Linde awarded certification for supply of calibration gases in China

03-02-2010: Linde Gases, a division of The Linde Group, today announced it has been granted important GBW certification by the Chinese State Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision, approving Linde’s production of gas reference materials from its plant in Suzhou, Jiangsu province in eastern China.

GBW is the official Chinese quality standards institute and their accreditation is a requirement for gas production facilities wishing to supply specialty calibration gas mixtures to both domestic and foreign-owned companies operating in China. This requirement is above and beyond any other ISO standards which may have been awarded, including those ISO standards for metrology. The plant will produce Linde’s HiQ® high purity gases as well as HiQ® gas mixtures for the calibration of measurement instrumentation for environmental monitoring purposes, including the detection and control of combustion emissions for power generation, and will enable Linde to better support the growing emphasis being placed by China on tackling its CO2 emissions.

“There is increased importance on pollution control, sustainability and regulatory requirements by the Chinese government and this has substantially increased domestic demand for certified calibration gases,” said Zhu Min, Special Gases Business Manager, Linde China. “Linde’s Suzhou production facility will now make a valuable contribution to this.”

To achieve the GBW certification, Linde made significant investment in plant operations through the appointment of both Chinese and expatriate scientists, engineers and other technical specialists, installation of best of breed laboratories and state-of-the-art gas filling facilities. Additionally, a specialised weighing device called a mass comparator was installed, capable of measuring the mass of a gas cylinder (approximately up to 401KG) with a resolution of 0.002g and repeatable to within 0.003g. To draw an analogy, this level of accuracy in measurement is the equivalent of a normal bathroom scales being able to determine if someone is holding a piece of paper or not.

“Previously customers had limited options when sourcing measurement standards that met both Chinese and international standards. Now they can reliably purchase from a reputable global manufacturer known for its production quality and highest available consistency across its specialty gases ranges,” said Stephen Harrison, Global Head of Specialty Gases and Specialty Equipment, Linde. “We are delighted that the Chinese authorities have formally recognised our efforts by awarding us the GBW certification.”