Celebrating a 20-year partnership supporting Scottish industry

Process industries in Scotland, such as pharmaceuticals, distilleries, breweries and dairies, have been professionally supported by valve and instrumentation experts, BM Engineering Supplies, for over two decades. Shortly after the company’s founding, a partnership was formed with Bürkert, a specialist designer and manufacturer of fluid control systems, and this year sees the 20th anniversary of that relationship.

BME has long-standing relationships with many customers, who rely on its ability to deliver parts quickly and support them in building new process lines and expanding existing infrastructure. The partnership with Bürkert gives BM Engineering a wide range of high-quality products that meet the requirements of conventional fluid processes as well as those involving hazardous areas.

Growth through partnership

The relationship started with an order for a 4-inch manual control valve and quickly moved on to the supply of solenoid valves and pneumatically controlled valves, initially for local distilleries. At the time, there was no Bürkert representative in Scotland, but in 2006, BME was appointed as an official distributor and Mark Stevenson took on the role for Bürkert, with the Type 6519 valve developing into a flagship product for BM Engineering.

The relationship between Mark and Blair Miller, BME’s Managing Director, quickly resulted in a major project to supply positioners and control valves for a specialist carbon fibre manufacturing business. After 15 years, these products from Bürkert are still working reliably, providing a great showcase for the robust quality and service delivered by the partnership.

In 2008, Bürkert acquired BBS which enabled an expansion of the company’s range of specialist sterile fittings, flanges, connectors and pipe for hygienic processing, biotech and pharmaceutical processes. Bürkert’s growth was mirrored by BM Engineering, which continued to build relationships with new customers based on its reputation for prompt delivery of high-quality products.

Continued expansion

Within 10 years, BM Engineering’s business had grown so much that it was necessary to double the warehouse capacity, a project that became known as ‘The Big Build’. In addition to the extra storage, new offices as well as a build and test area were created to further support customers with more complex projects.

Over the years, Bürkert has continued to expand its range of innovative products, such as the FLOWave flowmeter and Type 6519 valve, which enable companies working with challenging process control environments to succeed. With many customers in the distillery sector, the ability to design and supply ATEX approved process equipment has led to many long-term relationships. BM Engineering is also well-regarded in the pharmaceutical sector, which has some of the most rigorous quality specifications of any industry. In 2012, BM Engineering introduced the 5470 solenoid valve range into their portfolio, strengthening their position further.

Bürkert’s industry knowledge and product expertise has supported BME in continuing to build the business and enhance the customer experience. These achievements were recently recognised when the company was awarded Distributor of the Year 2023 by Bürkert. Now, BME is looking to build on this recent success and create more long-lasting customer relationships that benefit from the combined knowledge of their suppliers and their in-house experts.

About Bürkert

Bürkert Fluid Control Systems is one of the leading manufacturers of control and measuring systems for fluids and gases. The products have a wide variety of applications and are used by breweries and laboratories as well as in medical engineering and space technology. The company employs over 2,200 people and has a comprehensive network of branches in 35 countries world-wide.