After more than a decade, Styme Industries’ nitrogen generator continues to produce laser assist gas, pay dividends
KIMBALL, MINNESOTA–(Posted Initially through Marketwired – Jan. 11, 2016)
This month, Styme Industries, precision metal engineers and fabricators, celebrates eleven years of in-house nitrogen production. The Kimball, Minnesota based firm originally installed a nitrogen generator supplied by Compressed Gas Technologies (CGT) in 2004 to avoid the ongoing cost of an expensive utility.
“When we first started laser cutting, we discovered how expensive it was to buy nitrogen as an assist gas,” says John Steinmetz, founder of Styme Industries.
In the world of laser cutting, assist gas is an important utility. While highly focused beams of light heat metal to a melting point, it’s the high pressure assist gas that cleanly separates the newly severed pieces. When cutting high quality materials like stainless steel and aluminum, the use of nitrogen as an assist gas is critical to avoiding discolored, rough edges.
From its humble beginnings – Steinmetz began the fabricating business working weekends from his farm in rural Minnesota – Styme Industries has grown to fill the state-of-the-art manufacturing facility it occupies today. Their scope of work has grown as well and now includes forming, rolling, cutting, and welding. “We’ve really tried to put all the techniques under one roof so we don’t have to send parts out,” says Steinmetz. “Whatever the customer wants is what we specialize in.”
This flexibility has allowed Styme Industries to be a true “job shop”, serving a wide range of Industries. Retail point of purchase displays, medical equipment, electrical enclosures, and architectural components all flow through their facility. The membrane based nitrogen generator, a system that separates naturally occurring nitrogen gas from a compressed air supply, needed to be as flexible as Styme.
“The nitrogen generator feeds two systems; a 4000 watt laser and 2000 watt laser,” explains Steinmetz. “On 16 gauge the generator can supply both lasers.”
Taking advantage of both nitrogen generator and compressed air system knowledge, Compressed Gas Technologies was able to offer a solution that went beyond simply supplying the needed nitrogen.
“After speaking with John, we found that Styme Industries had a need for shop air as well as nitrogen,” says Pat McCloskey of Compressed Gas Technologies. “So we offered an oversized air compressor along with a high pressure membrane nitrogen generator.”
Now, 11 years later, that system is still producing nitrogen. An investment, Steinmetz says, which continues to pay dividends.
“It has run flawlessly ever since,” says Steinmetz. “And has paid for itself many times over.”
About Styme Industries
As a leader in precision metal engineering and fabrication, Styme Industries has been delivering creative, cost effective solutions to satisfied customers for over two decades. Our goal is to foster strategic partnerships and provide solutions to your manufacturing needs. Styme furnishes complete sheet metal job shop services including design, engineering, laser cutting, shearing, forming, metal fabrication, welding and packaging. Their team of dedicated employees focus on high quality and attention to detail at every step of the manufacturing process. Our capabilities range from light gauge sheet to heavy plate in various metals including stainless steel, galvanized steel, carbon steel and aluminum. To learn more about Styme Industries, please visit their website: www.styme.com
About Compressed Gas Technologies
Compressed Gas Technologies has been providing a wide range of membrane and PSA based nitrogen generators since 2001. Combining both application and nitrogen system knowledge, the CGT team have successfully placed hundreds of nitrogen generators, allowing clients to take direct control of their nitrogen supply. Through return on investment reports and individual application evaluations, Compressed Gas Technologies is committed to providing the information needed to make informed decisions about nitrogen supply. To learn more about Compressed Gas Technologies, please visit their website: www.nitrogen-generators.com
