Questar Baseline and Varian Inc., Partner to Make
Revolutionary Online Gas-Measurement Tools
-- new devices provide results 10 times faster

LYONS, Colo. — Questar Baseline Industries today announced an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) agreement with Varian Inc., makers of a miniature gas chromatographic system known as the Micro GC. 

     The agreement allows Varian's Micro GC to be integrated into Baseline's remote-controlled online BTU measurement instrument known as R.A.M.S (Real Time Applications Management System).  R.A.M.S. is designed to acquire, measure and broadcast data in real time.

     "The benefits to the user will be far reaching," said Bob Forsberg, Baseline president. "The vast library of applications Varian provides for the Micro GC means that R.A.M.S. will be a useful tool in industries beyond natural gas-BTU analysis, an application for which R.A.M.S. is traditionally used.  Petrochemical, pharmaceutical and other industries that utilize a gas-measurement process can now employ this system cost effectively." 

     Garry Rogerson, Varian vice president of analytical instruments, explained that the collaboration between Varian and Baseline was customer focused. "We developed the

Micro GC based on customer requests for fast, accurate online analysis," Rogerson said. "By combining the complementary technologies of our companies, we produce the high-performance instrumentation our customers demand."

     The marriage of technologies will allow gas to be measured accurately in 120 seconds or less, 5 to 10 times faster than technology currently being used.  Data is taken off the system via the Internet or through standard communications protocols for WAN, LAN or direct modem.              

     Because this system has the capability to take gas samples from more than one source, one installation could significantly reduce the user's investment in hardware, maintenance and personnel. 

     Questar Baseline is a subsidiary of Salt Lake City-based Questar InfoComm Inc. (Questar InfoComm is also a wholly owned subsidiary of Questar Corp., a $2.3 billion diversified natural gas company headquartered in Salt Lake City.)

     Questar Baseline was established in 1969 and is located in Lyons, Colo. The company manufactures, sells, installs and services a complete line of advanced gas-monitoring instrumentation in a wide range of industrial applications.

     Varian Inc. is a world leader in scientific instruments and vacuum technologies serving life-science and health-care customers, and chemical, environmental and industrial customers. Varian is a major supplier of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) systems, analytical-instrument solutions, and vacuum products and services, and operates a state-of-the-art contract electronics manufacturing center.