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line is available at ESI Technologies as part of its extensive portfolio of process equipment. This new line offers a high-performance, long-lasting solution specifi cally tailored for food & beverage and clean utility areas.
“ESI is the master distributor throughout Europe for T-Fit® products manufactured by Zotefoams,” Sales Director UK, Rob Leadbeater, explained. “We have been supplying T-Fit® Clean insulation into the biotech industry for approximately 12 years. Zotefoams recently launched a similar product called T-FIT® Hygiene which is ideal for the food and beverage industry with unrivalled performance.”
ESI was founded in 1919 as Southern Engineering, which grew to become one of the largest suppliers of process equipment in Ireland. The company steadily acquired agency agreements with a range of leading manufacturers, before emerging as ESI Technologies Ltd in 1997. ESI Process UK was formed in 2002, with ESI Ultrapure Division established in 2015 to focus on growth of the biopharma market.
ESI has been a part of the Indutrade Group of companies since 2013. Indutrade encourages organic growth through empow ering entrepreneurship and investing in people whilst using a decentralised model.
In 2019, ESI celebrated 100 years of business, following the expansion of its Cork headquarters with increased warehousing and office space. In addition to this, more recently the company added ISO Class 7 clean rooms dedicated to the manufacture of single use tubing assemblies to the life science sector. ESI Process UK, also with new offices and expanded warehousing, is based out of Cwmbran in Torfaen, South Wales to cater for nationwide support.
When a management buyout at ESI took control of the company in 2002, the group was much smaller with less than 20 staff. From that point, growth has been linear, with a CAGR of approximately 18%. This consistent growth has brought ESI to a much stronger position with a current turnover of around £70 million and a 100-strong team.
An extensive portfolio
T he diverse range of products at ESI has made the company the leading player in the Irish process equipment market, capturing approximately 25% share. ESI also designs and manufactures skids systems to perform a range of functions including contin uous batch process, heat exchange, fluid transfer, energy recovery and more. Products within ESI’s portfolio include valves, pumps, instrumentation, and safety equipment, all designed and manufactured to meet the unique requirements of the customer.
“We represent numerous product lines,” Mr Leadbeater said. “Many of which are sole supply, which means they are only available through ESI in the UK and Ireland.
“ESI has partnered with some of these suppliers for many years. Flowserve SIHI is our longest agency since 1962. Habonim, manufacturer of state-of-the-art industrial ball valves and actuators, has been working with us since 2000. Continental Disc Corporation is a leading rupture disc manufac ture who has worked with ESI since 2001. Other valued suppliers include Emerson, NovAseptic®, who is part of Merck Millipore, Amazon Filters, and Crane Saunders®.”
With such a diverse portfolio at ESI, a close relationship with suppliers is a key aspect of the business, and according to Mr Leadbeater: “We work closely with the manufacturers, and we have great relationships with them. Transparency between us, the manufacturers, and the end-user is something we pro mote, and this approach works very well for us.”
T-FIT® insulation solutions
The recent launch from ESI is in partnership with supplier Zotefoams, a pioneer in cellular materials and the world’s largest manufacturer of lightweight crosslinked poly olefin block foams. Zotefoams’ T-FIT® closed-cell foam is the most cost-effective insulation
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solution for plant-wide fibre and dust-free installation in demanding, highly controlled production environments.
The T-FIT® Clean range is a modular cleanroom insulation system for pharmaceutical, biotechnology and semiconductor manu facturing. The sister T-FIT® Process line offers high-performance insulation for process areas demanding heat-tolerant insulation. However, the buzz at ESI is for the new T-FIT® Hygiene range from Zotefoams, which is tailored for aseptic areas in FMCG applications, especially food and beverage, dairy, and personal care.
“ESI is now promoting T-FIT® Hygiene toward the food and beverage sector,” explained Mr Leadbeater. “In food production there are lots of hot and cold lines. T-FIT® Hygiene protects operators against burns, including cold burns, plus preventing
heat loss and condensation. It is constructed from a closed-cell foam, and it does not become wet or get bacterial growth on it. Given its competition, T-FIT® Hygiene is the only thing that tr uly works now.”
The addition of T-FIT® Hygiene to the portfolio enhances ESI’s reputation as a one-stop shop for projects. While structured as a sales and distribution company, ESI maintains a strong engineering bias displaying high levels of customer support. Much of this sup port is offered at the start of a client’s project, as ESI consults early in the life of a project, offering its engineering expertise to help the client select the right packageof equipment.
One secret to the depth of knowledge at ESI is the high-level of staff retention, supported by dedicated investment in the team.
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“People come to ESI, and they tend to stay at ESI,” Mr Leadbeater agreed. “Most of our heads of division have probably been with the company somewhere between 20 and 30 years. “We take pride in having our product specialists factory trained, ensuring we understand emerging technologies that (coupled with their knowledge and experience), keeps our customers informed on what can best improve on site processes.”
The extensive package of equipment available at ESI, combined with the knowledgeable staff, enables ESI to fulfil projects such as the one highlighted by Mr Leadbeater: “We are two-thirds of the way through a major pharma project located in the UK. ESI are sup plying £2 million worth of equipment to the client, consisting of about 5,000 individual line items from 21 manufacturers.”
The solutions people
By operating in three different regions, ESI recognises market dif ferences between Ireland, UK, and the Benelux. The Irish market has a focus on bio/pharma, while the Benelux office is busier with the life sciences. In contrast, business in the UK is more diverse, being a more balanced mix of industries for ESI, including power, nuclear, pharma, biotech, chemical, and food and drink.
With such a diverse portfolio, it was inevitable that ESI has been impacted by the disruptions in the global supply chain. Restrictions in the availability of raw materials and increases in freight costs are ongoing challenges for the company, how ever, strong relationships with suppliers have enabled ESI to handle these issues and keep the production line running.
Alongside these global issues, the com pany is also committed to environmental sustainability, according to Mr Leadbeater: “This is a target at ESI for the remainder of this year and going into the next. Education is a key criterion for us, where we focus on man aging our own consumption and the energy we use. ESI has employed a dedicated person to work with our Indutrade teams globally to ensure we hit firm commitments to get us to Net-Zero.”
As ESI pushes towards the goal of net zero, the company is also looking towards expanding its market share and main taining the trend of steady growth. To support these objectives, ESI searches for the right people to sustain this journey.
Working as part of the team is core to the ESI experience. “Ultimately, we’re a sales company,” concluded Mr Leadbeater. “Peoplebuy from people. I know technology is changing the way we buy, but whilst there is still a human aspect involved in the business, then it makes life interesting, and every day is
“ESIdifferent.isproud
to support the industries that enable our daily lives: pharma, biotech, power, nuclear, food and beverage. We support these industries from a solutions point of view, promoting products that create a cleaner, safer, and more efficient produc tion site for our cus tomers.”
ESI Technologies celebrates 100 Years in business
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