Call: 708-425-9080
Meyer Tool Provides Linde Cryogenics with Lowest Total Cost of Ownership
Linde Cryogenics
“They’re making something for us, and we’re giving our end users the benefit of quality equipment so they ultimately maximize their investment. Between Meyer Tool and Linde Cryogenics, we’re lowering the total cost of ownership for our clients.”
John Urbin, Business Unit Manager, Linde Cryogenics
Linde Cryogenics is the American division of the The Linde Group, headquartered in Munich, Germany. This U.S. location specializes in engineering, fabrication and construction of products used in gas processing, refining, and deep cryogenics. The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based company is a market leader in the design and fabrication of small and large helium refrigerator systems, helium and hydrogen liquefiers, and purifiers primarily supplying customers in the Western Hemisphere.
Cryogenics is an important field of physics and engineering that involves the study of very low temperatures, how to produce those temperatures, and how materials behave at those temperatures. For Linde Cryogenics, there is no room for error in design and fabrication of their products. Customers including universities, research labs, space simulation chambers, and industrial cryogenic liquid productions plants are counting on the company meeting strict compliance standards.
Meyer Tool began working with Linde in 2003. Prior to connecting with Meyer Tool, Linde had indicated that they were “frustrated with manufacturing suppliers who did not understand the tough demands of the cryogenics industry.” In 2003, Linde was seeking to rebuild its supplier base from the ground up.
John Urbin, Business Unit Manager, Linde Cryogenics
Linde Cryogenics is the American division of the The Linde Group, headquartered in Munich, Germany. This U.S. location specializes in engineering, fabrication and construction of products used in gas processing, refining, and deep cryogenics. The Tulsa, Oklahoma-based company is a market leader in the design and fabrication of small and large helium refrigerator systems, helium and hydrogen liquefiers, and purifiers primarily supplying customers in the Western Hemisphere.
Cryogenics is an important field of physics and engineering that involves the study of very low temperatures, how to produce those temperatures, and how materials behave at those temperatures. For Linde Cryogenics, there is no room for error in design and fabrication of their products. Customers including universities, research labs, space simulation chambers, and industrial cryogenic liquid productions plants are counting on the company meeting strict compliance standards.
Meyer Tool began working with Linde in 2003. Prior to connecting with Meyer Tool, Linde had indicated that they were “frustrated with manufacturing suppliers who did not understand the tough demands of the cryogenics industry.” In 2003, Linde was seeking to rebuild its supplier base from the ground up.
Meyer Teamwork
|
At Meyer Tool, Engineering and Manufacturing work as a team through the entire project life cycle. We look “beyond specs” to ensure the product will meet customer need, not just the initial requirements.
|
“Prior to 2003, we had a lot of rework and that drove us to find Meyer Tool so we could improve quality, save costs and reduce reworking,” said John Urbin, Linde’s business unit manager. John says utilizing Meyer Tool’s engineering and manufacturing expertise has absolutely helped his company reduce risk in its supply chain and production processes. “A lot of machine shops in the Tulsa area are good, but our expectations are tough, like our leak testing standards. People outside the industry are clueless. We require tight tolerances,” says Urbin.
“We struggled with vendors who weren’t dependable – quality issues, price, deliverables – they’d get busy with a big order and we would fall by the wayside. Meyer Tool did a much better job than anybody else,” said Urbin. Meyer Tool’s commitment to Reduce Project Risk encompasses many of the issues Urbin sited in his discussion with us, and ensures that such issues can and will be avoided while working with Meyer Tool’s engineering and manufacturing staff.
Most people will agree there is no substitute for understanding a customer’s business. This has helped Meyer Tool and Linde find solutions together. “Meyer Tool has engineers with a lot of experience,” said Urbin. “We work with the folks there to come up with good solutions. We depend on them. They’ve done it for so long; they help us solve a lot of problems. They thrive on that. They are very solution-oriented. You go to a regular machine shop, they will build it the way you draw it. With Meyer Tool, they’ll question and suggest and that’s a real help to us. They have a good understanding of our business.”
Since Meyer tool tests individuals components against stringent industry criteria, many customers consider the parts they purchase as fully “plug and play.” Linde is no exception. This gives the company confidence in producing great products, as well as faster manufacturing turnaround and dramatically reduced risk. “They are not just a machine shop,” said Urbin, “they are an engineering company that builds what we need. Tony helped us several times and they had ideas that, in the end, saved us money and made a better machine. A key supplier means working together in partnership, and we truly have that with Meyer.”
“We struggled with vendors who weren’t dependable – quality issues, price, deliverables – they’d get busy with a big order and we would fall by the wayside. Meyer Tool did a much better job than anybody else,” said Urbin. Meyer Tool’s commitment to Reduce Project Risk encompasses many of the issues Urbin sited in his discussion with us, and ensures that such issues can and will be avoided while working with Meyer Tool’s engineering and manufacturing staff.
Most people will agree there is no substitute for understanding a customer’s business. This has helped Meyer Tool and Linde find solutions together. “Meyer Tool has engineers with a lot of experience,” said Urbin. “We work with the folks there to come up with good solutions. We depend on them. They’ve done it for so long; they help us solve a lot of problems. They thrive on that. They are very solution-oriented. You go to a regular machine shop, they will build it the way you draw it. With Meyer Tool, they’ll question and suggest and that’s a real help to us. They have a good understanding of our business.”
Since Meyer tool tests individuals components against stringent industry criteria, many customers consider the parts they purchase as fully “plug and play.” Linde is no exception. This gives the company confidence in producing great products, as well as faster manufacturing turnaround and dramatically reduced risk. “They are not just a machine shop,” said Urbin, “they are an engineering company that builds what we need. Tony helped us several times and they had ideas that, in the end, saved us money and made a better machine. A key supplier means working together in partnership, and we truly have that with Meyer.”
A sampling of components Meyer Tool manufactures for Linde
By installing components with complete confidence, Linde reduces its risk of faulty performance, stays on production schedule and ultimately creates a better end-user experience. Oftentimes, questions of quality for individual components can plague an OEM’s manufacturing process. Risks such as leaks, rework, nonperformance reports, and delays all affect the bottom-line. “With other suppliers, we’ve had to return parts and with Meyer Tool we don’t have that problem. They’ve tested it already. We just use them.”
Urbin adds that his company’s business is on the upswing with European-designed plants being built in the United States. Greater demand for Linde’s technology means a greater need to minimize risk with carefully chosen partners like Meyer Tool. Urbin points to one example where Meyer Tool minimized Linde risk investment and overall manufacturing cycle by pre-stocking an unusual component. “One part we purchased required very tight lead times, and Meyer Tool worked with us to stock some of them so they were quicker to send them when we needed them. This was unusual because of the type of part and the inventory costs it incurred. Pre-stocking, in this case, was something we really appreciated.”
Meyer Tool emphasizes reducing project risk in order to lower the total cost of ownership when they work with customers. With this in mind, what is an order’s best overall value beyond the initial investment? For Linde, Urbin says this is an important consideration in vendor relationships. “They’re making something for us and we’re giving our end users the benefit of quality equipment so they ultimately maximized their investment. Between Meyer Tool and Linde Cryogenics, we’re lowering the total cost of ownership for our clients,” comments Urbin. “We appreciate that they have this philosophy.” The personal relationship we have with them at several different levels in the company is invaluable. Just knowing we can trust them is very important to us. It makes doing business more efficient and more enjoyable.
Urbin adds that his company’s business is on the upswing with European-designed plants being built in the United States. Greater demand for Linde’s technology means a greater need to minimize risk with carefully chosen partners like Meyer Tool. Urbin points to one example where Meyer Tool minimized Linde risk investment and overall manufacturing cycle by pre-stocking an unusual component. “One part we purchased required very tight lead times, and Meyer Tool worked with us to stock some of them so they were quicker to send them when we needed them. This was unusual because of the type of part and the inventory costs it incurred. Pre-stocking, in this case, was something we really appreciated.”
Meyer Tool emphasizes reducing project risk in order to lower the total cost of ownership when they work with customers. With this in mind, what is an order’s best overall value beyond the initial investment? For Linde, Urbin says this is an important consideration in vendor relationships. “They’re making something for us and we’re giving our end users the benefit of quality equipment so they ultimately maximized their investment. Between Meyer Tool and Linde Cryogenics, we’re lowering the total cost of ownership for our clients,” comments Urbin. “We appreciate that they have this philosophy.” The personal relationship we have with them at several different levels in the company is invaluable. Just knowing we can trust them is very important to us. It makes doing business more efficient and more enjoyable.
