GUARDTECH GROUP Chairman Ray Wheeler and Cleanroom Solutions founder Jan Pyrgies have been friends for more than 30 years.
"They've seen a lot of comings and goings in the industry during that time – but some things never change.
"There's a world of difference between a thoughtfully constructed controlled environment and a poorly made one," says Mr Wheeler. "Jan and the Cleanroom Solutions team know how to deliver quality – no matter how complex or tricky the build requirements are, Jan has seen and done it all in the industry, and his experience and knowhow is etched into every brilliant build he's been a part of."
With the acquisition of the formerly Sussex-based controlled environment design & build firm, the Guardtech Group has restructured to allow Guardtech Cleanrooms to focus on modular builds, while Cleanroom Solutions cater for larger turnkey construction projects.
Ray's son, Commercial Director Mark Wheeler, adds: "Cleanroom Solutions had been a ‘friendly competitor’ of ours for many years, and we always respected their core values – culturally the two businesses really fit. The relationship started out with a mutual respect, and over the years the idea of an acquisition or merger seemed to make sense, as we’re so closely aligned – it strengthens both brands."
Cleanroom Solutions was founded by Mr Pyrgies and his former business partner John Healy in 2000.
"I was at Laminar Flow Systems for 13 years," he says. "I started as a Project Engineer and finished as Sales Director. We built cleanrooms pretty much everywhere – from Dubai to Italy and all over Europe – some were pretty big sites, others more modest. I was the person designing cleanrooms and John Healy was the man who built them."
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Having built such a solid working relationship together, the duo decided to form Cleanroom Solutions in the year 2000.
It's fair to say that what happened next exceeded their expectations just a bit: "We started Cleanroom Solutions in June 2000 with the idea of getting about £100,000 worth of work in the first year. As it turned out, we rode the dotcom boom of the time and we turned over £3 million each year for the first three years."
Mr Healy retired in 2014 after undertaking scores of fantastic cleanroom build projects alongside Mr Pyrgies. It was another business associate of theirs who ended up taking the site lead role from Mr Healy.
"During the build of a JDS Uniphase cleanroom, in the late 90s in Plymouth, we worked closely with Sean Gaylard as part of the team.
"I design all the cleanrooms, have the initial customer interface, order all the materials and run the company side of things. John Healy used to run the sites. But when he decided to retire, about seven years ago, I spoke to Sean and he agreed to take over from John. He became my new business partner. There was only one thing of note that Sean said to me in the negotiations – 'Once I'm on site, and the work's under way, don't come to site'. I’m not sure what he meant by that!"
Jokes aside, Mr Gaylard has thoroughly enjoyed working alongside Mr Pyrgies ever since.
"I love building cleanrooms and facing the challenge of getting something meaningful done," he adds. "I'm proud of all the cleanrooms we've built. A couple of recent major projects stand out for me – both COVID-related – and to do what we did in the timescales for both jobs, what we achieved was incredible. All the team, everybody who was involved in those projects, to do what we did – unbelievable."
Chelsea supporter Mr Pyrgies had already drafted in a 'trusted ex-team-mate' at Cleanroom Solutions in the form of Design Engineer Graham Wyatt, a colleague from the Laminar Flow Systems days, himself a season ticket holder at Chelsea's London rivals Tottenham.
And it was one from another lasting friendship that Cleanroom Solutions’ move to be part of the Guardtech Group materialised – despite the fact that Ray Wheeler is a lifelong Arsenal fan!
"Right from 1987 to now, I've specialised in cleanrooms for electronics companies, universities and beyond," Mr Pyrgies adds, "building cleanrooms worth a few thousand pounds to millions of pounds. I met Ray more than 30 years ago, and we’ve had some adventures over that time. We’d been friends for a long time, lost touch a while back, met up again and that’s how the talk of a potential getting together began."
Mr Pyrgies is ready to impart his cleanroom wisdom onto the next generation of controlled environment Designers, Engineers and sales reps as a member of the board.
"I started in 1987 and it's now 2022, and in that time, I've built up a lot of experience," he continues. "I've had a hand in every aspect of a cleanroom build – I've encountered every element of the process, so I’ll be happy to share my knowledge with the Guardtech Group team, conduct training sessions and show them what I believe a good cleanroom should look like and how it should function."
With such a wealth of knowledge and experience behind them, the future looks brighter than ever for the Guardtech Group and their cast of aspiring cleanroom kings and queens.
For more information, visit guardtechgroup.com, call 0330 113 0303 or email sales@guardtech.com.
Image: Guardtech Group
