Last week, the Labman team headed to SLAS Europe 2026 in Vienna — and what a week it turned out to be.
Our stand was bustling throughout the event, with plenty of interest in MultiVial and, as always, lots of conversations around Labman’s custom automation capabilities. The highlight, of course: getting your very own personalised vial, laser-etched right before your eyes.
Representing Labman on the stand were Matt, Anona and Cathryn, with Chloe and Katie lending support across the week. Beyond the booth, it was great catching up with other vendors and seeing some seriously impressive automation and technology on display. Many companies, known and unknown to us showcased some standout innovations. Plus we enjoyed catching up with familiar names including Festo, Hamilton and Agilent Technologies.
Vienna itself didn’t disappoint either. Between meetings and networking, we enjoyed fantastic food, stunning weather and a beautiful spot right on the Danube waterfront. Even the conference coffee had a memorable twist thanks to edible cups — yes, that’s a thing.
One of the highlights of the week came through the Agri-Tech Technical Interest Group (TIG), where we attended an excellent presentation from Sean Woodward, Laboratory Automation Team Lead at Syngenta. Sean explored the unique automation challenges facing agri-tech labs, from handling complex biological samples through to scaling assays and managing broths, slurries and biological materials.
The talk also featured several Labman automation systems currently operating day-to-day at Syngenta, including Wall-E, their plant sample preparation system for LCMS workflows, and Dora, designed for automated leaf disc production. It was fantastic to see these systems highlighted as part of real-world scientific workflows tackling genuine industry challenges.
The conference peaked in style with the SLAS afterparty at the Prater amusement park. Between the towering swing ride, mini rollercoaster and bungee attractions flying overhead, it certainly wasn’t a quiet networking event. We’ll admit we avoided the rides ourselves, but the atmosphere was brilliant. Huge credit goes to Molecular Devices, the event’s main sponsor, for putting on an unforgettable evening complete with traditional Austrian dancers, live music and excellent food.
A huge thanks to everyone who stopped by the Labman stand across the week. SLAS Europe once again proved why it remains one of the highlights of the automation calendar — and we’re already looking forward to the next one.