Air Products last week hosted an exhibition at its European Technology Group’s headquarters in Basingstoke to showcase 21 years of innovation and to promote the importance of collaborative research projects as a focus for R&D investment.
The ‘Spirit of Innovation’ exhibition (1 – 3 February 2012) was attended by local science students as well as a host of customer, research and industry partners from across Europe. Exhibits at the event included some of the European Technology Group’s most significant and award-winning R&D success stories to date, since the facility opened in 1991, and their impact in the global marketplace. Two of the exhibits – Air Products’ BIP technology and the Integracylinder, with its complementary Maxx gases range, have achieved Queen’s Awards for Innovation in 2004 and 2007 respectively.
In recent decades, cryogenic technology has found many varied industrial uses in everything from food freezing systems to emissions control solutions, in fact, in virtually any application that benefits from an extremely cold environment. Industrial gas cylinders and cylinder packs are used in everything from sub sea construction to laboratory analysis and welding applications.
John Marsland, Air Products’ Senior Vice President and General Manager of Global Merchant Gases, said:
“Some of the company’s brightest research scientists and engineers are located at the Centre, working on collaborative initiatives with research and industrial partners to find solutions to global engineering and technical challenges.
“This exhibition has been organised to showcase innovation at all levels, not just the market-leading products that have become synonymous with our brand. Celebrating achievements in this area will help to foster a ‘spirit of innovation’ which will continue to benefit our business and inspire research initiatives.
“The exhibition also underlines our business strategy, which is to focus on continuing to invest in core activities in order to further strengthen our position as a leading industrial gas supplier.”
The following exhibits are among those that featured at the exhibition:
• Food freezing tunnels that use liquid nitrogen to individually quick freeze food products, improving product quality by helping to reduce moisture loss and improve taste, texture and appearance
• Cryogenic emissions control technology to recover VOCs and other harmful pollutants from fridges and freezers at the end of their life.
• The innovative Integra cylinder, which is lighter, easier to handle and safer to use, along with the Maxx range of gases. Together, they are helping welders to improve productivity, weld quality, efficiency and the working environment.
