TLT ACTOM aims to offer South Africa’s mining and power sector more than just innovative ventilation fans – their customised systems ensure that working conditions are safe and energy efficiency maximized as part of a holistic Total Ventilation Solution that aims to reduce total cost of ownership.
Operations Director, Craig Johnston believes that TLT ACTOM’s approach is ideal for addressing the concerns of the Southern African market. “We have come to realise that in Southern Africa power is becoming a far higher input cost in our industries and processes than it was in the past,” says Johnston. “TLT ACTOM prides itself on applying innovative, lateral thinking to solutions that save energy by offering the best efficiency selections for the applications. We can supply products that are not only more efficient in their performance but are also tailored to deliver the required air at the required time. For example, a fan that is designed to have different degrees of control in order meet the specific levels of ventilation required for increased ambient temperature or activity or when measured pollutants move beyond a pre-set tolerance.”
TLT ACTOM’s Total Ventilation Solution approach aims to provide complete solutions to the challenges of subterranean mines, thermal power plants and numerous industrial process applications including cement production and waste incineration. According to Johnston, the main focus will be on make clients’ operations more efficient in terms of both performance and energy consumption, thereby having a significant impact on total cost of ownership.
“Capital cost is one aspect that clients are most heavily focused on but TLT ACTOM strives for excellence in power efficiency, maintainability and life expectancy – all factors that can easily outweigh the initial purchase price. To do this we rely on superior technology derived from our parent company TLT-Turbo,” Johnston explains. “The most innovative suppliers can help their clients to look beyond the initial capital cost and to consider the short, medium and long term running costs which include absorbed power and maintenance.”
Johnston elaborates with an example of how their innovation ensures that clients see a return on investment. “As part of a recent study, TLT ACTOM proposed to replace two existing mine ventilation fans with a single axial fan. Because of its higher efficiency, it will use the same amount of electricity that one of the existing fans currently does, resulting in a saving of approximately 500 kW. The calculated annual energy saving is R 3.6 million making the payback extremely attractive.”
The current installed base of process and ventilation fans is aging, and in tough times this equipment has to be carefully maintained to achieve the expected life of product. To do this TLT ACTOM provides a dedicated skilled team of fan specialists to monitor and maintain installed systems.
“Where replacements are required, we offer the value added service of critically analysing the existing plant and using an intellectual approach to offer improvements such as in efficiency, size correction or wear durability. Wherever possible this can be achieved without replacing the entire fan but in retrofitting the rotating element with minor modifications thus minimising the capital spend for the customer and ensuring an acceptable return on investment,” says Johnston.
Johnston believes that TLT ACTOM is able to address the unique challenges of the African market through a combination of the design of their products, their Total Ventilation Solutions approach and support from TLT-Turbo. “With TLT Turbo as our ‘technology parent’ TLT ACTOM has the ability to offer fans for the most arduous of conditions. From cement plants where wear and high temperature is a factor or mining fans where water droplet erosion can cause damage to fan solutions where erosive and corrosive conditions exist, TLT ACTOM has a solution.”
“We pride ourselves in working with our clients to fully explore options and to share the latest developments. We hope that by applying the Total Ventilation Solutions approach, our current and potential clients will come to realise that TLT ACTOM sells more than just fans,” Johnston concludes.
