| Type | Aktiebolag AB |
|---|---|
| Industry | Welding, Cutting, Medical, High Purity |
| Headquarters | Malmö, Sweden |
| Key people | Michael Hermansson (President and CEO), Anders Agering (CFO), Tony Peers (Executive vice president Marketing) |
| Products | welding, cutting, medical, high purity |
| Employees | 870 (2010) |
| Website | gcegroup.com |
GCE Group (Gas Control Equipment) is Europe's leading company in the field of gas-control equipment. In addition to its headquarters in Malmö, Sweden, and main production site in Chotěboř, Czech Republic, the company operates thirteen international sales companies around the world. GCE has four business areas - Cutting and Welding, Process Applications, Medical and High Purity - and employs more than 870 people.
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The origins of GCE go back as far as the beginning of the twentieth century when oxyacetylene cutting and welding methods were first invented. GCE itself was formed in 1987 through the merging of gas equipment activities by two of the worlds leading industrial gas companies into one entity.
The GCE Group has grown rapidly since its foundation and leads the restructuring of the European gas equipment industry through mergers and acquisitions. Headquarders are based in Malmö, Sweden with the Group having activities in all European markets and a considerable worldwide export market.
The GCE Group is organised to operate in four Business Areas, Cutting and Welding, Medical, High Purity and Process Applications. Local sales and supply companies are situated in Austria, Benelux, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Rumania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and USA, while highly specialised manufacturing units exist in Czech Republic and China. GCE is associated with leading trademarks such as; AGA, Autogen, BOC, BIG, Charledave, DruVa, ESAB, Mediline, Mujelli, Murex, Propaline and Rhöna, leaders within their own respective regional markets.
In addition to certification according to the ISO 9001 quality standard, products are built, tested and approved by BAM, BSI, Norske Veritas, US Dot, UL, CEN, DIN and SIS, amongst others. All units connected with medical products have EN approvals for CE marking and many GCE units are approved according to the environmental standard ISO 14000.
GCE is one of the world's leading producers of industrial regulators. The company's line in this area consists of a broad spectrum of products for different uses, which have been designed according to the requirements of most European standards such as DIN, Afnor, BSI and Nordic. The torch range includes products for heating, cutting, brazing and flame cleaning applications designed in accordance with the preferences of each individual European market. Regulators, torches and other products are also increasingly combined in sets and sold to customers in a single package.
GCE is a pioneerin the field of safety equipment and as such currently produces a comprehensive range of flashback arrestors and check valves. Through the acquisition of Lorch some years ago, GCE further developed its range of propane products, which are now available in various styles for different uses. GCE is Europe's largest distributor of gas hoses, for example, and has recently introduced an expanding range of accessories such as MIG/TIG equipment, consumables and protective clothing. A range of nozzles, including the long-life Coolex nozzle, completes GCE's C&W range.
Equipment for medical gas supply is an important and expanding division of GCE Group activities. Medical gas applications are an area, which commands specialised experience. Demands for safety, precision and hygiene are exceptional, as is the understanding of respiratory and aspiration requirements and patient care. The compliance with quality system requirements according to Medical Directive 93/42/EEG in Europe and QSR – Quality System Regulations, known as GMP standards, in USA, is not only obligation but the way how to give to customers good quality and safe products.
In addition, GCE offers a comprehensive range of ward equipment and accessories, such as vacuum regulators, suction jars, flow meters, flow selectors, humidifiers, flexible hoses and gas outlets. The company supplies mobile oxygen systems including manifolds for ambulances, ventilators and related equipment for the emergency-services market.
The GCE process application range includes a varied range of products from Cylinder Valves and associated Central Gas Systems / Brewery products to Machine Cutting products. Cylinder shut-off valves enable the safe handling of gases. Compressed gases are stored and transported in gas cylinders, under increasingly high pressures typically, 200-300 bars. These cylinders are fitted with shut-off valves, which must operate under extreme conditions, between +65°C in the summer sun to -40°C in Arctic cold. There are extensive requirements for rugged durability, absolutely tight sealing and low point-of emission pressures. GCE has unique competence at the forefront of international development for these products.
Specialty gases are used in various industries to operate analytical instruments, to initiate, stabilize and avoid chemical processes and to create amplified light for hardening, marking, welding and cutting purposes. These gases are provided in highly purified form and have either flammable, toxic or corrosive properties and therefore require specific gas-regulating equipment that is leak-proof and corrosion-resistant and thus does not affect the purity, chemical properties or composition of the given gas. Pressure regulators and valves must ensure safe discharge and transportation of gases without posing any risk to users, devices or buildings. The equipment has to withstand inlet pressures of several hundred bars and must meet the highest expectations for flow and pressure stability.