Scanwel – Catalogue & SEO

Taking a Welsh vacuum engineering specialist to research labs across Europe

Scanwel has been designing and manufacturing ultra-high vacuum (UHV) components and deposition systems in Bala, Gwynedd, since 1974. From vacuum chambers, valves, feedthroughs and manipulators to effusion cells, MBE and sputtering sources, its products sit inside the instruments used by universities, government laboratories, semiconductor companies and OEMs around the world.

It is world-class engineering from a small town in rural North Wales. The challenge was making sure the researchers and engineers who need it could find it, specify it and buy it, wherever they were. Over more than five years, Livetech built Scanwel a full online catalogue and the search visibility to go with it, opening the door to customers right across Europe during a period of major growth for the business.

The Challenge

UHV and thin film deposition is a specialist, global market. Buyers are physicists, materials scientists, lab managers and OEM engineers, and they search with exact part types, flange sizes and specifications.

• Thousands of precision components that needed to be clearly organised, searchable and specifiable online
• Customers spread across Europe and beyond, not just the UK
• Highly technical, niche products that generic websites and search strategies simply miss
• Strong competition from larger international vacuum suppliers
• A need for the website to support real sales, not just act as a brochure

Our Approach

We treated the catalogue as the heart of the business. If a researcher in Germany or a lab manager in the Netherlands searched for the exact component they needed, Scanwel had to be there with a clear, detailed product page and an easy way to enquire or order.

So we built the catalogue and the SEO together: a structure that mirrors how vacuum engineers think about their kit, and product pages written and marked up so that search engines understand exactly what each component is and who it is for.

What We Did

A full online catalogue. We designed and built a complete, structured product catalogue covering Scanwel’s range, from fittings, chambers and valves to motion, manipulation and deposition products, with the technical detail engineers need to specify with confidence.

Built to trade across Europe. The catalogue was set up to let Scanwel sell well beyond the UK, giving European universities, institutes and OEMs a straightforward way to find products, request quotes and order.

Niche product SEO. We made sure Scanwel got found for its specialist offerings: the precise component types and applications that its buyers actually search for, where a small, expert manufacturer can outrank much larger suppliers.

Technical content and structure. Clear categories, consistent product data and structured markup across the catalogue, so both buyers and search engines could navigate thousands of parts with ease.

Ongoing development. A long-term partnership of more than five years, continually extending the catalogue and visibility as the business grew.

Who Finds Scanwel Online

• Universities and research institutes: surface science, nanoscience and materials research groups
• Government and national laboratories: large-scale UHV and vacuum systems
• Semiconductor and thin film: deposition, MBE and sputtering applications
• Instrument manufacturers (OEMs): precision vacuum components built into their own systems

The Commercial Case

For a specialist manufacturer, a single order from a research institute or OEM can be substantial, and a satisfied lab tends to come back again and again. Every component a buyer can find, understand and order online is a sale that might otherwise have gone to a larger competitor.

• A bigger market: a catalogue built to trade across Europe, not just the UK
• Found for the niche: visibility for the specialist terms where expert manufacturers win
• Easier to buy: clear product data that lets engineers specify and order with confidence
• Room to grow: a platform that scaled with the business through a period of major growth

The result was a 50-year-old Welsh manufacturer reaching laboratories and engineering teams across Europe from its base in Bala, competing confidently with far larger international suppliers.

Key Deliverables

• Full online product catalogue covering thousands of precision components
• Catalogue structure and product data designed around how engineers search
• Set-up for trading with customers across Europe
• Niche, specification-led SEO for specialist vacuum and deposition products
• Structured data and technical optimisation across the catalogue
• Ongoing development and support over more than five years

Specialist manufacturer with a world-class product and a website that undersells it? Get in touch.