Metrohm Applikon services many sectors, most importantly, the chemical industry, petrochemical industry and semiconductor industry. For each client, the business develops customized solutions, starting with the products and instruments.
Each solution is unique, because each customer has different problems which need to be addressed. For example, when various companies need to prove their waste water is clean enough to discharge, different devices and analyses will be needed, because not all effluents have the same composition.
One company might have relatively clear effluent, while another has waste water that is laden with heavy metals. The firm is there to offer a solution for every customer’s individual needs. Along with offering specialized equipment, the business also uses a wide range of techniques to perform different chemical analyses. These include pH measurements, titration, ion chromatography, infrared spectrometry and colourimetry.
“These are the five main techniques we use when we build our equipment,” explains Timoer Frelink, CEO. “The Metrohm headquarters in Switzerland uses these methods for laboratory equipment while we use them in our equipment for process analysis in solutions for wet chemistry, which is chemistry concerning liquids.”
Titration is the most commonly used technique among the company’s customer base, but infrared spectrometry is growing in popularity because it does not rely upon chemicals in the evaluation and testing processes.
However, many of the customized solutions developed by Metrohm Applikon use several of the methods performed in a specific configuration. The business also provides maintenance contracts to its clients, guaranteeing that the analytical systems will be effective around the clock.
Even though the firm is primarily active in three specific industries, there is a huge span of services its equipment is expected to be able to perform. Some common uses include, checking the water quality used for brewing beer, measuring nutrient levels and hydrogen peroxide in the water of salmon farms, monitoring galvanic baths for airplane engines, measuring the concentration of salt in crude oil and much more.
“Since our products are capable of handling very specific testing across the sectors we service, we remain quite active globally,” says Mr. Frelink. The company does 40% of its business in Europe, 30% in Asia and 30% in the rest of the world.
The business is so adept at managing its international clientele, because there is a lot of synergy within the Metrohm Group as a whole. Each subsidiary has employees with an analytical chemical background that are able to develop and improve upon different applications for whatever market they work in.
That knowledge is then shared amongst the group and internal training is provided. The company even has its own academy in Switzerland for employees to learn more and stay informed. Future plans for the firm include expanding the process analytics branch worldwide, using more automatization in the process industry and staying up to date with the latest environmental regulations.
“We have a wealth of chemical and technical expertise,” states Mr. Frelink. “Combine that with our customized solutions, and clients have a partner they can count on.”