Since its inception in 1940 Noble Gas Solutions (www.noblegassolutions.com) (formerly Albany Welding Supply Co., then AWESCO) has had a customer-centric attitude, striving to meet or exceed expectations. This focus has allowed the company to identify and react quickly to the changing needs and challenges of its customers and the market as a whole. To this end, Noble is in a state of constant evolution.
Starting out solely as a distributor of industrial oxygen, acetylene, and welding supplies for industry, Noble has grown into a producer and supplier of industrial, specialty, and medical gases. As the nanotech, semiconductor, and photovoltaic industry develops in New York’s Tech Valley (www.techvalley.org), a 19-county region of eastern New York state that spans from just south of Montreal to just north of New York City, Noble stands poised to serve the highly technical and precise needs of the high tech research and production facilities moving into the area.
Noble stands poised to serve the highly technical and precise needs of the high tech research and production facilities moving into the area.
Noble had supplied universities and general research and development facilities for many years. The introduction and growth of the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at the State University of NY at Albany (see related article “SEMATECH Celebrates 25 Years,” on p. 44) has presented an opportunity for Noble to expand production capabilities within its specialty and electronic gases supply chain. As a longtime distributor for Praxair, Noble had been accustomed to the traditional distributor relationship of providing only the materials that its supplier was able and willing to make available. However, as opportunities in the specialty gas market have grown in the Tech Valley, Noble has been driven to establish a robust supply chain to support the new and existing customer base. Claiming to be in the specialty gas industry by handling 5.0 grade cylinders of nitrogen or helium is no longer sufficient; a higher standard must be achieved.
Today, Noble Gas Solutions routinely sources product from around the globe to support the research and development of the next generation of wafer production and advanced semiconductor manufacturing. The supply chain advantage that Noble has developed can really be seen when you look at local competitors. Many try to continue “business as usual,” offering the same products in the same way as they always have. Noble’s advantage over its competitors, many of them much larger manufacturers, is its ability to stay in touch with the customer, listen to their needs and the challenges they face, and then effectively execute and provide them with exactly what they require in a timely fashion.
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