HOW CAN A YOUNG COMPANY HAVE ACQUIRED SUCH A WEALTH OF
EXPERIENCE WITH LEAK DETECTION? DISCOVER THE HISTORY OF THE COMPANY
In 1975, Microsoft launched in the United States and the first personal computer, the Altair 8800, hit the market. The same year, Arjan Smit and Thijs Aarts, a creative inventor, were working together on another innovation in a creative R&D team at a large coffee roaster.
Visiting the roasting house and the packaging lines, Thijs liked to talk to the people working in the production department. He saw there could be a range of solutions as to how things could be done differently. Arjan Smit then created what Thijs had imagined, translating the creative ideas for measuring pressure differences into practical, working, excellent equipment.
Arjan: “Thijs has great inventive capabilities and a gift of seeing something which might only find its true implementation in say twenty or thirty years hence. In that sense he’s a bit of a visionary.” Arjan’s talent lies in the high detailing of a workable solution.
Together at the coffee roaster, they innovated measuring methods for coffee packaging. Whether in-line or offline; for vacuum packs of all sizes, for flexible packaging and for Senseo coffee pads. And they manged to do this without damaging the packaging.
MILLIONS INVESTED
Thijs came up with the notion that you could detect a leak by determining the changes in air pressure or air exchange – in the package itself and in the measuring space around it. Excited by their proposals, the company invested millions in their ideas for preventing leakages in their coffee packaging.
Most of Thijs and Arjan’s leak detection solutions have been applied to a number of the roasted coffee packaging lines. But not all. Sometimes the duo’s inventions went well beyond what the company requested.
They were absolutely ahead of their time.
THEIR OWN LEAK DETECTION COMPANY
A company reorganisation saw their workshop eventually closed down. Developing leak detection solutions was no longer considered a priority. Arjan however had different ideas about that, particularly since in his eyes the world was wasting precious food due to poor leak detection systems. At the time, most leak detection systems rendered the tested packaging unusable and unsellable…
… So what would happen if he could adapt his original idea to develop a machine that would measure and test other products highly accurately, a machine that would always work and never malfunction? Wouldn’t the whole packaging industry line up to adopt such a piece of equipment?
THE ULTIMATE LEAK DETECTOR
Locked away in his garret, Arjan worked relentlessly on tweaking the idea. It took him three years to run with Thijs Aarts’s original notion and come up with his own version. The result had a different look and feel, was thought through to the finest detail and well calibrated for production flow use. Interested parties found it difficult to believe that there was now a piece of equipment available that could reliably detect such minute leaks. Buyers beat a path to Arjan’s door. He was inundated with development requests; even from the original coffee roasting company, which now solicited his help with detecting leaks for their new packaging concept.
This is how Arjan Smit arrived at establishing Oxipack Leak Detection in 2010.
AROUND THE WORLD
When one of his sons and an ex-colleague realised Arjan was serious about setting up his own innovative leak detection company, all three decided to take the leap jointly. Arjan’s son Serge Smit brought commercial acumen and project management experience to the company, whilst former research colleague Pim Jobse contributed a wealth of experience in developing prototypes and testing equipment. Both in view of business and on a personal level, all three complement each other. The team moved into a business premises in Bunnik and attended a packaging trade fair.
Bingo! During the fair it turned out that many packaging users worldwide were desperately seeking an improved approach to leak detection. Oxipack decided to widen its product range, exporting equipment to numerous parts of the world. Arjan, Pim and Serge travelled widely from Düsseldorf, Paris and London to South Africa and Singapore to advise on the implementation of their leak detection system.
SPACE FOR IN-LIINE LEAK DETECTION
As well as standalone equipment, the company also started to build tailored in-line leak detection solutions. Larger premises were needed to accommodate the expansion, which the company moved to in 2015, five years after launching. The shift to Houten offered the additional space required for developing, testing and producing the in-line solutions. Two years later, in 2017, and even more space was now acquired in Houten, offering room for various in-line setups.
Oxipack then went about hiring more technical colleagues, all experienced, well-qualified to build the measuring equipment and create prototypes and testing setups.
KNOWLEDGE PARTNER IN LEAK DETECTION
And that is how a young, inventive Oxipack can confidently state they are will be a solid knowledge partner in leak detection.
Oxipack’s non-destructive leak detection system is accessible to everyone who wishes to produce leak-proof and airtight packaging; for both multinationals and small-scale packaging companies all over the world.
WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY?
UNIQUE TESTING METHOD
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Specialist in non-destructive leak detection
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40+ years’ experience in the packaging industry
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Accurate leak testing equipment
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Solid advice for packaging users worldwide
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Efficient leak detection solutions
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Tailored wherever and whenever required
“I’ve always known: this is big, it’s just a pitty that these detection solutions are not more widely used!”
