Christ Waterman

The pharmaceutical and medical device industries demand the highest standards and CHRISTWaterman Purification, a leading indigenous supplier of high purity water solutions in Ireland, have a record to be proud of. Their reputation as an innovative supplier with technical excellence and superior, quality products is enhanced by an equally rigorous attention to cost-efficient operation. The company has grown over the past eighteen years into a multi-million Euros enterprise with an extensive, blue-chip customer base.

During 2003, after a review of the company’s development programme, the decision was taken to expand the in-house high purity welding capability at Waterman’s plant. Because of the need to balance low cost and functionality, extensive research was undertaken to determine the best solution. After several months looking at and comparing automatic orbital welding systems on the market, Waterman chose Orbitec. "The decision was made for us," says Peter Clancy, General Manager, "the Orbitec machine had several advantages over its competitors."

"We needed a system that would work consistently to produce clean, reproducible welds without the need for additional training and allowing maximum uptime." Peter goes on, "Among the considerations were technical capability, ease of use, ruggedness and reliability and, of course, price; the system from Orbitec UK came out on top in every case." Because of its advantages and the ease at which welding heads can be interchanged without changing the system, a shorter-than-expected payback has more than justified the investment in Orbitec. "The availability of backup and service support were also important considerations, though we have not found the need to draw on these resources as much as we anticipated," continues Peter Clancy. "Orbitec demonstrated a high level of after-sales and training provision."

Since commissioning the system, capable of joining pipes and tubes up to 2.5" in diameter, CHRISTWaterman have experienced a 100% weld pass rate, despite very high inspection standards. "The support we have received from the people at Orbitec in terms of training and documentation has been first class, and the machine itself has been ultra reliable. We certainly have no complaints and would have no hesitation in recommending Orbitec to other users," enthuses Peter. With three fully-certified operators now using the system on projects for major customers, the confidence generated by Orbitec’s package is worth more than the savings and productivity gains it has delivered.