Draeger: Rich History, Unmatched Innovation

Back in 1889, the same year the Eiffel Tower became the tallest structure on earth and Montana was admitted into the Union, Germans J. Heinrich Dräger and Carl Adolf Gerling founded a company that today employs over 10,000 people and has perhaps saved the lives of even more. Few companies in the safety industry are steeped with the history and reputation as the German-based Draeger (or, Dräger, as it's known outside of the US), and its longevity is no accident. Draeger manufactures an assortment of equipment for workplaces ranging from medical, mining, fire departments, law enforcement, and industrial. Each rely on Draeger cutting-edge technology as well as time-tested methods.

The knee-jerk reaction most of our confined space customers have when they hear the name Draeger is detector tubes, which makes sense. After all, Draeger has been synonymous with colorimetric gas detection tubes ever since they were early pioneers of the devices back in the 1930s. Gas detection technology has changed quite a bit since then.  While they still make incredibly effective tubes that accurately and affordably test more than 500 gases, the company is now a world leader in popular portable multi- and single-gas monitors.

What really makes Draeger standout today is the accuracy and precision of its sensors. It’s a company that prides itself not just on alerting customers of present dangerous gases, but providing continual and accurate analytics for present gas levels. For example, their Pac 3500 single-gas detector and X-am 2500 4-gas detector provide workers with continuous readings with a resolution all the way down to 0.1 ppm. As workers move about, their analytical detector gives them constant readings and issues an alarm if levels are too high. It’s more convenient, and much safer having this added information.

Then there’s the X-zone 5000 area monitoring system. For customers who are used to having an X-am 5000 or X-am 5600 multi-gas detector clipped to their work outfit, you may be interested in area monitoring. Your X-am 5000 instrument simply slides into the X-zone port, then each portable X-zone unit you use wirelessly communicates with each other up to 100 yards away to detect harmful gases over a large coverage area. This is invaluable for customers working on a pipeline or industrial tank. The wireless fence line created by using multiple X-zones alerts you to gas that may be several hundred feet away.

Draeger is headquartered in Lübeck, Germany, but its presence is worldwide. In fact, many of their products, including the Pac 3500, are made right here in the USA.