Gow-Mac Instrument Co.

1935 GOW-MAC Instrument Co. established in Newark, NJ U.S.A. by Mr. William Gow and Mr. James McFadden to manufacture and market an automotive engine analyzer developed by Mr. Gow. This analyzer utilized a thermal conductivity detector (TCD) and essentially measured the carbon dioxide content of the exhaust gas. This development leads to the engineering and manufacturing of a variety of TCDs and binary gas analyzers; e.g., air in H2, natural vs. manufactured gas, etc. The Company supplies analyzers to the U.S. Navy During World War II.

1950 Firm outgrows its plant in Newark, NJ and moves to Madison, NJ
1952 The need for TCDs increases due to the development of a new analytical technique called gas chromatography (GC). GOW-MAC becomes, and still remains, the major manufacturer of TCD's and detector elements (filaments) to the major manufacturers of GC's throughout the world.
1960 U.S. Pat. No. 82,207 Detector Cell for Gas Analysis Apparatus awarded to John D. Carswell, Jr. of GOW-MAC Instrument Co., Madison, NJ U.S.A.
1965 GOW-MAC Instrument Co. U.S.A. forms subsidiary in Ireland, GOW-MAC Instrument Co. (Ireland) Ltd. to manufacture filaments and TCDs for the European market. Over the years, GMI grows to manufacture most of the product line of its parent company, GOW-MAC Instrument Co. U.S.A.
1969 GOW-MAC Instrument Co. U.S.A. adds to its instrument family by introducing its own line of gas chromatographs into the world marketplace. The Model 69-100 becomes the first in a long line of low cost, easy to use, quality GCs - a tradition that continues to this day.
1970 James McFadden retires; Alexander E. Lawson becomes CEO.
1977 U.S. Pat. No. 4,042,304 Christiansen Effect Detector awarded to Archer J. P. Martin, James M. Miller, Alexander E. Lawson, and Robert J. Mathieu GOW-MAC Instrument Co., Madison, NJ U.S.A.
1978 Firm expands and moves from Madison, NJ to Bridgewater, NJ U.S.A.
1980 U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,564 Miniaturized Thermal Conductivity Detector awarded to Alexander E. Lawson and Robert J. Mathieu of GOW-MAC Instrument Co., Bridgewater, NJ U.S.A.
1981 U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,304 Short Optical Path Detector awarded to Alexander E. Lawson, Robert J. Mathieu, and James E. Miller of GOW-MAC Instrument Co., Bridgewater, NJ U.S.A.
1989 Alexander E. Lawson retires; Robert J. Mathieu becomes CEO.
1990 U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,648 Discharge Ionization Detector (DID) awarded to Alexander E. Lawson and Robert J. Mathieu of GOW-MAC Instrument Co., Bridgewater, NJ U.S.A.
1990 GOW-MAC Instrument Co. U.S.A. introduces the Series 590 DID Gas Chromatograph. The DID revolutionizes the industrial gas industry as a universal, non-radioactive detector capable of performing trace gas impurity analyses in the part-per-billion (ppb) range.
1993 GOW-MAC acquires the assets and personnel of the Middlesex Service Center, a division of Linde, U.C.C. (now Praxair). The acquisition allows us to provide complete turnkey systems and analytical solutions for bulk, specialty and electronic gas systems.
1994 Firm relocates from Bridgewater, NJ to a new facility in Bethlehem, PA U.S.A.
1996 European Pat. No. 0410665 Discharge Ionization Detector (DID) awarded to GOW-MAC Instrument Co., Bethlehem, PA U.S.A. covering Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, and The Netherlands
1997 Acquires the assets of Olin Instruments, a division of Olin Corporation (Stamford, CT). GOW-MAC offers moisture analyzers for liquids and gases, and process GCs for water and air analysis.
2000 Japanese Pat. No. 2953590 Discharge Ionization Detector (DID) awarded to GOW-MAC Instrument Co., Bethlehem, PA U.S.A.
2000 Opening of GOW-MAC Instrument Co. - Taiwan sales office in Taipei, Taiwan.
2001 Irish Pat. No. 81551 Discharge Ionization Detector (DID) awarded to GOW-MAC Instrument Co., Bethlehem, PA U.S.A.
2004 Company adds a new line of gas analyzers, the 200 Series featuring either a PID, FPD, or FID detector. These analyzers are specifically designed for the determination of impurities in beverage-grade CO2; i.e., aromatic hydrocarbons, BTEX, acetaldehyde, and sulfur.
2005 The 1000 Series line of trace gas analyzers for N2 in Ar, N2 in He, and H2O in Ar introduced.
2005 GOW-MAC Instrument Co. U.S.A. completes the sale of the assets of its Irish subsidiary.
2007 Robert J. Mathieu retires; Jeffrey B. Lawson becomes CEO.
2008 Introduction of the innovative Series 900 Toxic Gas Analyzer - a highly selective and precise analytical instrument engineered for quantifying trace amounts of toxic gases in industrial gas applications.
2008 Introduction of the Series 100TCD Gas Analyzer - optimized expressly for non-corrosive and corrosive gas analysis. The analyzer offers application-specific system configurations for the analysis of industrial and specialty gases used in a wide array of applications
2008 Introduction of the Series 200DID Gas Chromatograph - a fully digital process GC optimized explicitly for ppb analysis of non-corrosive and corrosive gases. The GC employs GOW-MAC's patented discharge ionization detector (DID) and offers application specific system configurations.
2009 Opening of GOW-MAC Instrument Co. - China sales office in Beijing, China.
2010 Celebrating 75 years in Gas Analysis
We would like to thank you, our loyal customers, for your support over the past 75 years. GOW-MAC Instrument Co.'s key focus has always been and continues to be our customers. We believe that the evolution of gas analysis should be motivated by your always demanding, ever changing applications. It is this philosophy and your feedback that has helped us grow to be a leading provider of gas analysis solutions around the world. Thank you.
2012 GOW-MAC receives ISO 9001:2008 certification by way of BSI Group America Inc. (BSI), a leading global provider of ISO-standards-based assurance, compliance, and information solutions.