Frost & Sullivan Cites Ingersoll Rand for Focus on Enhancing the Value for Customers in the Rotary Oil-Free Compressors Market

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Mar 30, 2010, 07:45 ET

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent analysis of the rotary oil-free compressors market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Ingersoll Rand with the 2010 World Frost & Sullivan Award for Customer Value Enhancement. Since 1912, with the introduction of its first oil-free compressor to today, with the launch of its new C1000 oil-free compressor, Ingersoll Rand has consistently demonstrated innovative efforts towards developing products that enhance customer value.

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"The proactive nature of the organization in understanding customer needs and quickly translating them into products has won significant loyalty and mindshare amongst global end-users," says Frost & Sullivan Senior Research Analyst Anand Gnanamoorthy. "The fact that Ingersoll Rand is one of the top two companies in the oil-free compressor market highlights the ingenuity of the organization."

The oil-free compressor market has unique challenges. These compressors are used in many critical applications (such as life sciences, power generation and oil and gas sectors) where downtime is unacceptable. End-users have diverse requirements and are very demanding about the service capability of the supplier. In such a market scenario, proactive enhancements of product features, as well as the ability to customize solutions for varying process requirements, are expected to ensure operational excellence for the end-users. Suppliers are also expected to be agile and reachable in terms of service response.

Ingersoll Rand's certified Class Zero emissions oil-free compressors are designed with industry-leading features targeted at increasing energy efficiency. The Intellisys microprocessor controller, a part of Ingersoll Rand's compressor, enables reduction of compressed air loss by automatically adjusting the dwell time of the drain valves based on ambient temperature. This intelligent control leads to significantly higher compressor efficiency.

Further, Ingersoll Rand's compressors are designed to operate at an ambient temperature of 46 degrees C, while the industry standard is 40 degrees C. The higher ambient temperature rating ensures that, even as the temperature in the compression chamber increases, the compressor's efficiency is not compromised. Moreover, Ingersoll Rand's coolant conditioner varies the compressor coolant temperature in proportion to the system load and ambient conditions to maximize heat dissipation from the compressor chamber, thus resulting in improved efficiency and lower energy cost.

End-users also prefer compressors that are designed to provide high quality air over a longer life span. This is because the lack of oil in the compressor chamber of the oil-free compressor heightens the possibility of corrosion, which leads to air contamination. In many applications such as textile mills and food processing facilities, it is vital that the air is entirely free of any contamination, including bad odors, as the compressed air directly interacts with the end product.

To ensure the supply of clean oil-free air, Ingersoll Rand's compressors are designed using non- corrosive materials such as stainless steel for cold-side piping, aluminum for the moisture separators, and non-corrosive compression module components. This minimizes the corrosion taking place, augments the compressor's operating life, and ensures delivery of clean compressed oil-free air.

Designed with advanced control features that are easy to customize, Ingersoll Rand's compressors also facilitate efficient network integration. This is very important in a large industrial establishment since compressors of different makes can be used for various processes and seamless communication and integration are crucial for better control and higher efficiency.

"While communication protocols of other competitors are not publicly available (making it difficult for end-users to customize to their applications), Ingersoll Rand's open communication protocols enable end-users to design custom programs for control and integration," explains Gnanamoorthy. "The company's communication protocols also allow easy data access, thereby enabling maintenance personnel to efficiently analyze data rather than spending time to collect and sort."

Finally, Ingersoll Rand's strong service capability has ensured several repeat orders from its customers. The company partners with customers to provide highly customized service solutions that can significantly reduce downtime. Service offerings such as 24/7 Internet-based remote monitoring systems, preventive maintenance, air audits, and airend rebuilds are focused on addressing specific issues. By offering a combination of services, Ingersoll Rand caters to the needs of customers ranging from small regional manufacturers to transnational corporations. Moreover, Ingersoll Rand's global presence ensures timely service.

Overall, for its exemplary efforts in enhancing customer value through consistent product enhancements and effective service portfolio, Ingersoll Rand is a worthy recipient of Frost & Sullivan's 2010 Customer Value Enhancement Award in the world rotary oil-free compressors market.

Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has demonstrated excellence in implementing strategies that proactively create value for its customers with a focus on improving the return on the investment that customers make in its services or products. The award recognizes the company's inordinate focus on enhancing the value that its customers receive, beyond simply good customer service, leading to improved customer retention and ultimately customer base expansion.

Frost & Sullivan's Best Practices Awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About Ingersoll Rand

Ingersoll Rand is a global diversified industrial firm providing products, services and solutions to enhance the quality and comfort of air in homes and buildings, transport and protect food and perishables, secure homes and commercial properties, and enhance industrial productivity and efficiency. Driven by a 100-year-old tradition of technological innovation, it enables companies and their customers to create progress. To learn more, please go to www.ingersollrandproducts.com. The company's revenue was $13.2 billion in 2008. The company is incorporated in Dublin, Ireland and had 60,000 employees in 2008.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from 40 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit http://www.awards.frost.com.