Background
Imagine commanding a massive share of the highly competitive fuel systems market, only for your production line to be constantly dragged down by unreliable equipment. That was the exact reality for one of our customers, a major Tier 1 automotive supplier. They were relying heavily on a competitor’s helium recovery system to keep their leak testing lines moving, but it was turning into an absolute headache. The system was hit by frequent faults and unexpected downtime. Instead of saving valuable resources, it was actually causing a net loss of gas, wasting time and burning through money.
To make matters worse, the global helium shortage hit right in the middle of these struggles. As industrial helium prices began to increase, the continuous gas losses transformed from an annoying operational glitch into a massive drain on the company’s balance sheet.
Recognising that things couldn’t go on like this, facilities management flagged the issue while conducting a routine appraisal of their helium consumption. Purchasing quickly stepped in with a formal audit, which the engineering team subsequently verified. With multiple plants facing the exact same bottleneck, the customer formed a dedicated internal task force to track down a high-capacity helium recovery system that could actually handle their intensive industrial workload. After researching different stress pressures and consulting with a specialist, they reached out to our sales team here at Vacuum Engineering Services (UK) Ltd.
Solution
From our very first conversation, we knew we could turn things around for them. At VES, machine-to-machine compatibility is our core expertise, and our PURE system has the unique ability to seamlessly connect to any helium leak tester on the market today.
We knew that a standard, one-size-fits-all approach wouldn’t cut it, so we arranged an intensive site visit to get under the hood of their day-to-day operations. After looking closely at their plant layouts, we proposed a completely bespoke PURE recovery system designed to eliminate their pain points while delivering a rapid return on investment. From there, our consultants partnered with our internal engineering team to bring the project to life.
We assigned the customer a dedicated project manager and set up regular milestones to hammer out the finer technical details, like leak rates and integration timelines. We wanted them involved every single step of the way to ensure they got exactly what they needed. Because we know capital expenditures can be tough to approve, we structured a custom leasing agreement for the PURE machine at £60,000 per annum, giving them an incredibly high-quality helium connection with zero production headaches.
Results
The custom PURE system made an immediate, tangible impact, providing massive relief just as the global helium shortage reached its worst point.
By recovering and purifying the exhausted gas back to a high concentration, the PURE system allowed the manufacturer to slash their fresh helium purchasing by up to 90%. This translated directly into a massive saving of £140,000 in overall helium expenditure, instantly repairing the damage to their balance sheet.
But the wins weren’t just financial. The hardware connection we installed was of a noticeably higher quality than their previous competitor system. This superior engineering resulted in a much tighter, more reliable, and highly repeatable leak test than they had ever experienced before. Today, the customer can comfortably handle their large-scale production volume with total peace of mind, fully shielded from gas market volatility and free from the constant threat of downtime.
See the complete breakdown of how we optimised this factory’s testing lines.
