NLISIS AT CHEMELOT
[BIZ/SCI-TECH: Sittard/Geleen, August 26] Wil van Egmond got the idea to start NLISIS after he had sold his own company. In his 25 years as service engineer, salesman and director he thought of countless ideas for improvement of existing equipment. Encouraged by Syntens, a Dutch government-funded agency providing innovation consultancy services to small and medium size enterprises, he organized a brainstorming session to find solutions to the key problems encountered in gas chromatography, with participants including experts from universities and from industry. This resulted in a huge innovation pipeline. Chromatography is an analytical technique enabling separation and quantification of substances down to molecular level. This is done by introducing a sample of the material into a very thin line, with a gas or liquid as carrier. Temperature differences in the line and reactions with the internal coating result in separation of the components. The measurement accuracy is up to one particle in a billion. Chemical analysis is crucial for improvement of the quality of man’s basic needs: food, health, environment and safety. In a world that is becoming more complex, with increasing consumer demands, the importance of good quality is growing. As a result, chemical analyses are becoming more and more important for our daily lives. After the brainstorming session, Van Egmond came into contact with Bert Kip and Leon Rijks of DSM Resolve, a leading chemical analysis center that is also active (through DSM Xplore) in microprocessing equipment. Together with them, NLISIS was able to rapidly convert the ideas formed into prototypes, test these and start larger-scale production. The first product of this collaboration has meanwhile seen the light of day. This is the Meltfit One. With this apparatus, simple and reliable (leak-tight) connection of gas chromatography columns is possible, enabling faster, easier and more reliable analyses. Prototypes were evaluated by ten leading users at prominent companies in the sector, and meanwhile 80 laboratories worldwide already have an NLISIS Meltfit One. The fruitful collaboration with DSM Resolve prompted NLISIS’s decision to set up shop at the Chemelot Campus, so that the development of new equipment and products can be accelerated. Currently new products and applications are being developed, based on the first NLISIS product, Meltfit One. With its products, NLISIS makes a valuable contribution to the Chemelot community since, in a sense, chemical analysis is the core of this community. Aad Brouwer, director of Chemelot since 1 July: “Chemelot attracts many companies who join the leading position of the site in the field of chemical analysis. NLISIS will make it possible to take a quality step forward in that field. Moreover, NLISIS is a fine example of cross-fertilization through open innovation.” NLISIS (to be pronounced as ‘analysis’) is committed to making substantial improvements to techniques used in the field of chemical analysis. The company is working to improve the applicability of gas chromatography, focusing on innovative products that are easy to use and that reduce overall use cost. The company bases its activities on a fundamental belief in the expertise and ideas of scientists. Since NLISIS is convinced that users are best placed to know what they need and are the only ones who can tell what wishes and requirements their ideal products should meet, NLISIS’s development activities will always take place in close collaboration with them. This dialogue provides inspiration, focus and feedback, resulting in products that are immediately appreciated by the user. In the field of material sciences and life sciences Chemelot is a major player in Western Europe. The Chemelot site, comprising the Industrial Park and the Campus, is centrally located in North-Western Europe and has an excellent and great transport connections. Chemelot offers raw materials, utilities, facilities and an innovative campus. With these, Chemelot facilitates new investments in research activities as well as innovative start-up companies and chemical It is also a ‘chemical innovation community’ where people, companies, and educational institutions share knowledge, their creative collaboration resulting in innovations and accelerated business growth. To encourage further development of the Chemelot Campus, the Province of Limburg, DSM Nederland BV and Maastricht University/Maastricht UMC+ entered into a partnership in 2010.
NLISIS gives a new impulse to open innovation at the Chemelot Campus. NLISIS has recently set up shop at the Chemelot Campus in Geleen (NL). This young company develops equipment and products facilitating and broadening the application of chemical analytical techniques, with a focus on gas chromatography. NLISIS collaborates with DSM Resolve, which has been present at the Campus since its inception. NLISIS founder Wil van Egmond says: “This collaboration, which is based on the open innovation principle, allows us to faster convert our ideas into concrete equipment.”
plants. Several Chemelot-based companies rank high in their sector worldwide. The companies at Chemelot benefit from the operational synergy, but Chemelot is more than the sum of these parts.
http://www.nlisis.com/