Thirty years of tinting solutions
Published on: 13 January 2016
Sue Tyler visited Fast & Fluid in Sassenheim, to find out how the company has become such a major influence in the global tinting sector.
Accuracy, reproducibility and reliability are the words at the core of Fast & Fluid’s philosophy. Having celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, the company is looking to the next 30 with the same passion. Acquired in 1996 by IDEX, which has a history of quality design, engineering excellence and a secure financial situation, Fast & Fluid believes in the power of its people, who devote their efforts and enthusiasm to being the right partner for its customers.
The key to global success
The company designs, builds and supports all its tinting equipment: paint dispensers, mixers and shakers. For the design alone, Fast & Fluid has a global team of around 40 engineers. Marc Uleman, Group President, IDEX, spoke about the high level of R&D to keep an advantage in the marketplace and drive innovation. After the design phase, the machines are manufactured in-house, from the metal housings to the quality seals, pumps, software and accessories.
A wide range of tinting solutions
Fast & Fluid is able to meet global demands with a wide range of tinting solutions, demands which may be different in different parts of the world due to local situations.
Fast & Fluid Management in Sassenheim mainly services the EMEA area, sister company Fluid Management Inc takes care of the Americas. Customers in the AP region are taken care of from the Australian office in Unanderra, as well as by local offices in India, Singapore and China.
Apart from production in Sassenheim and Wheeling, Fast & Fluid also opened a production facility in China In 2007, with another facility being built in the next two years. In the important Indian market a plant was built in 2011, which recently doubled in size to cope with the growth in the Indian market. The company now has six sales and manufacturing sites with some 60 service partners and agents to keep customers, on all continents, working to optimum capacity.
As mentioned before, R&D is incredibly important to Fast & Fluid and with this high level of research, the machines produced have the advantage of being equipped with the latest technology. Utilising both internal and external highly experienced suppliers, the company can boast solutions on a global scale. Marc believes in daily meetings, even if they are for 10-15 minutes, which can keep everyone on top of any issue that might be playing. Working as a team, even globally, provides the whole company with skills that can be used to benefit everyone. Cutting corners is not an option.