A basic feature of the hydrogen market is the need to handle gas under pressure. Project developers need to ensure pressure switches transducers, clutches and brakes are of the highest quality. And this is a need that SUCO ESI North America is aiming to satisfy.

“Our main purpose is to deliver the highest-quality pressure monitoring solutions to key OEMs in construction, agriculture, material handling, oil and gas, defence and many other markets,” says CEO Michael Lawson. “One key to our success is the diversity of the markets we serve.”

The company is a subsidiary of the Germany-head-quartered SUCO Group, a joint venture between Suco Technologies and ESI Inc formed in 2021 to serve Canada, Mexico and the USA.

Its heritage stretches way back, with the joint venture partners operating in the US since 2007 and SUCO Group specialising in mechanical pressure switches for more than 80 years. Lawson has been with the business since 2015, when he joined as a sales engineer.

The last five years have seen SUCO ESI North America doubling in revenue and our number of employees.

Today, the company boasts a unique capacity to produce high-volume mechanical pressure switches using automated production methods, and to design customised switches or transducers that are manually assembled at lower volumes—down to a single piece, says Lawson.

“Our mechanical pressure switches and electronic transducers are trusted around the world to serve in the toughest environments and conditions. There are many different categories and product ranges, uniquely designed to meet specific customer applications,” says Lawson.

While SUCO Group has a global footprint, with sales partners around the world, manufacturing takes place in facilities in the UK and Germany. ESI Ltd in the UK leads in sensor technology manufacturing and SUCO Germany manufactures pressure switches transducers, clutches and brakes.

“The main benefit of being a wholly owned subsidiary of the SUCO Group is we have valuable input in decision-making and close contact with the teams at both locations to help us maintain the highest level of integrity.” Traditionally, the company’s products have been used almost anywhere pressure needs to be monitored, from braking systems and safety devices to test benches and medical equipment. “Sensor technology is always evolving, as well as the markets and applications,” Lawson says.

One of the latest developments has been the advent of hydrogen systems, for which SUCO ESI North America has developed a range of products. “Our products are unique in that they are designed to function in some of the toughest environments imaginable,” Lawson claims.

“From the highest and lowest temperatures to extremely high pressure, our products are designed and built to last. But what really sets us apart is our service. We opened a new engineering and distribution center in St Louis in 2023 to better serve our customers.”

This center, which should come fully online early in 2024, will handle all North American distribution and complements a customer service, sales and administration office in Boca Raton, Florida.

“Once we have our calibration and test bench capabilities complete, we will be able to provide services that up until now we could only do in the UK or Germany,” Lawson says.

The company is also planning to launch a new business transaction model early in 2024. It aims to keep a stock of standard pressure switches that can be ordered, calibrated, set and shipped the same day, to avoid downtime and supply chain disruption.

“This takes what used to be a ‘long lead time’ product and turns it into a solution you can have the next day in your factory, repair shop or even out in the field to repair a machine,” says Lawson.

“We learned a lot from supply chain issues over the last couple of years and we have worked hard to provide a real solution for our customers,” he says. “None of our competitors have this capability and we are excited to be the first (that I am aware of) to offer such a service in North America.”

While SUCO ESI North America is keen to serve the burgeoning hydrogen industry, says Lawson: “I think our biggest challenge right now is the same as most component and systems integrators: identifying our place in this new market.”

The company is still assessing what products it needs to develop, what applications it should address and which decision-makers it should approach.

“I think a lot of us are still waiting for the market to tell us what to develop, and the biggest challenge is finding the right partners to grow and develop these products and solutions together,” he comments.

Nevertheless, he says: “I am really looking forward to the challenges of the hydrogen market, and being part of what is sure to be a transformational energy revolution.”

Contact SUCO ESI North America for optimal solutions tailored to meet your hydrogen pressure monitoring requirements. •