The firm says that this new service enables industrial companies to streamline their maintenance processes by working with a single service provider and local point of contact.
The FMR Service Plan, which is operated by a local member of Atlas Copco’s nationwide network of service engineers, can be tailored to cover the maintenance of all the rotating equipment in a plant’s utility room – including water pumps, refrigeration units, vacuum pumps, air compressors and blowers.
Brian Barnes, UK business line manager for Atlas Copco Compressor Technique Service Operations, explains: “Our FMR Service Plan helps industrial users to work more efficiently. This is because it eliminates the need to negotiate individual manufacturers’ aftermarket offerings, employ a third-party facilities management team or develop the maintenance capability of an in-house engineering department.”
The FMR Service Plan has been designed to be flexible and can be tailored to meet individual application needs for an all-inclusive price. The firm adds that there is no pressure for users to subscribe to services that their operations would not benefit from, and any required changes can be made whenever necessary.
Within the terms of the FMR Service Plan, Atlas Copco commits to take complete care of a specified equipment inventory with on-time maintenance carried out by service engineers. Pro-active upgrades, driveline overhauls and the supply of genuine OEM parts are all essential components of the Plan. It also includes total risk coverage, which means all repairs, even breakdowns, are taken care of without extra charge.
Atlas Copco is rolling out the FMR Service Plan nationwide following a successful 12-month trial with a plastics packaging producer in the UK. The plant management team at Alpla UK in Port Sunlight saw the logic of extending this activity to cover all of the plant’s essential rotating equipment, which included the servicing requirements for its vacuum pumps and water pumps.
Liam Grimwood, plant engineering manager for Alpla UK, explains: “In our business reliability is paramount. Any downtime has a massive impact on our productivity levels. Now, with our three-year FMR Service Plan, not only do we enjoy a high standard of service from just one organisation handling all our equipment maintenance needs, but at all times we are fully informed of its status. There are no more shocks or surprises, we know exactly what’s happening and what the relevant costs are.”
Barnes concludes: “Every day our engineers see machinery, new and old, in good or improvable states, from the widest range of manufacturers imaginable. They pick up on good and bad practices at sites across multiple industries and can advise with an outsider's view on where to improve a customer’s system. More exposure means more experience.”