Massachusetts-based Middlesex Gases, a supplier of specialty, medical, and industrial gases, is celebrating 75 years of business.
The company has been on quite a journey since it was founded in 1949 by Joseph Martin Sr., who had a desire to build a strong, independent industrial gas distributor. Later, in 1964, he opened the company’s first fill plant just outside of Boston, adding cylinder filling capabilities into the mix, and the Middlesex story grew from there.
Bo Martin, Chairman of the Middlesex Board and Joseph Sr.’s grandson, said, “For more than seven decades, we have followed in my grandfather’s footsteps, committing to continuous reinvestment, improvement, and innovation. We are always striving to ensure that Middlesex is built to overcome any challenges and has the flexibility to pivot to meet customers’ ever-changing gas requirements.”
And the company has done exactly that. At the time of writing, Middlesex has three fill plants, four supply stores, state-of-the-art specialty gas and medical CO2 labs, and in-house dry ice manufacturing capabilities. On top of that, it also has a growing fleet of trucks and trailers, including a 10-tonne medical CO2 bulk track, a 25-tonne bulk CO2 trailer, a jumbo helium tube trailer, and several bulk nitrogen and argon trailers.
The life sciences edge
With its assets, Middlesex Gases has become a leader in the life sciences market. And with its headquarters being in Boston, one of the biggest hubs for life science and medical, it had a lot of demand to meet.
Life sciences, however, wasn’t always the number one priority for the independent distributor. When the company was founded 75 years ago, it was a welding supply house. Later in 1995, Middlesex noted the life sciences market really took off in Boston and it seized the opportunity.
Speaking to gasworld in a previous interview, Middlesex Gases said that its location benefited it to shift its attention to the life science market. And, at the time of publication of that specific interview, said that business was split 90% to gases and 10% to hardgoods, compared to the 50:50 split back in the earlier days.
Tom Martin, President and CEO of Middlesex, said, “In the early ‘90s, we set our sights on becoming an elite specialty gas supplier to the life sciences and biotech industries.”
“While these markets seemed promising, especially in our region, there were no guarantees they would flourish like they have. Being at the forefront of this existing industry set us up for tremendous growth and, we believe, long-term success.”
Medical CO2 in action
Medical carbon dioxide (CO2) has several applications. It is used as a pure gas or in specialised mixtures with other gases for stimulating breathing, anaesthesia, and sterilisation of equipment.
Medical CO2 can be used as an insufflation gas for minimal invasive surgery, such as laparoscopy, endoscopy, and arthroscopy, to enlarge and stabilise body cavities for better visibility of the surgical field. In its liquid phase, it can be used to provide temperatures down to -76°C, for cryotherapy or for local analgesia.
Other applications of medical CO2 include transient respiratory stimulation and encouragement of deep breathing and coughing to prevent or treat atelectasis1.
