CONCOA OPENS MANUFACTURING CENTER IN EUROPE

Expanding Productivity and Service to Local Markets Abroad, New Facility Opens as Company Celebrates 20th Anniversary A Significant Milestone Amid Changing Times

June 6, 2007 - Virginia Beach, VA – Responding to the increasing demands of the European market, CONCOA has opened a manufacturing plant in The Netherlands.
The new CONCOA Europa facility, centrally located in the city of Utrecht, serves customers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.  The plant adjoins the company’s technical marketing/product support center that opened in 1997, and comes five years after the opening of CONCOA Pacifica in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Announcement of the manufacturing facility opening, which concurs with CONCOA’s 20th anniversary in business, was made recently by founder and president Sande Dukas from company headquarters in Virginia Beach.
“The growth of the market in both the Americas and Europe over the past several years has required CONCOA to significantly expand manufacturing capacities,” says Sande Dukas. “While we have always provided our international customers with products configured to local customs and requirements, the new facility enhances our ability to differentiate products for the European market.”
When CONCOA was in its infancy 20 years ago, he recalls, gas delivery and applications were relatively uniform around the world with the exception of cylinder connection standards.  As new technologies for gas delivery and use emerged, product requirements for the United States and Europe began to diverge in both function and aesthetic. To meet the demand for higher pressures, flows, and purities in new applications, for example, American companies have focused on cryogenic delivery, while Europe continues to push the limits of high-pressure compressed gas storage.   
            “Despite pressures toward commoditization, the market continues to reward CONCOA for providing specific solutions for specific applications in specific localities,” notes Sande Dukas.  “The new facility uniquely positions the company to meet the diverse needs of not only the American and European markets, but also larger companies with the savvy to succeed in both regions.”   
Heading CONCOA Europa’s manufacturing facility and office center is general manager Hendrick Smit, a seasoned veteran who has a decade of service in providing CONCOA solutions internationally.
 “Technical advice is just a phone call away for customers, who can now purchase locally manufactured equipment that meets their exact regional specifications,” says Hendrick Smit.  “Over the past decade, the European market has responded well to CONCOA, as industrial and Specialty Gas customers in the electronics, laser, fabrication, and petrochemical sectors upgrade and expand.”
Going forward, Sande Dukas affirms that the new manufacturing facility in The Netherlands portends well for a pattern of continued growth.
“The future of the company is unfolding,” he concludes.  “Local European manufacturing adds to CONCOA’s capabilities as a total quality solutions provider.  Further plans on the drawing board include establishing manufacturing centers in yet other parts of the world to meet the specialized needs of diverse regional markets.” 
Certified ISO 9001, CONCOA manufactures a complete quality line of gas pressure and flow control equipment and delivery systems for worldwide medical, industrial, and Specialty Gas applications as well as laser materials processing.  For more information about CONCOA and its capabilities, visit www.concoa.com  or call 1.800.225.0473 (North America.), +31.30.267.2303 (Europe), +60.3.873.42128 (Pacific), or +51.1.264.1035 (South America).
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