‘It’s hard to believe people are so short term in their thinking’19 January 2014

Dirk Villé is bemused that 52% of UK manufacturing managers are still fire-fighting on compressor maintenance. The new Atlas Copco chief let's off steam with Max Gosney

Watching Only Fools and Horses is unlikely to feature in Dirk Villé's official induction plan at Atlas Copco. But the man who took the helm of the compressor manufacturer's UK business this June after working for the firm across Europe would offer a wry smile at Del Boy's exploding blow-up dolls and knock off Latvian microwaves.

"Here you have people who buy in second hand compressor equipment, take the screw element out, put new paint over it and sell it as a spare part," remarks Villé of the wheeler-dealer approach among some to replacing a component critical to converting ambient air to the pressurised stuff used by your shopfloor.

You'll never know how long it will last
"You will never know how many hours are on that screw element and how long it is going to last. You do not see that happening in Austria. There is a difference in mentality and that's a bit new for me."

Britain's quest for a bargain is in danger of turning us into a bunch of plonkers over compressed air. The lucky ones could see their deal of a lifetime quickly disintegrate into a spluttering wreck. The less fortunate might be prosecuted by HSE when shoddy parts trigger an explosion that leaves an employee with an embolism. "Why do people take the risk? I don't know why," ponders Villé. "I think its short-term thinking. If you are a plant or maintenance manager and you get the task to reduce maintenance costs, you're going to try and find someone who is cheaper and in the short term that might be true."

It's a bit like buying a car, reflects Villé. You can pay top dollar for a Bentley and enjoy the quality assurances of servicing it a dealership or take a chance at your local garage. He explains: "If we do an overhaul you get a five-year warranty on the parts. If you buy components like a rotary screw element from somewhere else, the part may be sold to you as new, but it is not certified. You are taking some risks on a failure."

The importance of servicing compressors through OEMs is treated as sacrosanct among European manufacturers, says Villé, who has headed up Atlas Copco businesses in Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. "In Austria people hardly use third party providers. They always use OEMs or first class distributors linked to one."
Yet, true to form, the UK has a sizeable majority who are at odds with Europe.

"There is a group of engineers, plant and maintenance managers who think in the same direction as we do. But there is another group that sees things differently," says Villé in an act of diplomacy that could land him a job at his native Belgium's embassy on London's Grosvenor Crescent.

"There was a very interesting article in your magazine that highlighted the issue [WM's Maintenance Report, October 2013, p22]. It showed 52% of manufacturers operate a reactive approach to maintenance... I've read it twice because it's hard to believe that people are really that short-term in their thinking."

Frantic calls to Atlas Copco HQ
Convincing these fire-fighters to take a more strategic approach is cited by Villé as a key objective for his tenure in the UK. He's all too familiar with frantic calls to Atlas Copco HQ when a stricken maintenance manager discovers a compressor has broken down in the night. "For some customers we are called in only when there is a problem. They are doing servicing themselves, or outsourcing, but then, when the machine goes down, we get a panic call saying: 'We need a technician, now'... It's our name that suffers if the machine fails because it's not serviced in the proper way."

This New Year may well be the time for old acquaintances to be forgotten. Even the most old-school site managers will be anxious to avoid downtime from a poorly maintained compressor as they look to make hay from an expected surge in order books this year. More than half of sites plan to increase investment spend in 2014 according to WM's Outlook survey and new plant is top of the shopping list.

Villé endorses the sense of optimism. "I do a lot of customer visits and everybody is extremely positive," he says. "In the past we've seen a lot of replacements for old compressors or retrofitting with variable speed drives. Now you see people expanding, their production is soaring. They have been waiting to invest through the crisis; now they are looking at a new machine with a higher capacity."

Before you do buy, it pays to do your homework advises Villé (see box below). Pick a compressor with a capacity fit for your site is one golden rule. There's no point putting the compressor equivalent of a v12 Mustang in a site where the air demands could be serviced by a Mini. Most compressor manufacturers offer free monitoring services to help you calculate the best fit.

Another potential banana skin is becoming fixated by the compressor rather than considering your entire air supply system, adds Villé. "I was just this week in a brand new factory with very new, very nice machines. They put in a brand new Atlas Copco compressor with a variable speed drive and then, to my surprise, I saw they were using steel piping. Aluminium piping has 25% less friction than steel – 50% after a number of years– so there are far fewer pressure drops."

On the subject of pipe work, Villé strongly recommends considering an extension from compressor to factory boiler. Compressors equipped with energy recovery are his star buy for 2014. The recovery system uses the waste heat from the compression process (90% of the electrical input into the machine is lost as waste) to heat factory water or buildings. "Energy recovery on a compressor is not even 20% of your machine cost. I wish everybody would install it. Not for us as a manufacturer because we don't gain out of this, but it's a pity for energy waste and the environment."

Installing heat recovery on a 55kW compressor running for 2,000 hours a year could provide annual savings of more than £2,500 according to the Carbon Trust. Alternatively, you could always just patch up old Bertie, or whatever nickname your old warhorse of a compressor goes by, for one more year. Before you make a final call, says Villé, just close the compressor house door and do nothing more than listen.

"Honestly, you can hear it when a compressor is running fine or not," says Villé. "The vibrations or noise tell you a lot. A service engineer coming in on a regular basis will hear when something is up. Those machines are like his babies; he will know."

If, try as you might, all you can distinguish is a monotonous hum then don't be a manufacturing Derek Trotter. Take a look at the best manufacturer service plans for your site. You know it makes sense.

Dirk's tips on picking up the perfect compressor
1 Go for heat recovery
The compressor could be your secret weapon in the war on rising energy prices, says Villé. Choosing a model with energy recovery means waste hot air can be used to heat your buildings or keep the shopfloor singing in the rain as they enjoy piping hot showers. Systems will set you back around 20% of the cost of the compressor, says Villé, but you can expect pay back within a year if you use warm air for heating and two years if it's used for heating water. Buyers should consider placing the compressor close to boiler systems or areas where heating is needed to avoid elaborate piping networks, adds Villé. You should also check whether the heat recovery times of the compressor match the demand times for the morning showers. Check out a detailed guide at: http://tinyurl.com/ncktsv5

2 Keep your options open with a variable speed drive
Fitting a variable speed drive (VSD) on the compressor will give you the wiggle room to accommodate fluctuations in your air demands, stresses Villé – a useful feature with the expected upturn: "I always say take a bit more capacity with a VSD. It will give you more capacity if you need it."Atlas Copco claims its VSDs offer a 35% improvement on energy efficiency with fluctuations in air demand than fixed speed drives (which provide air at constant demands).

3 Servicing through OEMs pays
Energy costs account for 73% of your total compressor spend over a 10-year period, according to the Carbon Trust. Spending a little more on a manufacturer-led servicing package will ensure your machine runs at optimum efficiency, says Villé.
"The energy bill is the big part of your cost. But by doing good maintenance you will reduce your energy bill."
Service packages will entitle you to regular check-ups from an engineer and cover the cost of replacement parts. Parts are also certified and won't compromise your legal responsibilities under PUWER regulations. Atlas Coco also offers a smart link system, which beams back technical data on your compressor to the firm's Hemel Hempstead HQ, providing an early warning system on malfunctions and allowing servicing to be matched to your individual usage.

4 Think beyond just the compressor
Think about your entire air supply system and not just the compressor. Make sure you ask for a system test before you buy. This will identify any leaks and pressure drops in your system, says Villé. If you are starting from scratch then opt for aluminium pipes over steel as they'll offer less air resistance.

Max Gosney

Related Companies
Atlas Copco Compressors

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