IDEX Health & Science ships 5 millionth Semrock® optical filter as demand increases due to COVID-19

Company News
April 27, 2020

IDEX Health & Science (IH&S) recently announced it has reached a major milestone, shipping its 5 millionth Semrock optical filter. IH&S design and process control of Semrock optical filters provides the life science market with an important and robust component that has become widely accepted as the industry standard. More recently, Semrock optical filters have played a role in detecting (through PCR instruments) and monitoring (through sequencing instruments) the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 resulting in a significant increase in demand.

Used to discriminate wavelengths of light, Semrock optical filters drive sensitivity of detection of fluorescent-labeled molecules. In life science applications like super-resolution microscopy, DNA sequencing, and hyperspectral imaging, the instrument interrogates the sample on a photon by photon basis and depends on the Semrock optical filter to precisely block or pass specific wavelengths of light. This is achieved by highly controlled molecular deposition methods and integrated design algorithms.

Founded in 2000, Semrock Inc. became a unit of IDEX Health & Science in 2015. The Semrock filter line is manufactured in the IH&S state-of-the-art facility in Rochester, New York. This manufacturing, research, and development center of excellence enables scalable growth for IDEX Health & Science’s optical components, sub-systems, and filters business lines. All Semrock optical filters are made with hard-coated sputtered thin-film coatings. Patented products include the BrightLine® fluorescence filters, RazorEdge® Raman spectroscopy filters, StopLine® notch filters, VersaChrome® tunable filters, Polarization bandpass filters, and PulseLine™ femtosecond optics.

“Supplying 5 million optical filters is a great achievement for our organization” said Joe Rytell, President of IDEX Health & Science. “But what’s most impressive is the role IH&S has played in supporting our customers whose instruments are being used 24/7 in the fight against this pandemic. I could not be more proud of our employees as they deliver on our mission and take care of each other during these extraordinary times. IH&S gives thanks to all its customers and key suppliers for helping to make this remarkable milestone possible during these challenging times.”

 

About IDEX Health & Science, LLC

IDEX Health & Science, LLC is the global leader in life science fluidics, microfluidics, and optics, offering a three-fold advantage to customers by bringing optofluidic paths to life with strategic partnerships, solutions, and expertise. As one of the few companies in the world with component, sub-system, and application level experts, IDEX Health & Science helps instrument developers solve the most demanding fluidic and optical challenges in a wide array of applications. At IDEX Health & Science we believe partnership will change the way the world innovates, leading to new technologies that improve our health, protect our planet, and enrich our lives. For more information visit: www.idex-hs.com  and at www.Semrock.com

Toptech Wins Award for Terminal Optimization

Company News
April 13, 2020

Toptech Systems, which manufactures presets and automation software for the oil industry, won the 2020 Global Tank Storage Award for Terminal Optimization in Rotterdam, Netherlands last month.

The award goes to a company with software, services, or models that succeed in optimizing, streamlining or improving storage terminals.

With the recent addition of the TMS6 Flex, and TMS7 terminal management systems, Toptech team members have developed technologies to help customers keep track of how much oil has been loaded, what’s been offloaded, and what drivers are authorized to load.

Toptech also manufactures hardware for the driver interface, and hosts software for analytics, fuel allocations, customer onboarding and data management.

“For over 30 years Toptech has focused on providing reliable, efficient and innovative solutions for terminal management by working side by side with our customers, driven to improve and optimize their operations,” said Annelies Godefroit, Business Development Manager at Toptech Systems.

“We are proud to have been recognized by the industry as the premier terminal optimization provider around the globe,” she said.

The Global Tank Storage Awards is a premier awards ceremony in the Oil & Gas terminal market and is designed to highlight those that excel in a range of different categories relating to terminal achievements, equipment innovations, ports and individual accomplishments

To see a recap video of the award ceremony, click here

IDEX Health & Science Helping Battle COVID-19

Company News
March 24, 2020

The discovery and early identification of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, was made possible by Next-Generation DNA sequencing technology (NGS). This discovery was made very quickly after the disease emerged in Wuhan, China and represents the all-important first step in identifying the virus genome. This sequencing allows for the testing and treatment development processes to kick into high gear. One of the earliest published articles on the novel coronavirus discusses the NGS methods used to examine its genome.

IDEX Health & Science (IH&S) has long played an enabling role in NGS with its fluidic and optical products and strong engineering partnerships with sequencing companies. DNA sequencing manufacturers rely on IH&S to design and manufacture fluidic and optical components and sub-systems. Our sites in Bristol, CT, Rohnert Park, CA, Middleboro, MA, Oak Harbor, WA, and Kawaguchi, Japan focus on advanced fluidic systems technologies that partition, degas, and mix sequencing fluids, while our Rochester, NY, and Carlsbad, CA sites innovate the optical systems that have helped to greatly improve sequencing throughput and efficiencies.

Discovering the RNA sequence of SARS-CoV-2 enables the development of the diagnostic tests that are in such high demand. These tests are possible due to a technology known as polymerase chain reaction, or PCR. The invention of PCR more than 30 years ago is considered one of the greatest inventions of the last century. It’s a procedure in which millions of copies of a pathogen’s genetic material are made so they can be detected from a patient sample. It is essentially an amplification method, whereby small amounts of genetic material that may be present in bodily fluids, hair, or tissues can be increased so that there is enough for analysis. Testing is crucial to stem the spread of COVID-19 because it allows health care workers to identify and quarantine infected people. This is a critical step in mitigating the spread so that COVID-19 does not overwhelm healthcare systems.

IDEX Health & Science works with many diagnostic companies around the world who are creating new PCR assays and instrument platforms to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Examples of our contribution to this technology can be seen in our Semrock line of optical filters that are employed in many PCR optical detection systems. These filters improve detection sensitivity by separating the signal from the noise and select for a targeted wavelength of light emitted from a PCR probe that measures the amount of SARS-CoV-2. Our microfluidics business lines in Zweibrucken, Germany and Wallingford, Connecticut provide high precision devices for the critical manipulation of PCR fluids and reagents.

While the current focus is to detect cases of COVID-19, we anticipate that the next phase will be to ramp testing capacity to support COVID-19 patients and to measure and track populations who have gained immunity due to exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Our core capabilities in life science applications along with the products designed and manufactured at all of our fluidics sites play a large role in supporting clinical chemistry analyzers and high throughput immunoassay platforms.

We are living our mission, “Trusted Solutions, Improving Lives”, like never before. Our efforts to support our customers, who develop and supply key instruments, are an essential part of our healthcare infrastructure.

“From the characterization of this new virus to mass testing, IDEX Health & Science has played a critical role in supporting our customers whose instruments are being used 24/7 in the fight against this pandemic. I could not be prouder of our employees as they deliver on our mission and take care of each other during these extraordinary times.” Joe Rytell, President, IDEX Health & Science.

Learn more about IDEX Health & Science at www.idex-hs.com

 

 

IDEX Helps with China’s Coronavirus Response

Company News
March 2, 2020

As the magnitude of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in Wuhan, China became clear, the Chinese government mobilized its resources and set out to build two new hospitals in less than two weeks. To help make it happen Chinese government suppliers reached out to IDEX China for several mission-critical components.

Even though businesses were already closed for the Lunar New Year holiday and many employees had begun traveling to visit family for the holiday break, the great teams of IDEX assembled and shipped a variety of orders for coronavirus response.

The IDEX efforts have included:

  • Pulsafeeder SPO donating LB series and LCC4 dosing pumps to the Red Cross of Yangzhou to disinfect waste water in the new hospitals;
  • BAND-IT supplying clamps for 1,300 new ambulances and other vehicles for emergency medical transport;
  • Gast delivering pumps for ventilation in the hospitals; and
  • IDEX Health & Science providing degassers, tubing and connections for blood chemistry analyzers, and tubing and connections for Chemiluminescence Immunoassay Analyzers.

IDEX China continues to place the health of its employees above all else, checking daily on not only the health of our employees, but also their families. We are proud of IDEX teams in China who contributed to the hospital and ambulance building projects. Please keep our Chinese colleagues in your thoughts during this challenging time.

IDEX Corporation Completes Acquisition of Flow Management Devices LLC

Company News
February 28, 2020

IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX) today completed its previously announced acquisition of Flow Management Devices, LLC (Flow MD), a privately-held provider of flow measurement systems that ensure custody transfer accuracy in the oil and gas industry.

“Adding Flow MD to the IDEX family of businesses extends our expertise in the energy sector, where we already serve refineries, chemical manufacturers and pipeline operators,” IDEX Chairman and CEO Andy Silvernail said. “We welcome all Flow MD employees and customers to IDEX. We look forward to fully integrating the company into our unique values-based culture and operating model.”

Flow MD joins IDEX’s energy group, complementing the pump and metering systems produced by fellow IDEX companies SAMPI, Toptech Systems, Liquid Controls and Corken. Flow MD products are known for their accuracy, repeatability, and reliability, with technology that is liquid and meter agnostic. In addition to its headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Phoenix, Flow MD has offices in Houston and Pittsburgh.

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200228005541/en/

IDEX Chief Operating Officer Eric Ashleman Named President

Company News
February 24, 2020

The IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX) Board of Directors voted February 21 to award Chief Operating Officer (COO) Eric Ashleman the additional title of President. The title had been held by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andy Silvernail, who retains those two positions.

The addition of the title President reflects Ashleman’s continued development as a senior leader and the impact he has on the organization. Ashleman has been COO for five years, during which time he has been an integral part of the IDEX’s success, including his role in developing the company’s distinct culture, business model and strategy. This decision is part of the Board of Director’s disciplined approach to long-term executive development and succession planning.

“Eric’s leadership and vision have been instrumental to the success of our company. He has been on the forefront of our unique approach to building an extraordinary enterprise that delivers excellence for our customers, shareholders, team, and community,” Silvernail said.

Ashleman and Silvernail have worked together at IDEX for more than a decade and IDEX has thrived under their partnership, posting significant growth in sales, margin, earnings, and return on capital. Since Ashleman became COO in July 2015, Total Shareholder Return for IDEX has increased 138 percent, more than double the return for the S&P 500 over that same period of time.

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200224005920/en/

 

About IDEX

IDEX is a global fluidics leader serving high growth specialized markets. We are best known for our expertise in highly engineered fluidics systems and components, as well as for our expertise in fire and safety products including the Jaws of Life® family of rescue and recovery tools. Our products touch lives every day. Whether it’s a life-saving rescue operation, dispensing fresh juice to a first grader or fueling aircraft, IDEX is a leader in creating enabling technology used in many of the most common everyday activities. For more information, please visit www.idexcorp.com. IDEX shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “IEX.”

 

IDEX Corporation to Acquire Flow Management Devices LLC

Company News
January 29, 2020

IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Flow Management Devices, LLC (Flow MD), a privately-held provider of flow measurement systems that ensure custody transfer accuracy in the oil and gas industry, for cash consideration of $125 million, before closing adjustments.

Flow MD engineers and manufactures technically-differentiated “unidirectional captive displacement provers,” also called “small volume provers.” In a market where slight inaccuracies in flow meter measurements at transfer points can result in enormous payment discrepancies for customers, Flow MD’s calibration products serve a critical application.

Flow MD has annual sales of approximately $60 million, and will join IDEX’s energy group, complementing the pump and metering systems produced by fellow IDEX companies SAMPI, Toptech Systems, Liquid Controls and Corken.

“Adding Flow MD to the IDEX family of businesses will extend our expertise in providing highly-engineered solutions to energy customers, including refineries, chemical manufacturers and pipeline operators,” IDEX Chairman and CEO Andy Silvernail said. “In our unique structure, companies retain a great deal of autonomy, while benefitting from the expertise and operating model at IDEX. Flow MD should flourish as part of our culture, where great teams win together by focusing on the things that matter most, combined with an obsession for solving our customers’ most challenging problems.”

To read the full announcement, click here

 

 

IDEX Health & Science Launches Film Degasser for Enhanced HPLC Performance

Company News
January 22, 2020

Recognized as a leader in Optics & Fluidics, IDEX Health & Science unveiled its new Film Degasser to the Fluidics industry last month. The Film Degasser is a component in the fluidic path of an instrument used to improve instrument precision and reliability by removing dissolved gases from fluids before they outgas and create problem-causing bubbles in High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) applications.

HPLC is a technology used to separate and identify mixtures of substances in a solution and measure individual components of a mixture – often helping test drugs for the Food and Drug Administration. The technology is also used to identify carcinogen compounds, pesticides and poisons to help improve water purification.

Using a high-efficiency membrane and unique flow channel design, the Film Degasser, which is about the size of a pack of gum, provides more performance and the lowest fluidic resistance in the industry.

Further enhanced with vacuum control methodology for consistent performance, the Film Degasser uses a patent-pending algorithm, which allows advanced control to select the optimal degassing efficiency for any HPLC separation method. It also enables users to integrate the degasser into the separation method control protocol and select a given efficiency for any HPLC system, which can be programmed to exact specifications for every application.

“As a market leader in degassing technology, our latest product is aimed at revolutionizing degassing in the industry. With it, we have created a versatile, high-performance system that is suitable for universal application,” said Saba Jazeeli, Senior Product Manager of the Analytical Instrument Market at IDEX Health & Science.  “It eliminates the design limitations of tubing-based degassers, delivering reduced pervaporation and a lower environmental impact by controlling the discharge of solvent vapors to the laboratory atmosphere.”

To learn more about the Film Degasser, click here

To watch a video of how the Film Degasser works, click here

BAND-IT Buckles, Tools Featured on “Britain’s Greatest Bridges”

Company News
January 21, 2020

BAND-IT in Chesterfield, United Kingdom was recently featured on Channel 5’s “Britain’s Greatest Bridges”.

At 2.2 km (1.37 miles) long, the Humber Bridge in Yorkshire, England, was the world’s longest single-span suspension bridge when it was completed in 1981. Longer than the Golden Gate Bridge in the United States, Humber Bridge is fortified with BAND-IT steel buckles and bands.

BAND-IT products are still used on the Humber Bridge today, as well as two other notable U.K. suspension bridges – the Forth Road Bridge in Scotland (2.5 km long) and the Severn Bridge (1.6 km) between South Gloucestershire in England and Monmouthshire in South East Wales.

The below image shows our Giant Band being installed on the suspension cables during the construction of the Humber Bridge some 40 years ago.

The TV series, which is produced by Viacom, focuses on six of Britain’s most iconic bridges and how they were designed and constructed.

If you’re located in the UK, you can watch the video here

 

 

Fitzpatrick Partners with Siemens on Contained Roller Compaction System

Company News
January 8, 2020

The Fitzpatrick Company recently partnered with Siemens, a global electrification, automation and digitization provider, on the development of the control system on their Contained Compaction System (CCS) which is used by the pharmaceutical industry to create granulated powders during the manufacture of Oral Solid Dosage.

To watch a video of how the product works, click here

After years of success with its CCS family of roller compactors, Fitzpatrick team members wanted to update the control software and incorporate the latest automation advances to remain competitive.

The goal was to come up with a smaller, lighter machine –all managed by an easy-to-use automation system for monitoring and control, complete with reporting capabilities fully compliant with requirements mandated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States and matched by similar requirements of other national regulators. That’s when Arash Avvali, Senior Controls Engineer at IDEX MPT, tapped on Siemens Corporation.

“Siemens automation system is the most user friendly. It’s so much easier to troubleshoot. There’s way less wiring too. And the cost is lower as well,” Arash said. “Their Portal Software is also super powerful and has lots of great features. It’s so easy to work with”

A Safety Controller was put in place to anchor the solution, complemented with a Panel PC to help manage all the reporting requirements, and Comfort Panels to make operating the machines simple and intuitive, with an abundance of information made available. The whole solution was engineered to not only be extremely reliable, but also very flexible, giving the IDEX MPT team the ability to make refinements for customers tailored to their specific needs and requests.

In 2018, several customers were able to test prototypes of the product and praised the CCS for its compact size, ease of use and the ability to clean the product more regularly.

Orders from this project have boosted sales in 2019, keeping Fitzpatrick in a competitive leadership position in years to come.

The Fitzpatrick Company and Quadro Engineering Corp. are Units of IDEX Material Processing Technologies and have been trusted partners of the majority of the world’s top pharmaceutical, chemical and food ingredient processing customers. IDEX Material Process Technologies (MPT) includes four companies — Quadro, Fitzpatrick, Matcon and Microfluidics.

 

 

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