Watrex Praha is a leading Czech inventor, manufacturer, and distributor of liquid chromatography (HPLC) instruments and systems. The company was established in 1990 by Dr. Milan Minarik, who is regarded as one of the founding fathers of GPC and HPLC in the former Czechoslovakia. In the early years Watrex acted as a general distributor in Czech Republic and Slovakia for Waters, division of Millipore and, later, for Hewlett-Packard. In 1992 Watrex has assumed a distributorship for LDC Analytical company (acquired by Thermo Separation Products (TSP)). At the same time, Watrex has also served as an exclusive distributor for a number of manufacturers of chromatography consumables and column technology.

A strong chromatography background of Watrex has been built on a team of HPLC specialists with expertise in method development and service for a wide range of HPLC instruments. During the 1990s and 2000s Watrex has transformed from sole distribution to manufacturing resulting in a range of own chromatography products such as the DeltaChrom™ LC Pumps and detectors, automated SPE solutions, solvent savers etc. The instrument manufacturing was complemented by a signature **Polymer IEX™ ion exclusion chromatography and DeltaSil™ C18 phase columns and packings.

Since 2015, ownership of the Watrex company has gradually transitioned from father to son. Dr. Marek Minarik, who received his Ph.D. in Bioanalytical chemistry in Boston working with Barry L. Karger - one of the most notable figures in chromatography, assumed the position of a General manager. During the subsequent years Watrex has introduced a redesigned line of chromatography instrumentation to further serve analytical chemist’s needs for top quality products at reasonable cost. The new instruments sold under a Streamline™ trademark cover a full range of traditional HPLC components from robust double piston solvent delivery systems (in isocratic and binary gradient formats), detectors (including variable wavelength, photodiode array, refractive-index and conductivity), column thermostats and fraction colectors, combined with OEM autosamplers. The product range is further emphasiced with dedicated systems for ion chromatography (with conductivity suppresion) and gel-permeation chromatography with viscosimetric detection. All Streamline™ components are made of parts manufactured in either USA or EU.

The development of new products at Watrex relies upon multiple scientific collaborations with leading academic centers. Over the past 10 years Watrex has taken part in over a dozen of research projects supported by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic or the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade. In 2020 Watrex was awarded an EU patent no. 3396372 covering a method for improvement of HPLC resolution by zero-dead volume recycle chromatography. The technology is used in REPETTO™ system, which was awarded a price for analytical instrumentation at the LABOREXPO 2017 exhibition.

Watrex Prague headquarters in Karolína Center in Prague 6 - Ruzyně

Main Chromatografic and Related Techniques Supported

• LC
• GPC
• IC
• IEC
• Automated SPE
• LC Columns and special column packings
• LC method development
• Software development
• Laboratory Robots

Major Products

• LC pumps
• UV Detectors
• Solvent saver
• Column oven
• Post Column Reactor
• Automated SPE
• Fraction collectors
• Robotic Loaders for DNA Analyzer
• Tailor Made Laboratory Equipments
• HPLC Columns and bulk packings
• LC training
• Water purification systems

Facilities

Both, the head office and production facility are located in headquarters in Karolína Center in Prague 6 - Ruzyně.

Targets

• development of new chromatography products as well as techniques
• strenthening WATREX position on the existing markets (Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Germany, USA, Netherlands)
• expansion to the new markets worldwide