Meeco moisture meters
Since 1948, MEECO has produced durable, high-quality gas analyzers for industry. Chief among our customers are natural and industrial gas producers and their distributors, utilities, chemical and petrochemical companies and the makers and users of ultra-high-purity gas. Headquartered in Warrington, PA, MEECO was founded by Dr. Gustav Bergson, a Harvard-trained physicist. He produced equipment to measure such disparate elements as color, radio frequencies, the micro vapor pressure of jet fuels and oxygen in gases. By the 1950’s, an arrangement with E.I. DuPont DeNemours enabled MEECO to pioneer instruments that measure trace moisture in solids, natural gas, and industrial specialty gases. As such, the electrolytic method is presently MEECO’s core technology.
Moisture Analyzers and Natural Gas
At first, moisture analyzers were mainly used to measure H2O in fluorocarbons. They came into wider use when experts in the natural gas industry found that monitoring moisture in gas pipelines helped avert corrosion, compressor breakdowns, and freeze-ups caused by large pressure drops. In response to the need for on-site pipeline testing, MEECO created a portable moisture analyzer for field technicians. Tennessee Gas bought the first of these units in 1959. Since then, MEECO has sold over 10,000 portable units to the “Southwest Oil Patch”. In addition, natural gas utilities depend on continuous, accurate moisture readings because gas prices are based on BTU ratios, which are in turn affected by moisture levels.
MEECO Enters a New Era
The market for moisture analysis technology expanded further as utilities, industrial gas manufacturers, and other industries began using the instruments. Electric utilities such as PECO (the Exelon unit long known as the Philadelphia Electric Company) must eliminate moisture in their instrument air systems to avoid corrosion. Industrial gas manufacturers, such as Praxair and Air Liquide, must monitor moisture content to meet industry specifications for pure, dry gas. Likewise, semiconductor manufacturers must control moisture down in the high-purity gases used to assure IC quality.
MEECO Markets Diversify and Grow Worldwide
In 1983, Lisa Bergson took over the business from her father. By then, moisture analyzers were the company’s primary business. After instituting new quality and service procedures, she focused the company on product development, on-going technical innovation, global expansion, market diversification, and progressive management and manufacturing practices. By the late 1980s, her management team successfully diversified the company into a leading purveyor of moisture analyzers for the emerging semiconductor market worldwide.
MEECO Stands for Cutting Edge Innovation
MEECO’s growth derives from constant innovation. In 1987, it launched the world’s first ppb moisture analyzer for ultra-pure electronic gases used in the semiconductor industry. It came to dominate the market. Thereafter, in early 1991, MEECO rolled out several state-of-the-art analyzers. These comprised the Turbo™, for online, low ppb moisture monitoring; the L’eau Pro™, the world’s first commercially available, low ppb moisture generator; and the Accupoint™, also a first. The Accupoint, a transducer for industrial and natural gas, allowed multi-point readings using an electrolytic sensor, a capability never before available.
By 1995, MEECO was ready with the Turbo 2™, capable of detecting down to one ppb and lower, and the WaterBoy™, an inexpensive easy-to-use, new portable for the natural and industrial gas industries. And, in 1997, another product outpouring occurred with the advent of the Tracer™, the first low-cost, modular ppb moisture analyzer; the NastyBoy™, an innovative design for moisture in chlorine; the Accupoint LP, a transmitter for measuring moisture at low pressures; and the UHP Sprite™, a very simple, inexpensive go/no-go device for tracking moisture breakthroughs on the ultra-high-purity gas lines.
By 1999, MEECO introduced the WaterBoy 2™, Accupoint 2™ and Accupoint LP 2™, updated versions of their microprocessor-driven predecessors. A fourth device, the IceMan™, designed in collaboration with DuPont, measures moisture in Freon substitutes, a growing market. Further, MEECO launched a line of percent humidity devices, the Aquatek™ series, for demanding industrial environments.
MEECO introduced the Aquavolt™ and Aquavolt+™ in late 2001. Prized for their robust technology and simplicity of use, these rack-mount instruments are highly valued in their second decade of service in online moisture monitoring. The AquaVolt is used primarily for industrial gases and instrument air. The AquaVolt+, with a lower detection limit of 35 ppbV, is chiefly found in scientific labs, specialty gas applications and semiconductor gas qualification.
De Tracer 2 ™, een update van ons vlaggenschipmodel, werd geïntroduceerd in 2005. Het combineert 0,5 delen per miljard (ppb) vochtdetectie met verbeterde reactiesnelheid.
In 2010 lanceerde MEECO de M-i ™ online mini-vochtmonitor. Ontworpen voor direct gebruik op de gastoevoerleiding, meet de M-i een ideaal bereik van 0,5 ppm tot 1000 ppm (parts-per-million). Een doorbraak in minisensoren, de M-i combineert krachtige schone technologie in een klein, innovatief en betaalbaar pakket. Met behulp van de nauwkeurige en lineaire elektrolytische technologie van MEECO, garandeert de M-i gemoedsrust met no-drift-analyse. In 2012 introduceerde het bedrijf zijn MedOx ™ -instrument, specifiek ontworpen voor medische zuurstof behandeld door gasleveranciers, ziekenhuizen en de luchtvaartindustrie.
Levensduur, loyaliteit en het geheim van het succes van MEECO
Mevrouw Bergson verklaart het opmerkelijke uithoudingsvermogen van MEECO door te wijzen op zijn aanpassingsvermogen en op de uitzonderlijke bijdragen van zijn personeel. De medewerkers van MEECO werken als een team in een freewheeling, ondernemersomgeving die het delen van ideeën en oplossingen aanmoedigt. Mevrouw Bergson beschrijft haar ervaring met MEECO als "ongewoon, bijna als het starten van een nieuw bedrijf." Tegelijkertijd benadrukt ze: 'Mijn vader heeft een geweldige basis achtergelaten: uitstekende producten, veel loyale klanten en vrijwel geen schulden. Nu gaan we de uitdaging aan om MEECO naar de toekomst te leiden. ”