Dirk Villé Managing Director of Atlas Copco Compressors and Compressed Air Technology in Essen, interview: Robert Piterek
"We want to make production more sustainable"
2021 was characterized by many compressed air innovations. What can we expect from these innovations?
We launched more than 50 new products in the field of compressors and compressed air technology, including compressed air products, compressed air treatment and technologies for nitrogen and industrial gases. From small piston compressors for the workshop to large turbo compressors for the chemical plant. In the field of compressed air treatment in particular, we are able to meet different customer requirements and ensure safety in the manufacture of sensitive products through high quality requirements and ISO standards. But we have also launched pioneering products in the field of screw compressors and gas treatment. In particular, the new GA VSDs series of speed-controlled screw compressors with energy savings of up to 60 %.
Nevertheless, compressed air remains a considerable energy guzzler ...
That's right, energy costs have always been a huge cost factor in the lifecycle of a product and in the production of compressed air. And that is precisely why we are constantly working on more efficient solutions. We also offer a webinar on the topic of "Finding energy guzzlers" at www.atlascopco.com.
How important is sustainability to you?
With our products, we want to help our customers to make production more sustainable, because electricity costs make up the majority of the total operating costs of a compressor. Therefore, every company should make sure to keep energy costs as low as possible. Our latest compressors guarantee this and most of them are also eligible for BAFA subsidies. An example from the chemical industry: By replacing its compressed air system with three Atlas Copco turbocompressors, the customer OQ Chemicals has saved the electricity consumption of 400 households. This corresponds to around 2 million kWh of electricity per year or 1450 tons lessCO2 emissions per year.
How are you doing with digitalization?
All products can be controlled and accessed from anywhere. This is made possible, for example, by Smartlink, a system for monitoring the entire compressor system, which allows production to be monitored from a smartphone using the Smartlink app. We now also offer the OPC UA (Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture) standard, which will play an important role in future machine parks and create the basis for automation and Industry 4.0.
What compressed air innovations can we expect from Atlas Copco in 2022?
Our customers can expect an effective year with many compressed air innovations that will make their production more efficient and climate-friendly. We expect a lot in the areas of high-pressure reciprocating compressors, nitrogen compressors, control systems, screw compressors and process filtration. But we won't reveal any more, because we want to stay one decisive step ahead of the competition.
ABOUT THE PERSON
Dirk Villé has been managing Atlas Copco Compressors and Compressed Air Technology in Essen for 5 years. The technologies of the Group, which is headquartered in Sweden, are important for many industrial sectors, including the electroplating industry.
