Labcon was founded in Marin County, California in 1959. Our original name was Ways and Means, Inc. The name given to the company then reflected the newness of the plastics industry. We were founded to literally find the "Ways and Means" to make plastic products. We made several small toys, vials for salt tablets, contact lens cases, cassette tape cartridges, and cigarette filters. Now over 50 years later we have grown to supply more than 1300 products to labs all over the world. We make more than a billion products every year. Labcon now focuses on innovative disposable labware products that incorporate concepts of “eco-efficiency” using less packaging, recycled plastics, and refillable packages. Many of our products have won patents and become market leaders. A particularly good example is the Pagoda® pipet tip reloading system. This product eliminates 90% of the packaging and waste in typical products of this kind and has spawned a multitude of imitations. Labcon has also been working to eliminate waste in more automated laboratories as more have begun to increase their use of robotics. More automated processing, and High Throughput Screening (HTS) consumes labware, and generates waste, at astonishing rates. Labcon has responded by manufacturing a line of robotics to deliver unique reduced waste labware. These low waste products; both standard and robotic, are marketed under our Earth Friendly® banner.