Industrial Utility Efficiency

Oil-Free Technology From Anest Iwata


Good morning! Please describe Anest Iwata’s history manufacturing air compressors and vacuum pumps.

Anest Iwata Corporation is a leading manufacturer specializing in painting equipment, turn-key coating systems, air compressors and high-end dry vacuum pumps. 

 Anest Iwata began manufacturing air compressors in 1926. Reciprocating air compressors were the first technology manufactured. We began manufacturing rotary screw air compressors in 1977 and launched our oil-free reciprocating compressors in 1984. Anest Iwata was the first company to develop a fan-cooled, oil-free scroll air compressor. In 1989, a joint venture company began selling oil-free scroll air compressors in the United States. The oil-free scroll air compressor technology was launched worldwide, in 1991, through joint ventures and OEM relationships.

We have been at the forefront of green technology in Japan where sustainability has been a business requirement for many, many years. Our company strongly believes in the sustainability benefits of oil-free technology. Our oil-free air compressor market share, in Japan, is estimated to be 30 percent in the 1-30 horsepower range. Air compressor sales represents almost fifty percent of company revenues worldwide.

Anest Iwata was the first company in the world to develop the air-cooled, oil-free(dry), scroll vacuum pump. We provide a very compact package with lower vibration and noise levels than competitive offerings. Our oil-free vacuum pump market share, in Japan, is estimated to be fifty percent in the <600 L/min flow range.

The company has manufacturing locations in Japan, India, Italy, China, and Korea. Our manufacturing sites produce air compressors, dry scroll vacuum pumps, and finishing equipment (spray guns and painting systems). Our global employees number approximately 1,040 people.

 

Anest Iwata SLP

The Anest Iwata Oil-Free Scroll Air Compressor Package

 

What is your role and describe your U.S. operations.

Anest Iwata USA, and Anest Iwata Air Engineering are the North American subsidiary of ANEST IWATA Corporation in Japan. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, we have a 50,000 square foot facility housing our air compressor, vacuum pump, and spray equipment businesses. Anest Iwata Air Engineering was incorporated and formed in February 2011 with the idea that the oil-free market and demand for it’s “green benefits” will do nothing but continue to grow internationally.

Our oil-free reciprocating and the oil-free scroll air pumps are manufactured at our Fukushima plant and shipped here to our Cincinnati plant. This facility is an assembly facility where we purchase U.S.-made components to create an air compressor package. Tanks, pressure-switches, enclosures, motors, belts, belt guards, check valves, safety valves, cooling package, dryers, drains, interconnecting piping – all the assembly is done here in the U.S. Using local vendors has increased our speed-of-delivery and reduced the over-all package cost.

With a significant inventory investment of pumps, our local assembly capability gives Anest Iwata the ability to provide custom compressor and vacuum packages that meet the needs of our clients – with fast deliveries! This facility performs full sound, flow, and pressure testing on every air compressor package before shipping. We also have a spray booth where we paint enclosures and the packages.

I am the Sales Manager for the air compressor and vacuum pump business. We are actively setting up Anest Iwata channel partners and distributors in the U.S. for air compressors and vacuum pumps. Our team also handles all marketing, customer service, repair and technical service support requirements.

Anest Iwata OFTS

A tank-mounted Anest Iwata 5 horsepower oil-free, reciprocating compressor package

 

Please describe Anest Iwata’s spray equipment business.

Anest Iwata USA, Inc. has been actively involved in the spray equipment industry in the United States since the late 1980's. Anest Iwata is one of the leading producer of spray guns in the world and has captured more than sixty percent of the high-quality industrial spraying equipment market in Asia. In certain Asian countries, we own market shares over eighty percent. 

During the 1980's, Anest Iwata strengthened partnerships in Europe to build the company that is now Anest Iwata Europe. Anest Iwata sales locations have been established in England, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden and distributors have been set up to cover all of Europe.

In North Amerca, we have been providing many of these spray guns into the general industrial market, while most have been utilized in automotive refinish operations. Starting in 1989, the primary thrust of the initial Anest Iwata sales effort in North America has been aimed at the auto refinish market. 

 Since that time, Anest Iwata has been recognized as an innovative leader in development of many types of spray guns, equipment and air brushes that are commonly used in North America.

 

What markets purchase the Anest Iwata vacuum pumps?

We truly offer a product for the most demanding applications. These include; dry foods, vacuum food packaging, vacuum food cooking, vacuum bottles, deposition, vacuum tweezers, accelerating devices like radiation light, liquid crystal display, and semiconductor manufacturing. Our technology is also used in many prestigious radiant research facilities where synchrotrons and accelerators require the highest possible quality vacuum pumps.

Anest Iwata has significant experience applying our high-end, dry vacuum pumps into R&D Laboratories in North America. Our air compressors and vacuum pumps have had, for many years, a strong presence in the medical and hospital markets through our OEM partners and with joint ventures. With the Anest Iwata brand, we are focusing on applications such as food & beverage, R&D laboratories located in universities, electronic manufacturing, ultra-high vacuum systems (roughing pump), gas recovery systems, leak detectors and vacuum furnance.

We market and sell the dry vacuum pumps to university laboratories where ultra high vacuum systems are required. Our existing channels of distribution sell turbo-mechanical pumps into ultra-high vacuum systems. Our sales channels supply vacuum system components to support, for example, scanning electron microscopes used in nanotechnology areas, mechanical engineering labs, physics labs and chemical labs. Our dry scroll technology is used as a “roughing pump” - it’s a vacuum pre-pump to a turbo-mechanical pump. We take vacuum down to 7.5 x 10-3 Torr (1 Pascal) and then the turbo-mechanical pump takes it further.

There’s a natural fit for our oil-free scroll air compressors in these same markets. The market is proving highly receptive to our air compressor technology also.

 

Anest Iwata Main Parts

The Anest Iwata oil-free scroll compressor pump

 

How is Anest Iwata Air Engineering leveraging experience in the automotive market?

Our spray and finishing equipment products (air guns and air brushes) have been marketed and sold in the U.S. for twenty-five years. Anest Iwata today is a leading spray and finishing equipment supplier in the U.S. and there is a lot of value in our brand name. Our focus here has been to go to market through large paint manufacturers and through representatives calling on individual autobody shops in the collision & repair industry.

We have also found that our oil-free scroll technology is of great interest to any one working with bodyshop painting. As this industry has matured, collision & repair shops have improved their processes and they have no tolerance for reductions in through-put created by moisture and oil (in the compressed air) ruining a paint job. We have found that the Anest Iwata oil-free scroll technology is very competitive in price versus the oil-flooded rotary screw compressors common in this market. Plus, customers realize the reduced maintenance benefits of oil-free technology.

Please describe your oil-free scroll compressor packages.

Our oil-free scroll air compressors are sold on the premise of low maintenance requirements and energy efficiency. Two strong sustainability arguments. Our big advantage, in an autobody shop for example, is low maintenance. There is no oil maintenance and change-outs like you are burdened with when operating an oil-flooded system. Our scroll compressors only require tip-seal replacement and the re-greasing of bearings every 10,000 running hours. Our dba rating, on a 5 hp scroll system putting out 15 cfm of air, is 68 dba without an enclosure. With an enclosure the rating is 61 dba. Our systems come fully prepackaged with optional receiver tanks, compressed air dryers and filters.

We carry a significant inventory of 3 and 5 horsepower scroll pumps for both 116 psig and 145 psig pressure ratings. We then create a full air compressor package with a control system based upon pressure-switches. This “ganging” concept allows pumps to turn on and off quickly and provides very low energy costs under fluctuating demand conditions. Our compressor packages range from 3 to 40 horsepower. We use tank-mounted enclosures. The most recognizable packages in the U.S. are where we are ganging multiple 5 hp pumps. This keeps our power consumption rate very linear with the air consumption rate. We do this with 10, 15, 20, 30, and 40 horsepower units. This is for the universities, R&D areas and medical device manufactures.

We carry a significant inventory of 1, 2, 3, 5, 7.5, 10 & 15 oil-free reciprocating compressors here in Cincinnati. We are experienced in providing the duplex packages (2 x 10 hp recips) common in the medical market.

 

Anest Iwata Graph

Pressure-Switch Control Offers Energy Savings

 

Thank you for your insights.

 

For more information contact Tom Fermann, Sales Manager, Anest Iwata Air Engineering, tel: 513.260.0842 cell, email: tomf@anestiwata.com, www.anestiwata.com

 

To read more Compressor Technology articles, visit www.airbestpractices.com/technology/air-compressors

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

October 2012