London-based Airia Compressed Air Solutions Ltd, an official distributor for Atlas Copco Compressors, is helping a 50-year-old registered charity that has enabled over 20,000 young people so far to acquire a sense of responsibility and teamwork.
The Rona Sailing Project’s fleet includes the Donald Searle, a yacht that was built in Poole in 1979 and has now been docked for repainting — a demanding and expensive project for the charity, but made possible by the generosity of sponsors like International Paint (part of AkzoNobel), which is providing both the paint and the specialist manpower needed to apply it.
Painting the hull involves several activities, including sanding, repair, blowing off dust, and applying the primer and then the topcoat.
The tools used in these activities operate on compressed air, and this is where Airia comes in.
Andy Drummond, Airia director and co-founder (
www.airia.co.uk), said: “We are delighted to be contributing to this project. We regard it as an extremely worthy cause — one that I can relate especially well to, as I have enjoyed sailing for most of my life.
"We are also in an excellent position to help, as we are an authorised Atlas Copco premier distributor and service partner. This has enabled us to loan a G11 fully featured oil-injected rotary screw compressor, which is ideal for the job.”
The compressor’s load/no-load control algorithm optimises performance and reliability, while minimising power consumption. It switches the compressor controller automatically to the optimum control mode for high, low or intermittent air consumption.
Additionally, the full-feature version has a built-in refrigerant air dryer that prevents moisture from entering the compressed-air network. This avoids rust in the compressed air piping and damage to the air tools, as well as contamination of the paint.