Industrial compressed air system for new hydraulic premises

South Canterbury Hydraulics were presented with the chance to move into a new workshop nearly three times the size of their existing set-up. With the new workshop space empty, this hydraulic hose repair company wanted to ensure that their new compressed air system was set up to meet their current and future demands, and would supply the exact amount of compressed air required at full pressure, at all times.

Based in Timaru, South Canterbury Hydraulics is a locally owned and operated family business that has been providing hydraulic and hose fitting services since 2009, throughout the South Canterbury district. They provide an extensive range of services which includes breakdown repairs and servicing needs as well as maintenance of machinery to industries such as transport, farming, dairy, marine and automotive to name a few!

The busy team at South Canterbury Hydraulics work on a range of different hydraulics and hose fitting projects for local businesses throughout the region and rely on a reliable compressed air supply to power their machinery and equipment.

South Canterbury Hydraulics approached us as they were moving to a bigger site and they needed to upgrade and install new compressed air piping throughout the entire building. The building was empty at the time so they ideally wanted this set up and ready to go before they moved premises.

With a bigger workshop space, increased air usage and increased productivity comes the need for a bigger and more extensive compressed air system. South Canterbury Hydraulics knew that it was important to upgrade their system to meet the needs of their growing business. Compressed air is an important utility that they rely on for daily operations so they knew it was important to get this right at the new building.

We initially met with the team at South Canterbury Hydraulics to get a better understanding of their compressed air needs. We visited their existing site to view their existing plant and production which gave us a better idea of how they used compressed air. We also discussed future requirements and how their needs were changing due to the shift to a bigger premises.

South Canterbury Hydraulics also had big plans to increase operations – more machinery, workstations and employees meant that their new compressed air system and piping would need to meet bigger demand. From our initial discussions, we were able to get a good understanding of their future compressed air requirements and the products that would be needed to make the new system work for their needs.

We supplied a new variable-speed drive 10hp RSCR10PM Vixen air compressor. Adequate moisture removal drains and filters were also added as well as a full compressed air piping ring main that was installed around the perimeter of the workshop. The air piping ring main was installed at height, with 14 outlets featuring in every working area that required compressed air.

We worked closely with South Canterbury Hydraulics to ensure that the new system was installed on time. There were many trades working in and on the building along with various building alterations being completed while the new compressed air system was being installed, so it was important for us to work quickly. Our Industrial Air Systems install technician worked closely with the team onsite throughout the installation period to keep everything on track and within a very tight completion timeframe.

A full compressed air piping ring main, Vixen variable-speed drive compressor and filtration were supplied for South Canterbury Hydraulics.

South Canterbury Hydraulics are very happy with their new compressed air system. The new set-up has provided their team with reliable compressed air supply throughout the entire workshop – they now have high flow compressed air outlets at every required workspace and the guarantee of no pressure drops through the linked system. This has reduced the risk of loose airlines lying on the floor throughout the workshop due to a lack of appropriate connection points.

An added benefit of the new system is the compressor control we supplied which is mounted at the front of the workshop, by the entrance door. This provides ease of use, compressed air monitoring and peace of mind to the team which is important for any industrial compressed air set-up.

We have visited the new South Canterbury Hydraulics workshop many times since the new compressed air system was installed for regular checks and servicing. All equipment is operating as expected and all components of the compressed air system supplied are in great working order.