In a good news story to end the year, Atlas Copco has been celebrating 100 years of operation in the UK – and PPS are proud to have been part of this history.
PPS won Atlas Copco distributorship shortly after our foundation in 1991, and we have been championing their energy-saving products ever since.
As an Atlas Copco Authorised Distributor, we are able to offer our customers a wide range of products to help keep factories running, including the latest state-of-the-art air compressors, vacuum pumps, nitrogen generators and pneumatics.
Three times winner of the Atlas Copco Distributor of the Year award (in 1994, 2013 and 2015), we are proud to be associated with an innovative, market-leading brand, which never rests on its laurels but invests significantly in research and development, harnessing advanced technology to bring new products to market.
A little history
Atlas Copco was founded by Swedish industrialist Edvard Fränckel in 1873 as AB Atlas. A pneumatic department was created in 1901 and the first piston compressor was developed in 1904.
In 1919, just one year after the end of the First World War, Atlas Diesel set up their first venture outside Sweden: a sales office in London selling polar diesel engines. Supplying equipment to our construction and shipbuilding industries among others, the company made an important contribution to post-war reconstruction.
The name change to Atlas Copco came in 1956, by which time the company had developed its first rotary screw compressor. This was followed by a number of innovative products, including the first variable speed drive (VSD) air compressor, introduced in 1994.
Today the company is established in more than 180 countries, the UK presence being one of the longest standing. Originally based in London and Glasgow, the UK HQ moved to Hemel Hempstead in 1959 and into its current purpose-built site in 1972. The new headquarters, comprising warehousing and engineering workshops, a compressor technique service centre and sales offices, were graced with a visit from the King of Sweden in 1975.
The acquisition of the UK-based Edwards Group Ltd in 2014 has allowed Atlas Copco to add a range of advanced vacuum products and abatement solutions to its offer.
A raft of benefits
Atlas Copco products offer a raft of benefits, such as the significant energy and cost savings customers can enjoy from switching to a variable speed drive compressor, such as the Atlas Copco VSD and VSD+ models, which automatically adjust their motor speed to generate compressed air only when required.
These robust machines have been built to last, with easy-to-maintain design, a smaller footprint and quieter operation.
Meanwhile, the SmartLink monitoring system can be integrated with your plant management system, allowing you to easily monitor your equipment remotely.
Looking to the future
As we face the next 100 years, we will be looking at issues such as No Fault Forward manufacturing, where intelligent assembly systems allow integrated advanced monitoring, and Industry 4.0 Technology, which embraces everything from robotics and big data to the Internet of Things.
As the home of industrial ideas Atlas Copco’s advanced products and forward-thinking approach will play a major role as we help our customers towards the interconnectivity and interoperability that will feature in the smart factory of the future.
You can browse the range of Atlas Copco industrial products we supply here. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch.