Article Courtesy of Industry Update
The first Quantex pump was invented by Quantex Founder, Dr. Paul Pankhurst, to create a less expensive, more accurate alternative to a peristaltic pump. Several years of R&D and customer collaborations led to the successful development of several off-the-shelf, recyclable pumps with varying flow-rate ranges. In June 2021, Quantex was acquired by PSG, an operating company of Dover Corporation and now sits alongside 13 other pump and flow measurement brands.
Quantex headquarters is located in Hammersmith, London, UK, with a dedicated manufacturing plant in High Wycombe. Through PSG’s acquisition, Quantex is now a part of PSG Dover, providing Quantex with clean room manufacturing facilities in Duisburg, Germany, where Quantex is supported by fellow PSG pump brand; Quattroflow.
“Quantex is the leading provider of recyclable pump technology, where, instead of the pump being a part of the fixed equipment, it is attached directly to the liquid packaging – similar to the way a tap is already connected to a bag in a box of wine. But instead of pressing the tap and allowing liquid to dribble out using gravity, the pump is clipped into a motor drive in the fixed equipment, and the product is dispensed accurately, at a range of precision flow rates suitable for all kinds of liquids. When the product supply is finished, you simply replace the bag and pump with a new bag and pump,” stated Gillian Harding-Moore, Director – Marketing.
Quantex’s system is extremely hygienic and requires no costly cleaning or maintenance. The Quantex pumps also maintain vacuum capability which equips them with the ability to handle high viscosities such as mayonnaise, hair conditioner, or glue, and can evacuate the bag by 98%. “The pumps can also reverse cycle which is widely used for cleaning the nozzle at the end of each dispense by sucking the product back into the pump. Another very exciting capability is its in-pump dilution option, where it can pump high-ratio concentrates, and accurately mix them with water at the point of dispense. This takes water out of the distribution channel, saving the customer both money and carbon emissions from shipping their products around the world,” added Gillian.
With the drive to save single-use plastic waste, the wealth of benefits of using Quantex pumps has been recognized by UK and European supermarkets, who have been attempting to trial refill stations, where consumers bring their reusable bottles to refill in stores instead of using single use pre-packaged goods. Dispensing liquids has been proving to be too expensive and labor intensive for shop-floor staff.
“Quantex technology provides the key enabler for scaling up refill in supermarkets, with a low maintenance, low cost and flexible solution that can be standardized for dispensing virtually any fluid. Quantex is working with several refill equipment manufacturers, who are designing their next generation of dispensers around the Quantex system.” Gillian continued, “Several global brands and retailers are excited by the early prototypes that allows product replenishment to be 75% faster, with no cleaning or maintenance, and no drips that cause dangerous slip hazards in supermarket isles. The aim is to provide a better refill experience for consumers and therefore, encourage more refill adoption. The first machines are planned to be in European supermarkets trials from October this year, with a roll-out scheme planned for 2023. It is an exciting market to be in, as it is just the beginning of a big change to the way we shop, and Quantex is sitting at the heart of the movement."
As the company looks ahead, in addition to Refill, Quantex is moving into the Biopharma market, and aligning with other Dover brands; Quattroflow®, em-tec, Malema®, and CPC®. Gillian added, “The alignment will strengthen our PSG offering, providing pumps, flow measurement solutions and connectors that serve cell and gene therapy and bioprocessing needs from early process development through to upstream and downstream applications.”
This article originally appeared in the August 2022 issue of Industry Update.