Leo Deacon, Druck Sales Representative, explains how he acquired a piece of Druck and British engineering history.
Leo’s Story
A few years ago, I was made aware of an instrument being advertised on eBay that immediately caught my attention: a Druck DPI 300A pressure indicator.
At first, I was simply excited to find one of Druck’s earliest instruments still out there. The DPI 300A is an important part of our history and helped establish Druck’s reputation for precision pressure measurement. But what made this particular instrument special was its back-story.
It was being sold by one of the engineers from the Thrust SSC team and had been used as the team’s barometric pressure standard during their world land speed record attempts. Knowing the significance of both the instrument and the achievement it had supported, I purchased it for just £25! I then collected it in person and spent a fascinating few hours learning more about the project and how the instrument’s readings were used.
For those who may not know, Thrust SSC became the first and only land vehicle to officially break the sound barrier in 1997, setting a world land speed record that still stands today. The DPI 300A was used by the team to provide highly accurate barometric pressure measurements that supported performance calculations throughout testing and the record attempts.
When I first bought the instrument, I simply felt it was an important piece of Druck history that deserved to be preserved. I certainly didn’t imagine that a few years later it would have pride of place in an exhibition celebrating Druck’s legacy! (The DPI 300A is now exhibited in Druck’s ‘Bertioli Innovation Centre’ named after one of our founders, Mike Bertioli, and featuring some historic Druck products, memorabilia and history wall).
Seeing it displayed alongside so many other products and innovations from Druck’s history is something that is very meaningful to me — especially given my own family connection to the business spanning more than decades. My father was part of the DruckFamily for decades, and I am now in the fourth year of my second spell with the business. For me, that’s what makes this instrument special. It’s more than a pressure indicator from a famous engineering achievement; it’s a small piece of a much bigger Druck story, shaped by generations of talented people whose work has helped make moments like this possible.
(Leo is pictured below with Druck President, Gordon Docherty, at the official launch of the Bertioli Centre, with the DPI300A).
