Markes International (Llantrisant, UK), manufacturer of world-leading instrumentation for detecting trace-level organic compounds, has had its business success recognised by two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise.

Markes has received the prestigious awards in the ‘Innovation’ and ‘International Trade’ categories, on the back of the ground-breaking valving technology incorporated in all of its thermal desorption instruments, as well its continued achievement in growing overseas trade. The pair of awards follow on from success in 2015, when similar business growth led to a Queen’s Award for International Trade.

The switch-valve that is the subject of the Innovation award was developed and patented by the company, and allows routine monitoring of a wide range of volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, by virtue of its tolerance of temperature extremes, small size, quick operation and construction from inert materials.

Alun Cole, Founding Director of Markes International, explains the importance of the valving technology to the company’s business: “Precise, reproducible control of gas flows is vital for the successful operation of any thermal desorption instrument. The switch-based valve design offered exactly this, at precisely the time when analysts were wanting to expand the use of TD to different sample types and a wider analyte range.”

“Looking back at the 20 years Markes has been in business, it’s fair to say that innovations like our switch-valve have been central to our achievements. We always have been, and continue to be, an innovative company, and are therefore very proud to have received these Queen’s Awards. These stand as testament to our excellence in analytical chemistry – both in our technical innovation, as well as our success in satisfying our customers globally.”

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About Markes International

Markes International is a specialist manufacturer of scientific instrumentation, accessories and consumables for detecting small amounts of organic chemicals in air, liquids and solids. Since its foundation in 1997, Markes has acquired a well-deserved reputation for its application expertise in the field of thermal desorption. Markes has also gained recognition for instrument innovation in the field of mass spectrometry, and in 2018 expanded its capabilities to automated sample preparation.

Markes International’s thermal desorbers interface with gas chromatographs, collecting and concentrating ultra-low levels of volatile organic compounds. This allows detection limits to be lowered to the part-per-billion level, giving them applications in a wide range of situations. These include environmental monitoring, emissions from materials, food aroma profiling, forensics, homeland security, and biological profiling.

 Through a combination of direct sales, distribution channels and strategic partnerships, Markes sells to over 60 countries globally, and has a customer base that includes major industry, government agencies, academia and the service laboratory sector.

Markes’ headquarters and production facility are located in Llantrisant (near Cardiff, UK), with technical support centres in Gold River (near Sacramento, California, USA), Offenbach am Main (Germany) and Shanghai (China). Markes employs over 170 staff worldwide.

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