Gas control Spectron

GAS CONTROL

Frankfurt-based Spectron Gas Control Systems is supporting customers in a range of industries in the safe use of gas, and they are about to take their specialist expertise into Asia – as Julia Snow found out from Johan van der Klift, the managing director.

Gas is present all around us every day, in carbonated drinks and other food production, as well as in hospitals, laboratory environments and industrial and electronics manufacturing. The nature of gasses is as varied as the industries they are used in, and there are high standards of safety to be met – from the use of gas in medical or hospital environments through to the handling of highly toxic gases in petrochemical plants.

Spectron Gas Control Systems GmbH offers a whole range of solutions, containing all the appropriate components for a wide spectrum of gases and applications, from a simple valve for industrial gases up to fully automatic gas cabinets for semiconductor gases, from pressure regulators to complete supply systems. The product portfolio also includes alarm and control systems for gas applications, as well as gas purification systems to improve or secure the purity of the gases.

New location

Spectron is part of the global Messer holding group, which has over 110 years of history in gas applications in the cutting and welding industries. Last year the company split from the Oxyfuel division’s activities, and became an independent limited company. Around €1 million was invested in the new location for the company, resulting in a cutting edge set up, says Mr van der Klift: “We have a total of 1500m2 here, which house 11 modern Just in Time production cells. We have a clean room as well as a brand new ultrasonic cleaning machine and a vacuum testing machine. We recently rented an additional 400m2 nearby, which we are about to utilise.” 60 staff work in the Frankfurt headquarter which combines all main business functions, including assembly, quality control, R&D and sales. In addition there is a team of 12 staff in a

smaller production and sales team in Coventry, UK, which was acquired 4 years ago and acts as the company’s competence centre for gas applications in the semi conductor industry.

Environmental considerations are central to the business, says Mr van der Klift: “Our production is clean, because we outsource nearly all manufacturing and the assembly we do here has no environmental impact to speak of. Our products contribute to ‘green technologies’ because they are needed in environmental and energy analysis, like using gases to measure emissions for example.”

Applications

Modern gas applications require highly specialised expertise, says Mr van der Klift: “Although the industrial use of gases goes back to the early 20th century, for a long time it was simply for cutting and welding. In the last 20–30 years technologies and processes have evolved beyond recognition, giving rise to more specialised applications.”

So where is Spectron’s expertise needed today? “Basically anywhere where gases are used and where equipment is used to reduce pressures or manage flows.” Mr van der Klift, explains: “This could be anywhere in food, medical, petrochemical, automotive or manufacturing processes – but I would say that our main business is in high-purity, toxic or corrosive gases. These are more difficult to control and we can support users to do so safely. Our

German Premium-Quality

Uncompromising premium quality: This is what COG offered to their clients for more than 140 years now. As an independent manufacturer COG is a specialist in the production of precision O-Rings and elastomer seals.

COG delivers from Europe’s largest O-Ring stock (more than 45,000 items from stock) most various materials, including FFKM/FFPM.

This German manufacturer is a leading supplier in the seal technology thanks to their comprehensive stock, flexible production facilities and customer service commitment.

strength is that we can customise our products to respond perfectly to the challenges of each individual application.”

Markets

Spectron is present in the market with an inhouse team of sales engineers who work with the German and UK customers. In all other countries there are distributors who look after end users or installers.

Spectron’s reference list contains all the big names in gas-related industries. “Most of the large gas suppliers are on our customer list – and the cutting and welding sector is still an important one for us too. But as a component manufacturer we also have significant sales to laboratory furniture makers and laboratory installers.”

Germany is still the most important market for the company but with the low predicted growth rates in Europe, Spectron is about to make a serious move to benefit from the more rapid expansion of industries in Asia. “We expect our future growth to come from China and India, where 10–12 per cent growth rates are a reality. We recently invested €250,000 into our Chinese location, where we’ve had a sales and service office for a while. We’ve created full facilities for configurations and repairs and aim to double our staff from 4 to 8 by the end of the year.”

However, a firm commitment to Germany is part of Spectron’s strategy, says Mr van der Klift: “When we became an independent business unit last year, we decided to continue producing in Germany. Only here, we feel, can we guarantee the top quality and the levels of customer support that are needed for our highly customised solutions. Still, we can remain competitive because our lean production, smart design and the use of modular components allows us to keep prices realistic.”

Future outlook

In the coming years, Spectron aims to develop the distribution network further, in order to penetrate markets both in Europe and in the growing Asia-Pacific area. The company experiences strong demand from the semi conductor market, in particularly from the burgeoning photovoltaic technology used in solar energy applications. “It is important to us to be seen as leaders in quality and technology.” Mr van der Klift emphasises. “Our dedicated R&D team is very strong in redesign and innovation – so we have some real surprises in the pipeline for Achema in Frankfurt this July.” n