese manufacturer Jasco. They also offers a spectroscopy line including - UV-vis, FT-IR, Raman, Circular Dichroism, Spectrofluorometers, Polarimeters plus SFC and SFE.
Another area for us involves products for solid phase extraction. We have automated solutions for online-SPE for general work or dedicated application solutions from Axel Semrau. We also offers Elemental Combustion Analyzers from TE Instruments, for analysis of nitrogen, sulphur, chloride, TOC and more. Together with our subsidiary Skandinaviska Genetec AB we represent a range of world-leading instrument and companies producing lab consumables.
Kovalent have offices in Stockholm and Gothenburg (HQ). Our customers are primarily operators within the pharmaceuticals industry, environmental labs, universities & institutes, hospitals and the industries of power, forestry, and oil, to name but a few.
History & Ownership
Mats Grapne and Jan Brattberg first met at Hoffman-La Roche, where they started to sell equipment from Kontron Instruments in 1987. Jan and Mats later joined Ekoscann AB (1990) where they picked up the German supplier Gynkotek GmbH. The HPLC products from Gynkotek later formed the core business for the founding of Kovalent AB, which they started on 21 April 1992. Skandinaviska Genetec AB was aquired by Kovalent AB in 1996 and currently markets itself under the name Genetec. Genetec is one of the pioneers within the liquid chromatography consumables business. Genetec was founded in 1973.
Kovalent continued to focus on Gynkotek HPLC even after the american company Dionex Corporation had incorporated Gynkotek into its business late 1998. In conjunction with this acquisition Dionex also wanted to become part-owners in Kovalent. On 1 July 2008 a further change occurred when Dionex started Dionex Sweden AB, with Mats Grapne appointed as the new company’s CEO, while Jan Brattberg remained as CEO for Kovalent and Genetec. Some years after Thermo Scientific had acquired Dionex, Mats Grapne chose to return to Kovalent in 2012.
Values
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A short-term problem is a minor problem and a long-term problem is a major problem
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We exist for the benefit of our customers, not vice-versa
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If a customer has a problem then we also have a problem
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We sell our customers the right solution, not the most expensive one
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We shall have long-term relationships with our customers, not quick money-making deals at their expense
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We and the customer shall both feel like winners
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We do not denigrate our competitors
Environmental Policy
Kovalent’s approach to environmental issues is clarified in this policy, which has been approved by Kovalent’s CEO. This policy applies to the entire group.
Kovalent’s approach to environmental issues is clarified in this policy, which has been approved by Kovalent’s CEO. This policy applies to the entire group. We all need clean air and uncontaminated water to ensure our long-term survival. Kovalent shall actively contribute to good care of the environment, in order to create a secure future for coming generations.
Environmental responsibility
All Kovalent employees have a responsibility for the environment. In living up to this responsibility, Kovalent shall:
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strive to achieve a good environment in all its business operations. The term environment refers to both the external environment and the company’s own work environment, health and safety.
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manage environmental issues as an integral part of the business operations, and work to ensure that environmental factors are taken into consideration when making business decisions.
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evaluate and strive to minimise environmental risks for customers in conjunction with installations.
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influence, impose requirements on and collaborate with companies, institutions and organisations with the aim of achieving a better environment.
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ensure that consideration is given to the environmental impact of products from a technical and economic perspective in conjunction with procurement.
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consider the possible environmental impact of investment objects in conjunction with investments.
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actively work to increase the knowledge and awareness of customers, business partners, distributors and employees when it comes to environmental issues.
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ensure that the products and services which are procured within the group, as far as is technically and economically viable, meet high standards in terms of the environment and resource consumption. The group shall strive to choose products which are gentle on the environment and which can be reused/recycled.
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have environmental controls built into Kovalent’s control systems (auditors, inspectors, safety officers, etc.).
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include environmental information as part of the group’s internal and external information.
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integrate environmental issues into the group’s competence development measures.
Kovalent is affiliated to REPA and El-Kretsen.
