What’s the story behind H.E.L Group?
Our new and improved BioXplorer Range, including the BioXplorer 400P and BioXplorer 400XL won the BioIndustrial Innovation of the Year at Biotech Breakthrough Awards. Alan Lockley was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in November 2023 after joining H.E.L as Director of Global Service the previous year to help enhance the customer experience with our solutions. Our innovative iso-BTC+, launched in Autumn 2022 to enable the development of bigger, more powerful batteries, became a finalist in the Instrumentation Excellence Awards 2023 in the ‘Test and Measurement Product of the Year’ category. In June 2023, we released the BioXplorer 400P and BioXplorer 400XL to the market. These allow increased capabilities for multi-parameter process development. Our automated, parallel bioreactors are automated, highly configurable systems, with the BioXplorer 400P enabling work at high pressure. Following demand from customers, H.E.L Group released the iso-BTC+ calorimeter for isothermal battery performance testing. The iso-BTC+ enables the testing and characterization of larger and higher-powered batteries than other solutions in the BTC portfolio. labCONSOL introduces new features that enable scientists to improve laboratory efficiency and boost productivity, building on the success of the WinISO software. Built by in-house software engineers in collaboration with scientists, it enables researchers to track more accurately how an experiment is proceeding. In response to India’s growing biotech and pharmaceutical markets, a new subsidiary was formed in India in February 2022, led by Rajeev Kumria. This was to enable a better customer experience and support for our customers in this region. Operations in North America are expanded, with the establishment of a West Coast hub in California and a Central Region hub in Missouri. The new hub locations encompass not only sales but also technical and field application support, and instrument servicing. This helps to strengthen H.E.L’s presence in New Jersey and better serve customers on the Western Coast. H.E.L gets ISO 14001 : 2015 accreditation for its Environmental Management System. Appointed to the Chair of the H.E.L Board of Directors, Kevin’s appointment aims to help it deliver sustainable growth while continuing to help customers solve complex scientific challenges. A new product development process was implemented within H.E.L to move the product offering forwards and enable it to better serve customers and their testing requirements. Established in 2020, led by Qing (Steven) Chen, a subsidiary is established in Shanghai and Beijing to help support customers in China more effectively. Under the brand new management team, H.E.L developed a new look, with new branding and a new website. New investment is secured from Connection Capital, and a new management team headed up by Louise Madden is formed. After acquiring the company Magellan, H.E.L start to develop BioXplorers for bio-process development. The very first product for our battery technology testing market was launched in 2010. Designed for hazard screening and safety testing, the BTC portfolio began. Launched in 2010, the FlowCAT was designed for the development of high-pressure continuous flow chemical processes New agent offices were established in Beijing and Shanghai to serve the growing customer demand. Allowing high-throughput catalyst screening the CAT block was designed to allow high-pressure screening. The PolyBLOCK, a compact, multi-reactor platform, enables multiple reactions to take place simultaneously. The CrystalSCAN was launched to enable the monitoring of crystallization in reactions. Everyone referred to the company as H.E.L, so in 2003, it was decided that the company would be officially renamed H.E.L. Designed to complement the existing process safety portfolio, the TSu was designed to allow for rapid screening of thermal and pressure hazards during the scale-up process. The very first ChemSCAN was launched to allow the rapid screening of high-pressure reactions and catalysts. The AutoMATE I was designed to allow automated, parallel reactions to take place to improve efficiency and productivity in R&D and process development. Set up in Princeton, New Jersey, H.E.L’s first subsidiary was born to enable us to better serve our US customers. With the aim of building the process safety solution portfolio, the very first Simular was developed to give fundamental data for safe Process Development. The very first Phi-TEC II was developed. This was the start of product development that would enable customers to conduct their own hazard screening. Dr Jasbir Singh founded H.E.L, formally known as Hazard Evaluation Laboratories. He founded the company with the aim of carrying out hazard testing on behalf of customers.