After decades of welding, mentoring, and building his name in fabrication, Dr. Edward Dampor now sets his sights on one of the country’s most essential needs: Safe and sustainable oxygen supply in hospitals.

For Dampor, founder and CEO of Brilliant Metal Craft and Machine Design (BMC), innovation begins with compassion. From his early days as a welder and technical trainer to leading a recognized fabrication company in Cebu, he has long been involved in building solutions for industrial and medical systems.

His latest project, however, is a deeply personal one: Helping hospitals access clean, rust-free oxygen without delays or heavy costs.

BREATHING NEW LIFE

BMC has launched a full system that includes a medical-grade oxygen generator plant capable of delivering 24/7 oxygen at 70 PSI high flow. The system, which can operate unmanned even during power outages, is designed to replace the traditional manifold setup that remains common in many hospitals today.

What sets this new system apart, according to BMC, is its use of rust-free aluminum alloy tanks, offered for free to hospitals as part of their leasing program. These tanks are not only corrosion-resistant and durable but also meet the standards of the Department of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Bureau of Philippine Standards.

In addition to the oxygen generator and tanks, BMC earlier invented a sharp infectious waste shredding machine. Built with an integrated UV-C sterilization and autoclave mechanism, the machine aims to offer hospitals a more hygienic and hassle-free way of handling medical waste.

BMC also offers the installation of a Centralized Medical Gas Pipeline System, a separate turnkey solution designed to streamline oxygen delivery within hospital facilities. The system includes aluminum alloy oxygen tanks, an automatic changeover manifold, zone valves with boxes, medical gas alarms, gas outlets, bed head units, and surgical pendants. These work together to ensure safe, uninterrupted access to oxygen and other medical gases in critical areas like wards, ICUs, and operating rooms.

PURITY UNDER PRESSURE

The initiative is backed by local and international guidelines, including the DOH Administrative Order No. 2018-0131 and FDA Circular No. 2014-018, which highlight the importance of ensuring proper oxygen purity and delivery systems.

BMC’s plant produces oxygen with up to 96 percent purity, in line with European and US pharmacopeia and ISO standards.

According to BMC, the system is distinct from ordinary diluted variants, as it is designed with strict impurity limits, monitoring features, and redundancy protocols to support sensitive environments such as intensive care units.

To encourage more hospitals to shift to safer and more sustainable systems, BMC is offering the plant on lease with consumable and negotiable downpayment terms. All aluminum tanks needed by hospitals are provided free of charge. Hospitals only pay for the oxygen refills, which cost around P450 per cylinder for facilities with high-volume consumption, and P600 per cylinder for those with smaller volume needs.

In Cebu, the company is offering free oxygen supply to partner hospitals for the first three months of use.

WELDED WITH PURPOSE

For Dampor, the campaign is more than just a business move. He recalls a personal hospital experience in May 2020 that left him reflecting on the current state of oxygen access in the country. From that moment on, he committed to creating a solution that could address what he saw as an overlooked issue in hospital care. Today, BMC’s oxygen systems are already being used by over 70 hospitals across the country.

Dampor, who started his journey as a barber and welder before earning international recognition in fabrication and training, has spent a lifetime proving that innovation can come from the ground up. His training center, accredited by TESDA, has trained generations of local welders and remains active in research and hospital system development.

In 2005, he was recognized as the first national Galing Pinoy Awardee. He also authored the “Handbook on New Welding Technology,” which has since become a staple reference among his students, some of whom have gone on to work abroad after completing BMC’s 45-day welding training program.

He once said that he never stopped learning, even at home. Now, in his later years, he continues to find purpose in solutions that serve both industry and humanity. His goal, as he puts it, is simple: every Filipino deserves clean, reliable oxygen, and no patient should suffer because of outdated systems.