Company Profile
Chicago Clinical Laboratories Ltd. d/b/a NICL Laboratories
Company Overview
NICL Laboratories is an independently owned, service-driven clinical and diagnostic laboratory with a mission to improve the healthcare outcomes of our patients on a daily basis. With more than 45 years of experience in servicing the laboratory needs of the medical community, NICL continually operates with a commitment to service and patient care across the Midwest.
We are a private business of 150-200 employees led by a small but mighty management team, operating in a constantly changing business landscape. With our corporate headquarters just north of Chicago and four satellite offices, we provide comprehensive lab services to thousands of patients located across Northern Illinois and Indiana on a daily basis through our fleet of mobile phlebotomists and our laboratory and pathology professionals.
Company History
1977 - NICL FOUNDED BY DR. GEOFFREY KENT PhD
NICL first began when Dr. Geoffrey Kent, PhD – Chief Pathologist for Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Professor at NU Medical School, and former WWII military doctor – became Medical Director of Lab Services at McHenry Hospital. At that time Dr. Kent was a nationally known leader in liver pathology research with over 150 published articles. But to his community and colleagues he was mostly known for his strong teaching orientation and mentorship to his students and those with whom he worked.
1977-1984 - COMPANY TEAM, VALUES & MISSION TAKE SHAPE
NICL began attracting attention outside the hospital walls from providers requiring fast turnarounds on testing. NICL grew and moved to its own newly built facility in McHenry in 1984. This facility became its first independent lab and patient service center and led to acquisition of the most advanced lab instrumentation known it its day. From here, the once small hospital-based laboratory would rapidly expand its outreach to physicians, clinics, long-term care, and outpatients throughout northern Illinois.
1985-1996 - NICL EXPANDS ITS SERVICE FOOTPRINT
From a beginning that emphasized the most advanced technology and high service quality, NICL soon outgrew its original lab, and realized the benefit of multiple independent locations for a wider market impact. Over the next decade, NICL expanded its area of service through client referrals, internal growth, and 14 different competitor acquisitions, enabling service to more remote regions.
Late 1990s-Present - WHILE COMPETITORS RISE & FALL, NICL EMERGES STRONGER THAN EVER
Throughout this time, the clinical laboratory sector in the Midwest expanded and contracted in dramatic arcs, with fierce but ultimately transitory competitors setting up shop and folding with that tide. While fraud and misconduct consumed multiple competitive players, NICL stayed the course all the while absorbing the service responsibilities of its failed competitors. A singular survivor in an environment that cannot tolerate excess or waste.
2020 - NICL TEAM GOES INTO OVERDRIVE AT PANDEMIC’S EPICENTER
While outbreaks of COVID-19 swept the globe and the world went into lockdown, NICL and its dedicated staff went into overdrive to continue providing critical lab services to its clients. NICL did not cease operations for a single day amid the global panic, while revenues from base testing plummeted. By late 2020, NICL is finally able to procure COVID testing instruments in short supply, and is able to begin offering in-house PCR testing with 24-hour turn-around for its clients.
TODAY - ONE OF THE TOP DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORIES IN CHICAGOLAND
NICL is one of the top largest independent diagnostic testing laboratories in the greater Chicagoland area and provides service to tens of thousands of patients on a daily basis through service arrangements at hundreds of client facilities, including long-term care and assisted living facilities, hospitals, physician offices, and research institutions across the Midwest.
https://nicl.com/ourstory
Notable Products / Brands
NICL Laboratories