The generator game

Carl Briden, director at Kaeser.
[More Images]

Five to watch
Utilities Middle East reviews five local operators in the generator sector.

Aggreko can supply generators from 15 kVA to 2 000 kVA in single units, as well as multi-megawatt packages using 1 250 kVA units linked together. Smaller sets are used to power Portacabins, piling machines and hand tools, while construction cranes are usually powered by 250 kVA or 320 kVA generators.

Altas Copco provides portable and stationary generators. The company has reported increased activity in the larger 500 kVA to 1 000 kVA category due to power shortfalls in some urban areas, but it mainly supplies contractors who require units in the 20 kVA to 275 kVA range.

Story continues below

Advertisement

FEATURED COMMENT Please click here to comment on this article

Caterpillar provides gas-powered gensets ranging from 9 kW to 600 kW and diesel-powered generator sets from 7 kW to 16 200 kW.

It supplies these products to a total of five GCC countries for which Al Bahar, a machinery and trading group in the Middle East, has the Caterpillar dealership. Caterpillar has a number of different models to cater the needs of the industry and for varied project requirements.

Cummins offers gensets between 15 kVA and 500 kVA. The 250 kVA to 500 kVA range is used during construction for powering offices, cranes and other miscellaneous construction requirements. Gensets ranging from 500 kVA to 3 000 kVA are used for permanent installations as back-up power to local utilities companies in most buildings.

Cummins believes that contractors prefer to rent generators for specific projects instead of owning the equipment and continuously moving it to new project locations where they incur hefty logistical costs.

FG Wilson designs and manufactures diesel and gas gensets. Its most popular products for construction sites range from 60 kVA to 500 kVA.

It also gensets from 10 kVA to 2 200 kVA so as to be able to cater for customer demand. All these can be supplied as sound-attenuated and weatherproof canopied gensets. FG Wilson offers technical support from pre-sales and aftersales support from installation to commissioning. Its Middle East business includes countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

Case study
Aggreko’s Phil Burns outlines a recent company success story.

“In June, the British Trade Office was commissioned by British airline BMI to host an anniversary reception to celebrate the first anniversary of the company’s operations in the Eastern Province of Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.

With over 100 guests expected, a sophisticated lighting and sound system was put in place to ensure that the event made an impression. However, only three hours before the evening was due to begin, the British Trade Office discovered that the power distribution panel was unable to handle the amount of power needed to operate the system.

In need of a fast solution, Aggreko was called in to help provide sufficient power to ensure the lighting and sound would function at optimum capacity; the alternative would have been to cancel the whole evening.

Having a base in the region and a reputation for being able to supply efficient and reliable power at short notice, Aggreko was able to deliver and install a generator within a few hours – just in time for the reception starting.

The evening was a resounding success and Aggreko’s on the ground support and quick response time ensured that guests were completely unaware of the question mark that had hung over their evening a few hours before.”