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Home > Magazine > Liquid Chromatography
Small....and Walking Tall
Companies to keep on your watchlistJennifer Miller
 Figure 1: GERSTEL's infancy saw its first innovations brewing within this tiny garage in Germany. | All companies at on time or another have probably been small, a prime example being Microsoft, a tiny company that a college dropout named Bill Gates started in a garage with a good friend, Paul Allen in 1975. Today at 50-something, Gates has since stepped down from the company he worked so hard to create and uphold, with billions of dollars in his pocket and an accomplishment that changed the face of computing.
But it’s not just the money that talks. All entrepreneurs should recognize a problem and have the vision and a genuine drive to make things easier for the consumer, the businessman, the scientist, etc.
In our world of chromatography, these ideals are of course no different. Says Dr. Xueying Huang, CTO of Sepax Technologies, provider of HPLC columns, resins and separation media, “When I was a scientist at DuPont, my research was focused on the development of nanomaterials and biology. One of the difficulties was to get pure nano-biology materials. The separation and purification for nanomaterials and biological molecules was very much needed. When I saw this need, I believed this was an opportunity for a high-tech business.”
Several other small and rather notable companies are making big impressions against the large competitive landscape within the market. While such companies as Thermo Scientific, Waters and PerkinElmer have made it to the top of the heap in terms of profit, size and pure name recognition, the smaller, and, in many cases, newer guys are currently experiencing how it feels in the struggle to get themselves known. But is it the goal to become number one? Or is the goal to remain an additional option to which chromatographers can turn? It comes down to good ol’ fashioned competition, and as President Herbert Hoover once said, “Competition is not only the basis of protection to the consumer, but is the incentive to progress.”
There are certainly countless small chromatography product providers out there, but the information presented below focuses on a handful of the presidents, CEOs and CTOs with whom I spoke at HPLC 2008 in Baltimore, MD this past May. Several trends emerged as I interviewed each individual, which was the impetus for providing you a glimpse into their secrets for success in a big industry.
In the garage
 Figure 2: AutoMDS software directly controls PDR-Chiral's HPLC/SFC contract laboratory. | A typical garage is a place to park your car, store your tools, and in my case, collect endless amounts of clutter and dust. If you can get past the clutter, the garage is also a place for innovation. Just as Bill Gates found his humble start in the garage, so did Gary Yanik, president and CEO of PDR-Chiral. Yanik’s impressive background in developing products for such applications as characterizing the expansion of the universe and detecting/tracking ballistic missiles, as well as his sharp expertise in chiral chromatography, led him to found Product Development Resources in the early 1990s, which he then spun out to form PDR-Chiral in 1997.
“My initial focus was on chiral compounds, because they have the potential to significantly improve efficacy and reduce toxicity of compounds, whether used as medicines, foods, flavors, fragrances or agrochemicals,” remarks Yanik. Today, his product line has evolved to include hardware, software, and contract and consultation services catering to the big pharma companies, government labs and research organizations.
The garage also saw the creations of Eberhard Gerstel, Sr. Forty years ago, and shortly time after his 40th birthday, the master craftsman founded Laboratory Precision Mechanics Gerstel (today, simply GERSTEL) within the walls of a remodeled garage in Mulheim an der Ruhr, Germany. He experienced fast growth and subsequently relocated to a former small supermarket, then a former cabinet-making workshop and not-so-finally in 1989, an ex-printing plant.
The fourth move to 1 Eberhard-Gerstel-Platz was recently completed this past September, marking their 40th anniversary. Though Gerstel passed away in 2004, his namesake isn’t going away anytime soon. “GERSTEL has seen double-digit growth for the past 10 years, and has doubled in size in the last five years,” says president Robert Collins. “Our new world headquarters allows us to bring a new level of efficiency to our research and manufacturing functions, which will ensure our continued growth.”
Modular and flexibleWhat do these and other small businesses attribute to their success? Companies are nothing if they’re not modular, and, based on my discussions, small companies have the upper hand at achieving the utmost flexibility in meeting the needs of customers, all with sometimes widely varying requirements.
Ernest Sobkow, president of YMC America, a provider of HPLC columns as well as bulk packing and preparative HPLC equipment, takes his customers one at a time, making sure they get what they need at all times. “We look to engage our clients about the challenges they face and help them meet their objectives. We really value our customers on an individual basis and look to develop long-lasting relationships.”
Dr. Huang feels the same way. “We at Sepax work closely with our customers to solve their technical questions and problems, or to develop new technologies tailored to each of their separation needs. We also take care of each customer and address their questions immediately. The customer only needs to make one phone call or drop an e-mail to get things initiated on our side.”
New products on the pulpit
 Figure 3: Selection of Sepax SFC columns. Click to enlarge. | Each of these companies have innovation right at their fingertips. After all, they employ the savvy people who conceive of and create the ever-improving products that chromatographers use every day. All four companies launched new products at either Pittcon or HPLC this year, which are certainly worth mentioning within these pages.
GERSTEL chose to tackle the manual woes chromatographers experience when performing solid-phase extraction (SPE), which has a tendency to be rather time consuming, tedious and difficult to achieve acceptable recovery and reproducibility, due to sample variability. However, SPE has the potential to be efficient and reproducible if automation is thrown into the mix.
The new MultiPurpose Sampler (MPS) includes an automation option for standard cartridges, thus providing benefits over manual labor, such as better recovery and sample throughput, as well as a 50 percent time savings. After the cleanup steps, the MPS introduces the sample extract directly into an LC-MS or GC-MS for analysis. Other advantages include complete MAESTRO software control, or even more conveniently, integration with Agilent’s ChemStation software control.
Automation is a driver for PDR-Chiral as well. The January/February 2008 issue of Chromatography Techniques featured an article written by Gary Yanik, entitled, “Your Lab on Autopilot: HPLC/SFC laboratory automation,” showcasing the company’s instrumentation and AutoMDS/AutoPrep software packages working synergistically to automate their contract HPLC/SFC laboratory. This assembly-line setup allows for nearly continuous operation and control from remote locations, even while employees enjoy a three-day weekend here and there.
The above-mentioned software systems have recently enjoyed a significant upgrade, featuring a hardware and independent chromatographic user interface. The programs are freely distributed via their Web site (www.PDR-Chiral.com), and include all standard features as well as features unique to PDR-Chiral.
Improving column life and performance is of utmost importance to chromatographers these days. YMC America addresses these concerns with their new line of Actus high-throughput semi-prep HPLC columns. According to Ernest Sobkow, the knowledge gained from YMC’s experiences with its HPLC packings in a variety of larger-scale static and dynamic compression column formats played a key role in the development of the Actus line. These columns are packed with YMC HPLC phases and offer improved column life and performance, compared to traditional high-throughput columns.
Lastly, Sepax has recently unveiled an array of new products, including the HILIC Polar series of chemistries, 3-cm ID columns and the Antibodix line of columns specifically designed for antibody analysis and purification.
Of note, however, are their new technologies in supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) high-purity bonded phases. According to Sepax, these SFC bonded phases have been specially designed to ensure maximum surface coverage, resulting in high stability of stationary phases. The chemistry of monolayer formation is completely controlled, which results in reliable lot-to-lot and column-to-column reproducibility. Available in reversed phase, normal phase, ion-exchange and custom surface chemistry, the phases provide high loading capacity and are suitable for separations of pharmaceuticals, peptides, amino acids and other complex compounds.
ConclusionIt is difficult to determine which companies will make it big. In a world of stiff competition, natural selection reigns supreme. As Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” Survival of the fittest no doubt applies to the business world. There’s a delicate line between success and failure, but such is the nature of business. Those who succeed have a shot at changing our world, well, at least a small portion of it. And that’s no small feat. Sticking to a founding philosophy, valuing the individual, and thinking short term while focusing on the big picture are all imperative to success. Whether these four companies become huge powerhouses or remain small and successful, they are definitely companies to watch.
Jennifer Miller is the Executive Editor of Chromatography Techniques magazine. She may be contacted at ChromatographyTechniques@advantagemedia.com.
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