Although the current name Astell Scientific was adopted in the late 1980’s, the company can trace a rich history in sterilization and autoclave manufacturing that extends back over 130 years.

Charles Hearson established Charles Hearson & Co in 1884, a company specialising in the manufacture of autoclaves and incubators for medical practitioners. The company continued to evolve through the early half of the twentieth century offering temperature controlled and other laboratory apparatus. 

Around 1950 two gentlemen named Tom Ashton and Reg Cuttell established Astell Laboratory Service Co. to offer a range of products and consumables to the growing laboratory sector, the name ‘Astell’ being an amalgamation of parts of both their surnames. A decade later the business merged with Charles Hearson and Co. to form one company under the name Astell Hearson, and it’s this company, renamed Astell Scientific in 1988, that is survived today and remains the leader in sterilization technology. It's this heritage and long-running experience that enables Astell to continue to produce world leading products.