MechChem Africa March-April 2022

⎪ Hydraulic and pneumatic systems ⎪

Africa has recently employed an energy con- sultant to focus on energy recovery systems and identify ways of helping users of Atlas Copco systems to reduce their energy bills. In the context of SMARTLINK, this puts Atlas Copco CTS in South Africa on the path to using SMARTLINK to monitor and report on the energy efficiency of customers’ com - pressor rooms. “In a compressor room with four machines, for example, we will regularly find that all four are set to run all the time. But two machines can often deliver the total air demand, so the other two can be switched off. This immediately halves the amount of energy being used. “By adding smart controllers, we can en- sure that the right number of compressors are on, which minimises energy losses while still delivering the exact amount of air needed at any time,” he explains. Ainsworth emphasises that these ser- vices are not one-size-fits-all offerings. “We visit customers to do an audit about how well their needsmatch the currently installed equipment. We can then produce a report that analyses the benefits of making changes –installing additional controllers, energy re- covery systems or SMARTINK, for example, while detailing the lifecycle costs and energy savingsbenefits that canbeachieved,” he says. Air leaks on compressed air systems are the most common source of energy losses. In addition, leaks from the compressed air pip- ing can result in contamination of the pipe network, which is particularly problematic when dry, oil-free or high purity air is needed downstream. Atlas Copco’s AIRnet provides a com- pressed air piping distribution solution from start to finish. “We are able to offer a range of lightweight and modular piping systems that is also easy to modify and expand, with- out having to interrupt ongoing operations,” Ainsworth informs MechChem Africa . The AIRnet offering includes piping op- tions in aluminium, the standard for many industrial applications; stainless steel, which is used to ensure 100% oil-free air delivery in production environments such as pharma, health, food and beverage; and polyamide, a cost effective piping system that is ideal for delivering air to pneumatic tools. “These systems help our clients to get the best value from their compressed air instal- lations, reducing pressure losses, contamina- tion, leaks and inefficiency,” he points out. AIRnet: Atlas Copco’s modular piping systems AIRPlan: a new way of financing infrastructure Persuading people to invest in optimisation initiatives in today’s constrained economic

AIRnet piping is available in aluminium, the standard for many industrial applications; stainless steel, for environments such as pharma, health, food and beverage; and polyamide, which is ideal for delivering air to pneumatic tools. Right: Atlas Copco’s AIRnet provides a compressed air piping distribution solution from start to finish.

environment is not easy, suggests Ainsworth. “People are struggling to keep their doors open right now, so it is difficult for them to invest for the long term.” This has caused a general shift away from having large capital expenditure budgets (Capex) to allow com- panies to focus instead on sustaining their operations from the operating expenses (Opex) budget. “We have introduced AIRPlan to accom- modate anyone with a maintenance budget that cannot justify the Capex to buy the solu- tion that best meets their operational needs,” says Ainsworth. Through anAtlasCopcoAIRPlan contract, a brand newmodern compressed air solution with all the monitoring and control technol- ogy to keep it running efficiently can be installed on the shop floor without the client having to find any upfront Capex to fund the investment. AIRPlan is an industrial lease-type agree- ment that covers the investment and the servicingof theequipment over a two to three

year period. Atlas Copco funds the purchase and the client signs a lease agreement and service plan with regular monthly payments. “This allows the equipment to be funded fromOPex, the idea being to increase uptime and improve reliability while not burdening clients with agonising investment decisions,” he explains. “Clients can bypass the ordering delays that always arise thoughCapex decisionmak- ing processes and bureaucracy, while imme- diately benefiting fromthe better production and, in the long term, from energy efficiency savings and reduced downtime,” he says. “We believe it is important to educate cus- tomers in the advantages of fit-for-purpose solutions that offer the best compromise between the investment costs, the long-term running costs and the production losses as- sociated with extended downtime. And with AIRPlan, thedifficult investment cost decision is taken out of the equation. It’s awin-win, for the short-termand the long-term,” Ainsworth concludes. q

SMARTLINK can be fitted to most Atlas Copco compressors to automatically gather and analyse data from operating compressors.

March-April 2022 • MechChem Africa ¦ 29