Jim has been in the specialty gas industry for decades. Specialty gases are high purity gases and chemicals needed by industries where purity and consistency of products are important. Some industries that use specialty gases are computer manufacturers, aerospace, pharmaceuticals, laboratory and research & development. Almost all gases and chemicals used by these industries are very high purity, typically 99.999+%. For example, the aerospace industry uses xenon gas as a fuel for ion thrusters in satellites and spacecraft. They require that the xenon have a purity of at least 99.9995%, allowing only 5 ppm total impurities. The most significant impurity is moisture. If present in the gas, exposure to the super-cold temperature of outer space will cause it to crystalize and ruin the thrusting system. It is critical that the gas xenon needs to be super pure and free of moisture. Same is true for the containers / cylinders used to transport and store the xenon.
Jim was invited to join two other experienced specialty gas people in 1994 when American Gas Group (AGG) was formed. AGG operated a gas plant fill plant for gases and chemicals in Toledo Ohio, focusing only on specialty gases. They provided not only pure gases but also produced ppm blends of both inert and reactive components. The typical package for rare gases is 10,000 liters per cylinder and most users do not want / cannot afford that volume of gas. Cylinder preparation was critical to maintaining purity of gases as they are moved from a large to smaller cylinders wanted by users. Small cylinders are baked to remove moisture then flushed 99.999+% pure helium 3 times before going to the lab for testing. Target cylinders are approved for filling only if Oxygen and Moisture content are verified to be below 1 ppm.
AGG was very successful competing against Praxair, Air Products and Matheson. So successful that Praxair bought the company in 2011. Prax created a position as “Midwest Specialty Gas Manager” for Jim and he stayed on for a little over a year until it became clear that he wasn’t a good fit at an international compressed gas company. Jim left Prax in 2012 and a non-compete agreement kept him out of the industry in the North America through 2015.
In 2014 Jim and two long-term industry specialists formed Global Rare Gases (GRG), purchasing bulk loads of crude neon, krypton and xenon from large air separation plants in Asia, Ukraine and Russia & sending them to Odessa, Ukraine for purification to research grade. All shipments were out of Ukraine to avoid the constraints of Jim’s non-compete agreement. GRG now operates a specialty gas plant in Northwood, OH.
In response to the botanical extraction industry’s growing demand for high-purity hydrocarbons, GRG formed another company – Quality Extractions Group (QEG) to service the industry the way they should be serviced. QEG followed GRG’s commitment to supply only the highest purity products available in properly prepared containers. The highest purity and most consistent hydrocarbons are produced by Diversified CPC International and they are QEG’s only supplier. QEG is proud to be the only LPG fill plant for the extraction industry exclusively offering DCPC materials. DCPC has a huge footprint in the odorless hydrocarbon industry and always produces consistent instrument grade Propane, Butane and Isobutane.
Just like the specialty gas company that was purchased by Praxair, QEG finds it easy to compete with major companies because they are small, agile and quick to respond to customers with requirements high purity solvents and other consumables. QEG’s customer base recognizes that such commitment to customer service and attention to detail is unusual in the industry. Excepting business closings, the only customers QEG ever lost are wholesalers in search of the lowest price solvents they can find. QEG has no interest in that market – as they are committed to provide only high purity solvents. Please attend QEG’s presentation titled “Not all butane is created equally” to learn about the hydrocarbon industry and how the quality of hydrocarbon solvents you use impacts the products you make.
