David Houston is Operations Director and Site Leader UK at one of three transport solution business units at Ingersoll Rand Transport Solutions. The Manufacturer sat down with him to discuss to company’s recent activity and its expansion in e-mobility.
“We specialise in the design, manufacture, installation and service of a wide range of loading, unloading and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) integrated equipment, which is predominately vehicle mounted,” he explained. This equipment is used for the movement of liquids, powders and gases for the bulk transport business and the provision of power to support the gas, water, electricity and telecommunication service providers.
“As Operations Director and Site Leader I am responsible for overseeing all day-to-day functions from order entry, engineering, procurement, stores, quality, production and R&D. As well as having profit and loss responsibility for our business unit,” added David. The talented team around him allows David to get involved in all aspects of the business from mentoring and coaching to design and development as well as budget planning, forecast and continuous improvement activities.
Transport sectors
Ingersoll Rand Transport Solutions cover various areas of transport; one large part of the business is its bulk transportation in road tankers. “We transport a whole host of things from fuel, dry materials, chemicals and foodstuff,” said David. It also has transport vehicles for fuel and milk collection.
Another primary sector is vacuum truck, waste collection and couplings but the range covers many other special applications, as well as highways and utility with on-board power systems.
In recent years the company has been focused on its e-mobility business. This is focused around electrically driven compressors for electric and alternative fuel vehicles.
Expanding in e-mobility
“With the e-mobility business, we have introduced highly efficient and compact e-compressors for electric vehicles. The latest product to launch has been the TX01,” said David.
David believes the introduction of electric commercial vehicles will impact all Ingersoll Rand’s transport product groups. “E-mobility is driving volume growth and opportunity. Across the other product groups, we are developing new solutions to serve our evolving customer needs,” he added.
One area for innovation for the company will be within its highways and utilities business where the challenge of providing enough power for its customers without the use of an internal combustion engine on the vehicle will soon have to be a reality.
Sustainable solutions
All Ingersoll Rand’s new product development incorporates its ‘Design for Sustainability’ philosophy. “Within our current range, we are further expanding our re-manufacture capability and recycling old units after an extended period of service,” said David. Additionally, it is introducing reuseable packing material and ensuring the most energy efficient installations.
The company’s products are produced with minimum tolerances with specific performance that lead the market, and these are installed to run at optimum speed to meet customer needs.
“Within our e-mobility range, we use vane technology which is the most energy efficient at the low kW used with this sector. Our recent developments have optimised rotor/stator geometry to match airflows with industry requirements,” said David.
Another example is within Ingersoll Rands Optiload system where it measures the suction conditions, monitors for cavitation, and increases pump speed to maximise collection time. “This is complimented by using an optimised balance of engine revs and pump swash plate positions to minimise vehicle fuel use while maximising milk collection times,” explained David.
Full electric and hydrogen fuel cell technology is now entering the heavy truck industry and is well established within the bus sector. This drives new solutions and innovations across the Ingersoll Rand business.
Challenges of the sector
Ingersoll Rand Transport Solutions is addressing the challenges of the wider manufacturing sector such as supply chain, geopolitical tensions and rising production costs by working closely with its suppliers to secure capacity and strengthen long partnerships. “To offset costs, we have a continuous focus on operational efficiency and cost down through our i2V process,” said David.
Additionally, Ingersoll Rand Transport Solutions utilise lights out manufacturing techniques with its CNC equipment and is also exploring autonomous manufacturing with the use of robots for welding and component swap out.
