Kaeser Kompressoren
Carl Briden, director, Kaeser Kompressoren
Carl Briden, director, Kaeser Kompressoren FZE, has a positive outlook for the compressor market in the Middle East.
“All our markets in the region are performing well. Based on current trends and the economic outlook for the foreseeable future, we expect demand to remain relatively high as more projects come to conclusion and newly announced projects start to break ground,” he says.
Briden explains the company’s approach to product development for the Middle East to make compressors energy efficient, lightweight, and perform better under extreme conditions.
“To save energy, Kaeser incorporates the energy efficient Sigma Profile airends in all its portable screw compressors. This results in lower fuel consumption at any given moment during the compressors’ performance/load demand. We focus on product reliability and durability with all our portable compressors; so lighter is not necessarily better. In Europe, we have to comply with EU regulations such as the maximum weights allowed for towing. This is not necessarily a requirement in other markets. Similarly, noise levels are not an issue in the Middle East region when compared to Europe and other markets and therefore no special technology is required to make the machines quieter. All Kaeser portable compressors are suitable for operation up to 50°C and is therefore not an issue. Our machines have performed without any overheating issue for many years in the Middle East region,” he says.
To further optimise energy efficiency, Kaeser is incorporating advanced features in its compressor control system called ‘Sigma Control’, which matches compressor performance to the actual air demand and provides real-time feedback.
Briden elaborates on the features of the Sigma control systems. “The Sigma Control system has a user interface with a simple structured menu which makes it easy for any operator. Standard features include a coloured display, protective metal cover, 6 keys, indicators such as a green flashing ‘start’ symbol and fault messages such as ‘wrong direction’ in case of reversed poles, switching from load to idling, pressure reduction down to 6 bar in steps of 0.1 bar, and reset via a main switch and commutator switch for correction of reversed poles,” he says.
Briden offers advice to operators about overheating and energy wastage to extend the life of compressors. “Operators tend to open the doors or canopy of a portable compressor in the belief that this will help with cooling during the summer months. This is a big mistake as it generally leads to overheating. We recommend to keep the doors and canopies closed at all times to ensuring the correct flow of air across the compressor coolers and engine. Kaeser also promotes the use of correctly sized compressors for jobs to achieve the maximum efficiency. Operators tend to use large compressors for small jobs, running the machines in an inefficient manner and wasting energy. By having a wide range of compressor sizes at their disposal a customer can ensure they have the right machine on hand for the right application,” he says.
Doosan Portable Power
Gaby Rhayem, regional director-Middle East and Africa, Doosan Bobcat EMEA
Gaby Rhayem, regional director-Middle East and Africa, Doosan Bobcat EMEA, indicates that the Middle East is a key market for Doosan Portable Power as infrastructure building in the Middle East is growing at a rapid pace, and rental fleets and construction sites are demanding more power equipment. In addition, small businesses and residential areas which rely on energy continuity are among other major customers of power equipment.
“We want to maintain our market leading position that we have achieved through the recognised reliability and durability of Doosan Portable Power products, our customer oriented services and our great dealer network covering this region. We have been working with our dealers and customers to evaluate their present and future needs and customising our products,” says Rhayem.
Doosan Portable Power generators have only recently been introduced in the Middle East region. The first units were launched in 2015 in the 65 to 750 kVA range with Doosan engines.
“The introduction of the 20-60 kVA generators demonstrates our intention to extend our offerings suited for the MEA regions and establisher ourselves as a full liner in the world of generator set providers. In addition, we are now offering the new 10/215HA compressor model which is based on the very successful and well known 9/235HA for applications requiring higher pressure such as sand blasting and drilling. This unit is powered by a very reliable, fuel efficient Cummins engine powering an efficient Doosan airend,” says Rhayem.
Rhayem points out that the extreme operating conditions and performance requirements in the Middle East and Africa made Doosan take a fresh look at product development.
“Fuel efficiency is a priority for North American and European markets. Other markets demand solutions with electronically controlled engines, high grade lubricants and fuels without contamination. Generators developed for extreme weather conditions should be able to withstand high temperatures and variations, sand, water condensation, etc. We have developed products for MEA with more robust, mechanical engines that are less susceptible to downtime in the field and also more capable of working in high temperature environments and tested for operating above 40°C. We have used the latest 3D real-time testing information for vibrations to ensure long life stability of the products and have also applied the low noise standards implemented in Europe for the generators launched in MEA.”
Rhayem points that end users need to understand load management better and procure the right generator specifications to reduce total cost of ownership.
“Getting the right size of generator is critical. Oversizing to be safe not only increases the price of the unit but reduces the load percentage of the unit which will reduce its life and load capability. We strongly advise that customers discuss this with our Doosan Portable Power dealers to size the most appropriate equipment for their applications,” says Rhayem.
“The total cost of ownership is the sum of unit cost, shipping to the customer, maintenance, running and downtime costs and resale value. To minimise the impact of these factors, we use robust engines to reduce maintenance and downtime costs. Having the units built in UAE also reduces the unit cost and shipment costs in the region. We are differentiating ourselves by releasing our units with a standard warranty of 2 years/4000 hours which reduces runtime costs and helps retain higher resale values,” he adds.
Doosan Portable Power is expanding its product range this year. The company is preparing to launch small compressor models providing 185 and 250 cfm of compressed air for construction and maintenance applications, in in the second half of 2018.
“The focus of development was to offer high performance products with the best fuel efficiency and lower total cost of ownership including easy serviceability utilising efficient Doosan airends, durable polymer canopies and dual mode capability,” says Rhayem.
JCB Power Products
Faisal Hamze, regional manager-Middle East, JCB Power Products
Faisal Hamze, regional manager-Middle East, JCB Power Products, points out that population growth, urbanisation and industrialisation are expected to create greater demand for prime and standby power in the Middle East. According to him, the UAE, KSA and Kuwait will remain the most attractive markets for power equipment in the Middle East and North Africa.
“The demand for rental is growing as compared to purchases mainly for small or mid-size construction projects that want to minimise costs but require high rentals specifications,” says Hamze.
JCB Power Products is building on the success of JCB heavy equipment machinery and JCB Diesel max engines to power its new generators while aiming for quieter and more fuel-efficient machines. The JCB Diesel max engine is coupled with a purpose built cooling package which contribute to the overall sound performance of the generator.
“The JCB Dieselmax engine has 500-hours service intervals, maintaining low operating cost and maximum uptime. The JCB QS models are tested to operate in temperatures over 50°C with a tropical radiator and advanced cooling package. Subject to standard alternator performance the JCB QS range, the generator doesn’t require de-rating below 50°C and is capable of delivering up to 100% load acceptance even in extreme environments. The canopy has a robust and practical design for the most rugged environments,” says Hamze.
“We educate our dealers and end users with a range of supporting tools like JCB HUB- TCO calculator, Salesmaster and salesPro integration and service quotation tool that can be accessible on the JCB SAP portal. This allows managers and owners to monitor equipment from their office. This helps prevent low fuel situations, ensures timely service work, tracking units activities and access load history to determine how efficiently the generator is being used and has been run at light load or full load,” adds Hamze.
Recently, JCB launched a new version of its LiveLink telematics system which enables mixed fleet operators to control all of their plant and equipment with one network. The JCB LiveLink Control Tower system allows fleet owners to import fleet data from any telematics system compliant with the Association of Equipment Management Professionals (AEMP) Telematics standard V1.2.
All machine information, whether JCB or competitive equipment, can then be displayed and interpreted in one secure, intuitive web portal or integrated into a user’s own IT system. JCB will also provide several developer toolkit services to assist with integrating machine data into existing systems and rental or fleet management software. JCB’s LiveLink telematics fleet management system is standard on all heavy line and mid-range JCB machines.
“JCB LiveLink is an ideal tool for generator fleet managers and load management. It provides real time information and helps reduce the incidence of common generator faults. By alerting engineers to service actions ensures that problems are dealt with as quickly as possible and repairs can be made before bigger problems arise,” says Hamze.
