Can Skalar Replace Your FIA or Lachat Analyzer?

Updated

Yes—Skalar explicitly positions itself as a source for FIA and Lachat replacements, and its continuous flow analyzer line (the SAN++® Series) is the most direct fit for labs moving off those platforms. Whether a specific method transfers cleanly depends on your application and parameters, so the practical path is to match your current method to a Skalar analyzer through the company's analyzer selector, then confirm details with Skalar's application support before committing.

What Skalar Offers as a Replacement Path

Skalar is a Dutch manufacturer of laboratory automation founded in 1965, with subsidiaries across most of Europe, North America, and India, plus a worldwide representative network. Its stated focus is automating routine analyses—water, soil, and nutrient testing among them—for environmental, pharmaceutical, agricultural, detergent, and food and beverage laboratories.

Two product lines matter most for FIA/Lachat users:

  • SAN++® Series (continuous flow analysis): The current range includes the SAN++® Compact, Classic, and Advanced models, described as providing fully automatic, accurate colorimetric analysis. Continuous flow analysis is the technology family closest to traditional FIA workflows, which makes this the first line to examine.
  • BLUVISION® (discrete analysis): An alternative automation approach covered in Skalar's discrete analysis eBook, aimed at contamination-free, flexible testing across water, soil, and environmental applications. Worth considering if your lab wants to move away from flow-based methods entirely.

Skalar's site also hosts a webinar on seawater analysis with the BLUVISION® (available on demand) and has announced a TOC/TNb analyzer webinar featuring IGNIVIUS—useful if your replacement decision touches those parameter areas.

How to Find the Matching Analyzer

Skalar provides an analyzer selector tool designed for exactly this task: you choose your application and parameter, or select a technology, and the selector returns the matching analyzer. For a replacement project, the sequence looks like this:

  1. List your current methods. Write down each parameter you run on the FIA or Lachat system (for example, nitrate, phosphate, ammonia, or other colorimetric determinations) and the sample types—water, soil extract, wastewater, or something else.
  2. Enter application and parameter into the analyzer selector. The tool maps your inputs to a recommended instrument.
  3. Compare technologies where results are ambiguous. If the selector points to more than one option, weigh continuous flow (SAN++) against discrete analysis (BLUVISION®) based on throughput needs and how closely you want to mirror your existing workflow.
  4. Confirm with Skalar support. The site directs inquiries through a contact form; application support is described as a core part of the organization's daily work with users.

Expected result: a shortlist of one or two instruments tied to your actual parameter list, rather than a generic product family.

What to Verify Before You Decide

Skalar's public pages describe capability and positioning, not method-by-method equivalence with specific FIA or Lachat instruments. Before treating a Skalar analyzer as a drop-in replacement, confirm:

  • Method equivalence for each parameter you run, including detection limits and range relevant to your samples.
  • Throughput against your current sample volume—the SAN++® tiers (Compact, Classic, Advanced) differ in this respect, so ask which tier matches your load.
  • Regulatory or accreditation implications of changing platforms for any reported methods; this is lab- and jurisdiction-specific and should go to your quality team.
  • Commercial terms—pricing, lead time, and service coverage are not published on the site, so these come from direct contact.

Common Sticking Points

  • Assuming the selector alone settles it. The tool narrows the field; application-specific confirmation still comes from Skalar's support team.
  • Overlooking the discrete option. Labs often search only for a flow-based replacement, but BLUVISION® may suit labs whose method mix or contamination concerns favor discrete analysis.
  • Skipping the parameter list. Vague inquiries ("we run a Lachat") slow down matching; a written parameter and sample-type list gets a faster, more precise answer.

Next Step

Gather your parameter list, run it through Skalar's analyzer selector, and send the resulting shortlist plus your current method details through the contact form. That combination gives Skalar's application team what they need to confirm a viable replacement path.