B3 Systems was founded in 1991 as a field services and system integration company in Houston, Texas. We relocated the business to Raleigh, North Carolina in 1993. We can't say that the rest is history because this is really only the beginning.

In the mid 1990's we took our knowledge of process logic controllers (PLCs) along with our regulatory knowledge and entered into the continuous emission monitoring systems (CEMS) business. We were very successful with specific projects, but had entered the market too late to reap the benefits of system installations. However the knowledge gained about analyzers from most manufacturers developed into a service. We still provide maintenance services for many of our client's CEMS with service contracts and emergency call-out services. After a few clients approached us with small process control projects in the late 1990's, we found another area of expansion for our skills.

All of this previous experience folded together when we began integrating broken bag leak detector systems into plants in 2001. The systems met the EPA MACT Regulations as well as provided filter optimization and diagnostics information to the facility. The first systems utilized PCME Ltd's DT990 sensor connecting across multiple protocols to meet the plant's PLC/DCS communication standard. The success of these early systems lead us to becoming the national distributor for PCME Ltd. in the USA in 2003. To capitalize on their name recognition, a division of B3 Systems (PCME-US) was formed to market their products. B3 Systems was successful in penetrating the US market for PCME. This success is punctuated by the fact the B3 Systems was recognized with the Gold Award for being the #1 distributor in the world for PCME during the years 2005/2006 & 2006/2007. In 2007/2008, we received the bronze award for 3rd place even as the US economy was starting to fall.

The one thing that is a constant in a small business is change and keeping up with the moving markets. The year 2010 was a year of change at B3 Systems where; PCME moved their US distribution in a different direction and we performed our first full-scale particulate matter (PM) Spiking operation for calibrating particulate matter continuous emission monitoring systems (PM CEMS) and we developed a working relationship with TYCO Environmental/Goyen Valve.

After 2010 the PM spiking service continued to grow and has become a larger part of our overall business. It was a good match to the chemical spiking service because they operate on different compliance and testing cycles. It also allowed us the opportunity to take a crash course in pneumatic conveying and solid handling. This resulted in B3 Systems writing some of their own custom control algorithms to meet specific control needs. We also began integrating Goyen's products into our own systems in an effort to fill a void in the dust monitoring and baghouse control market.

In 2011, we began integrating Goyen's products into our own systems in an effort to fill a void in the dust monitoring and baghouse control market. Since most of the MACT Rules requiring BLDs were completed, we started focusing on the diagnostics market.

In 2015 the owners of B3 Systems formed Dust Company, Inc. (DustCo), an independent company from B3 Systems. The goal was to make DustCo the product manufacturer while B3 Systems remained the service company. DustCo's focus is on all things related to dust monitoring and control. This has allowed B3 Systems to combine previously gained experience and knowledge into DustCo's products. DustCo holds several patents related to dust monitoring and control.

In 2020 we planned the announcement and release of our first charge-based dust sensor / broken bag leak detector. But COVID shut that down along with everything else. The next several years were very difficult to get into facilities to even show them our new product. But we did use the time wisely to develop, and receive a patent for, a rod isolation check that can actually measure the resistance of any build-up between the sensor's rod and the process wall. This feature alone saves a lot of wasted maintenance time since the sensor can tell the users when it needs to be cleaned. The fact that our technology actually measures the resistance means that it can be used as a predictive maintenance tool.

In 2020 (during the COVID shutdown) we realized the dust explosions were a huge problem and wondered why people were not just monitoring the level or depth of settled dust at their facilities. After a little research, we realized that a settled dust sensor did not actually exist. So we put together a wish list of capabilities and started looking at different technologies and approaches. The result is that DustCo has two (2) patent pending technologies to monitor settled dust. One technology is capacitance based on the other optical. We were targeting early 2024 to have our first beta unit available, but that target flew by really fast. The final version for the capacitance-based Guardian™ is on track to be available as a production model in the first quarter of 2026. If you are interested in a demo, please give us a call.

This story is no where close to over... So check back periodically.