Does Anyone Make Prefilters?

One of the best known and perhaps least examined products in the filtration industry is the unheralded “prefilter”.  Advertisements in filtration trade magazines or the websites of filter manufacturers typically focus on final filters but do not mention prefilters.

The market for prefilters is huge.  Without prefilters, filtration in the semiconductor or pharmaceutical industry would be impossible.  Other industries rely heavily on prefiltration, such as the chemical process and water industries, along with many segments of the medical, packaging, food and beverage and pulp and paper industries, to name a few.  Advertisements and promotions for strainers, cartridges in stringwound, meltblown or pleated forms, and liquid bag filters abound, but rarely do we see specific examples of prefilters.

Protecting the final filter by selecting the correct prefilter is a critical topic in our industry, but certainly not one as glamorous as the choice of final filter.  With such a void between the two, there is significant potential upside for a manufacturer of filtration media and/or filters who actually focuses their business strategy, at least in part, on the development, manufacture, documentation and active promotion of the best prefiltration products available for specific applications.

In a world of product differentiation and proprietary positions, where are the companies that attempt the arduous work in lab and field of acquiring and publishing information that explains why their prefilter is a superior product and the most effective solution for certain markets or conditions.  Most companies develop final filters at considerable expense but fail to capture the full value of a product when used as a prefilter by overlooking that opportunity.  Where’s the marketing manager?

A suggestion for the manufacturer or distributor: instead of looking at sales of prefilters as a tag-along or add-on to the final filter, why not consider solving customers’ un-met needs for improved prefiltration as a way to provide value?  In reality, a final filter and a prefilter could be the same product, but the needs and relative emphasis are much different.  It might be an industry first to find a company in 2012 actively promoting improved prefiltration in their advertising and substantiating specific aspects of prefilter performance and effectiveness on their corporate website.