Wilrijk, Belgium, May 2014 - Established in 1998, India Piston Limited's (IPL) Ring Blank Unit in Chennai has maintained its leadership position in India's automotive sector by using an Atlas Copco GA 50 compressor with Variable Speed Drive (VSD) technology. The unit was the first of its kind in the country, and IPL and Atlas Copco have been partners ever since its installation.

Saving 40% energy
P A Jayaraman, General Manager at IPL, said, "In the inception stage, we wanted to go for an energy-efficient solution that would not have maintenance problems, and we decided to go for a compressor from Atlas Copco with the latest VSD technology." The GA 50 VSD is a simple, energy-efficient and user-friendly machine for IPL's maintenance and production teams. "A big plus of this compressor is its energy efficiency. We have saved nearly 40 percent on energy costs," P A Jayaraman commented.

Atlas Copco compressor units with VSD technology typically save an average of 35% on energy costs compared to units with Fixed Speed Drive technology, so IPL's GA 50 unit has exceeded expectations.

Energy saving and environment friendly technology
Since installing the GA 50 VSD at IPL Chennai, 114000 kWh of electrical power have been saved, which equates to 10.3 MINR (122000 Euro) in energy savings and a reduction of 1600 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide over the past 15 years. This is equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by a 5000-tree plantation during the same time period.

Prasanna Kulkarni, Business Line Manager for Atlas Copco Industrial Air, said, "Truly the GA 50 with Variable Speed Drive technology is saving electrical power as well as being friendlier to the environment."

Atlas Copco is a world-leading provider of sustainable productivity solutions. The Group serves customers with innovative compressors, vacuum solutions and air treatment systems, construction and mining equipment, power tools and assembly systems. Atlas Copco develops products and service focused on productivity, energy efficiency, safety and ergonomics. The company was founded in 1873, is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and has a global reach spanning more than 180 countries. In 2013, Atlas Copco had revenues of BSEK 84 (BEUR 9.7) and more than 40 000 employees.

Atlas Copco (India) Ltd started operations in 1960, and has 22 offices across India.