A 30,000km sales call by an adventurous Australian manufacturer paid its first dividend recently when Calair Pipe Systems received an order from Nova Scotia for its tough, light and recyclable pneumatic reticulation system.
Atlantic Compressed Air of New Brunswick has ordered about 1.5km of the product for a fish processing plant producing Omega 3 oils in a region where temperatures frequently fall to more than -25°C.
“It’s a far cry from the places in metropolitan and Outback Australia where our product sometimes has to withstand temperatures of plus 40 C and more, but withstanding temperature extremes is one of our product’s strengths,” said Calair Pipe System Managing Director John McNab.
John McNab visited Canada as part of his worldwide promotion of his product range, which won selection to the Australian Technology Showcase, an Australian Government initiative which identifies main examples of Australian technology with potential to penetrate global markets and promotes them to potential customers.
“Even though there are quite formidable local standards and conditions to meet in the Canadian markets, we have had great support from Atlantic Compressed Air CEO Richard Esanto and his operations Manager Tom Bourgeois. The saw the potential of the product and have backed us all the way.
“I think they were pretty impressed too when we responded to their inquiry by showing up on their doorstep, instead of just sending a bunch of brochures. They value service over there too,” said John McNab, whose product has been used in more than 8,500 applications worldwide, including Europe, Asia and America.
Calair Pipe Systems’ non-corrosive and low-friction polymer pipe systems are designed for high performance handling of compressed air, gases, chemicals, oil and water. Weighing less than conventional steel alternatives, each type of piping is permanently colour-coded for content to provide optimum safety for installation, operational and maintenance staff.
The Australian-manufactured piping systems will not rust internally and are easier to erect and reconfigure than metal systems of copper, stainless steel and galvanized iron. No expensive skilled labour is needed, or specialised trades such as welding.
“The staff at the Ocean Nutrition plant where it is being installed in Nova Scotia were very impressed with the system’s versatility and the personal backing we give it. The driving force for us there was production engineer Eric Chaytor, who originally saw it on a website and whom we visited 18 months ago,” said John McNab.
“Now he has specified the product in five sizes for use throughout the plant in applications as varied as the pneumatic ring main right down to the pipeline drops feeding individual items of machinery. Eric has become a champion for us.”
In addition to his 32,000km round trip to Nova Scotia, John McNab has recently visited distributor locations as far a field as Ireland, Sri Lanka and Singapore, supporting distributors selling into expanding regional markets.
Manufactured by a family-owned private company, the energy-saving Calair pressure piping systems family of industrial and commercial pipe systems are designed to be totally recyclable – virtually an entire installation can be picked up from one plant and moved to the next.
Unlike metal welded systems – which frequently have to be junked when production facilities change location – Calair Pipe Systems has founded its business on systems that can be dismantled, cleanly packed away and reconverted to a new use.
Proven in installations ranging from services of the Sydney Opera House to operations of Australian top 100 companies (including Ford, General Motors and BHP-Billiton) Calair pressure pipe products have been recognised by the Australian Government with an Export Achievement Award.