Love the tech and how they are planning to have product...

Love the tech and how they are planning to have product offerings for most of the microbiology lab value chain - from streaking, incubation, to analysis and reporting.

I'm only just starting my research and so I have a question regarding competition. I apologise if this has already been discussed. Below is an extract from the announcement on 27th August 2015,

Under the new license bioMérieux will retain the sole rights to service and support the installed base of PREVI® Isola systems, including supply of the patented disposable applicators used in the streaking process, and will discontinue sales of new systems by July 30, 2016. bioMerieux will focus its resources on the strategic alliance the company entered on January 9, 2015 with the Italian company Copan.

It would seem that this strategic partnership that our former exclusive distributor is focusing on is with Copan Group (correct me if I'm wrong) - http://www.copangroup.com/
There's an American subsidiary, Copan Diagnostics - http://www.copanusa.com/

They appear to have products in the lab automation value chain up to but not including analysis of cultures, i.e the competition is in the pre-analytical automation space. So I can see clear and compelling sales pitch for APAS independence, but will there be clear competitive advantage for APAS incubot and MicroStreak? Perhaps there will be proprietary culture plates that need to be used with APAS Independence, which won't work with other competitor pre-analysis automation systems? And therefore customers would have to purchase our upstream products also...

Products from Copan in the microbiology lab automation space:

WASP®DT: Walk-Away Specimen Processor is a solution for preanalytical Microbiology.  It is an open platform, modular instrument, and the only one in its field that addresses all aspects of automated Microbiology specimen processing: planting and streaking, Gram slide preparation and enrichment broth inoculation, to name a few.

WASPLab™, a sophisticated barcode driven Microbiology specimen processor and work-up system, connects with WASP®DT using a conveyor track.  WASPLab™ moves samples from front end processing to full specimen management, automated incubation and digital Microbiology.  With its modular design and small footprint, WASPLab™ can be customized to the unique needs of the lab.  The robotic plate management system, smart incubators and state-of-the-art image acquisition technology are changing the way labs work and opening the door for groundbreaking digital Microbiology.

I would be interested in people's opinions on whether Copans product technology in the pre-analytical automation stage is stronger than LBT's, hence why bioMérieux may have wanted to focus on their partnership with them? Or is it simply that they're a bigger and stronger partner (currently)?

Any thoughts and comments welcome.

Thanks