Organomation is proud to announce the winners of our 2025 Oldest Evaporator Contest, a celebration of durability, craftsmanship, and the labs who have trusted our equipment for generations. This contest invited users to showcase their oldest working Organomation evaporators—and the response was overwhelming. We were humbled to see so many classic units still in daily use, proving that a well-built evaporator is more than a purchase—it’s a long-term investment in scientific excellence.
As our Staff Accountant Ericka Pultorak put it best:
“I can’t believe evaporators from the 80’s are still working, that’s a real badge of honor for us. Twenty years from now the car you have might not be working, but your evaporator still will!”
Today, we proudly recognize the top three winners whose stories exemplify reliability, longevity, and the critical role our equipment plays in sample preparation worldwide.
🥇 1st Place – Duke University
12 Position N-EVAP | Early 1980s
Duke University’s Zhang Lab continues to rely on a 40+ year-old 12 Position N-EVAP, used almost every single day to concentrate samples measuring air pollution exposure before LC/MS analysis. Despite its age, the unit remains one of the lab’s most dependable tools.
Emily Craig, PhD student at Duke, shared:
“An interesting fact is, this N-EVAP evaporator has been the most heavily used device in our lab over the past decade, even after we acquired a spin vacuum and a 48-well N-EVAP several years ago.”
Even after 40 years, it continues to deliver the same dependable results, reminding us that durability isn’t just a feature—it’s a promise kept over time.
🥈 2nd Place – California Laboratory Services
24 Position N-EVAP | Mid-1980s
California Laboratory Services relies on their 24 Position N-EVAP for EPA 8015 Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon hexane extractions in soil and water testing. Decades later, it still supports high-throughput workflows with zero downtime.
Their team proudly reported: “No issues! It has been working great all of these years!”
Laboratory Technical Director Daniel Johnson added:
“We have used this N-EVAP evaporator for many years now, and it has been the cornerstone of our organic extraction procedures. With the N-EVAP we are able to load many samples at the same time for high throughput while also freeing up our analysts to handle other tasks during the process.”
🥉 3rd Place – University of Montreal (Canada)
24 Position N-EVAP | Mid-1980s
The University of Montreal’s research team uses their vintage N-EVAP to process environmental samples—concentrating pesticides, PFAS, and pharmaceuticals prior to LC-MS analysis. With “lots of years of wear and tear,” this unit is still going strong.
Justine Fontaine, Research Officer, shared:
“The N-EVAP evaporator is very useful in our field and we are happy to know how durable they are. Our evaporator is probably older than most students in our academic research lab, but now we know it is also one of the oldest units still working!”
Honoring All Participants
We extend our sincere thanks to everyone who entered the contest. It was inspiring to see just how many Organomation evaporators that are decades old are still performing critical work across academic, environmental, pharmaceutical, and industrial labs.
These stories reaffirm what our customers have known for decades: Organomation evaporators aren’t just equipment—they’re long-term partners in scientific discovery.
Thank You for Trusting Organomation
To every lab that submitted, and every scientist who continues to rely on our instruments—thank you. Your dedication fuels innovation, and your trust drives us to continue building products that last a lifetime, and beyond.
Here’s to another 65 years of reliability, precision, and partnership.