What drives the world’s compressed air innovations leader?

There are many reasons why Atlas Copco leads in compressed air innovations. Each of them illustrates a part of our corporate philosophy. Before we tell you about just five of these reasons, let’s first look at our commitment to research and development.
 

Every year, we are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on R&D. In fact, we are on track to crack the $1 billion threshold in the near future.

However, it’s not just about money but also about making a real commitment to compressed air innovations. And we have a team of hundreds of experts who are doing so every single day.

As you are reading this, someone at Atlas Copco is thinking about how to make compressors more efficient. It doesn’t matter that our new VSDS series has set a new standard in terms of energy consumption reduction. After all, the previous “efficiency champion” was our own VSD+ range. Our engineers went right back to work after the launch to ensure the next champ will also be developed by Atlas Copco.

Of course, our compressed air innovations are not limited to compressors themselves. Just in the past couple of years, our experts have come up with

• a new type of energy-saving structured desiccant dryer
• the first-ever compressor controller that can receive over-the-air-updates
• remote control and monitoring technologies
• tools that allow you to pick the ideal compressor, and much more.

This is the kind of work that is done daily at our 12 global innovation centers as well as our many branches worldwide.
 

So, why do we keep innovating, coming up with new products, and pushing the boundaries of what is technologically possible? Here are five reasons.

This one is the most obvious. Ultimately, everything we do is meant to help you in every way possible. That means lowering your costs, making equipment easier to operate, increasing your operational reliability, and helping you meet government standards.
 

That last reason is becoming increasingly important. Countries around the globe are tightening environmental regulations and quality standards. And we want to ensure that our customers can comply with any mandates imposed on them.

Many of our innovations also originate with your specific or industry-specific problems. We view ourselves as true partners. Therefore, we try to always have (or find) a solution to any issues you may encounter.

It’s no secret that compressing air consumes a lot of energy. As a result, the manufacturers of compressed air equipment have a special responsibility to preserve as much energy as possible. And not just them but also the users of that equipment.
 

It is a responsibility that we take very seriously. We only have one Earth, and must find ways to live on it without doing irreversible damage to our environment.

That is why we have designed highly energy-efficient compressors, dryers and generators. But the hardware is only part of the energy-preserving equation.

The software also plays a major role, as do features and services that also help users operate their equipment more efficiently. As a bonus for you, we have made our compressors especially easy to operate. Because we want to make it as simple as possible for you to preserve energy.

We have been industry leaders for over 100 years and take great pride in that. In all that time, innovation has been one of our hallmarks, and we are proud of that as well.
 

So, whenever we are doing anything, such as expanding or developing corporate goals, we make sure that innovation is part of that.

We have set up innovation centers throughout the globe, hire the brightest minds and give them the tools to succeed.

The result of our efforts is a record as an innovator that is unmatched. The best example are our variable speed drive (VSD) compressors and the impact they have had on the industry.

We developed the first generation of these energy-saving machines about 30 years ago. Back then, they revolutionized air compression. For the first time, a compressor only consumed as much power as was needed at any given time.
 

That first generation reduced the energy consumption (and costs) of users by up to 30% compared to fixed-speed compressors.

Since then, we have kept innovating and developed the VSD+ range and, most recently, the VSDS series. The latter is able to achieve energy savings of up to 60% and more. In light of the amount of power that air compression consumes, that makes a tremendous difference.

Yes, innovating is hard work. There is a lot of pressure on Atlas Copco to keep raising the bar.
 

However, innovating is also a lot of fun. Knowing that we developed a revolutionary product that helps our customers achieve their goals and makes them more successful is immensely satisfying. And that’s why we will keep doing it.
 

If you want to find out more about compressed air innovations, just check out our new eBook on the topic. You can download it for free here.