Over the past 12 months, one of the world’s largest suppliers of process technology, GEA, has been concentrating on substantially improving its service for customers.
Rationalising its many business divisions into one streamlined body and relocating to Victoria, the company has made things easier for its clients. “What that means for our customers is better control of our product,” according to GEA sales manager, Greg Clements. “In terms of quality, speed to market and design.”
At this year’s ARBS Exhibition in Melbourne, GEA showcased a cross-section of compression products for both natural and synthetic refrigerants for commercial and industrial applications.
It also debuted two of the company’s Plusboxes, which are designed and assembled in Melbourne. The outdoor condenser
is powered by semi-hermetic GEA Bock compressors. The new Plusboxes are designed to plug-and-play.
“We’ve gone to a horizontal-mounted condenser in the large capacity range with a view to reducing the footprint as opposed to a vertical condenser,” Clements said. “It’s just a more efficient product.”
The two new prototype units are hot off the press, assembled in Australia in Carrum Downs, Victoria. “Our focus is that GEA globally is synonymous with quality. That has been a strong focus with those boxes, to retain quality and enhance our current quality offer,” Clements said. “We acknowledge that it’s not going to hit every sector of the market, i.e. the cheap end. We acknowledge that and we’re not aiming for that. We are aiming for the quality sector where the contractor knows they can put the box in and walk away from it.”
A prototype hydrocarbon chiller unit was also on show, catering to the growing interest in natural and low-GWP refrigerants. “Predominantly for the natural refrigerant sector in Australia, CO2 and ammonia have been the two most popular refrigerants – ammonia for industrial, CO2 for industrial and commercial,” Clements said. “We built the hydrocarbon prototype to test market interest, principally for commercial applications.”
Also on show were the company’s range of Bock semi-hermetic compressors for both synthetic and natural refrigerant applications, and the Grasso screw compressor for industrial ammonia refrigerant systems. Next to that was a big Grasso reciprocating v-compressor package for industrial ammonia applications.
“That package is ideally suited for critically charged ammonia refrigerant applications – low power consumption, minimised maintenance, minimal oil carryover with the crux of the design has been a focus on total cost of ownership,” Clements explained. “What we’re focused on is all the things to get the capital cost down in the first place, then the ongoings are minimised, hence the focus on total cost of ownership.”
Another focus for GEA is its commitment to service, training and after-sales support. “For the Grasso V reciprocating compressor package, we had a technical support officer over from our Amsterdam manufacturing facility providing product support and training to the industrial refrigeration sector,” Clements said. “Once again, the offer is ongoing – it’s a high-quality, support-the-industry offer.”
For more information on GEA visit www.gea.com.