The generator game

Carl Briden, director at Kaeser.
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In terms of trends, the themes of sustainability and diversification are most prevalent. Rather than relying on one particular type of fuel, customers are looking to expand their capacity to include two or more fuel types.

“One of our customers, a cement company in Ras Al Khaimah, has its own gas-powered turbine, but contracted a diesel-powered package from us to provide additional capacity to their facility,” says Burns.

Aggreko has reacted to this demand by introducing its ADDGas system, which allows customers to substitute a significant portion of diesel fuel with natural gas, giving the customer a considerable saving on overall costs.

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On the sustainable side, Kaeser Kompressoren ensures that consumption is kept to a minimum by producing highly energy efficient compressed air stations.

“With compressed air generation requiring over 30% of all electricity consumed in industry today, it is our responsibility as manufacturers to look at ways of reducing this consumption,” says Briden. “The ultimate benefit is a greener environment.”

Whereas supply chains are often a factor in the regional transformer market, lead times are also improving. Generally speaking, the wider the global reach of the company, the more efficiently it can transport its offerings to utilities.

In the case of Aggreko, a worldwide fleet of around 13,500 generators – with a total of 5,600MW of operating capacity – combined with a strong network of depots, mean that its products can be readily available to potential clients.

Extra investment over the last 12-18 months has improved lead-times for Kaeser Kompressoren, an approach that has also been assisted with technological advancements that allow customers to monitor their installations on a 24-hour basis.

There are even computer-controlled management systems available that can send text messages to a mobile phone providing operational status.

And that need for constant updates as to operational status is absolutely vital. “A 3mm hole in a compressed air network for example, can cost a customer US$6,900 per year in electricity costs,” explains Briden.

“This is a substantial amount and in most cases the customer is unaware such losses are taking place. It is our duty to continually educate clients as to the proper use and up-keep of their compressed air systems.”