Industrial Utility Efficiency

Air Compressors

Best Practices 2024 EXPO & Conference Show Report

By Troy Dreier, Senior Editor, and Brooke Jones, Digital Content Editor, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine 

From October 29-31, 2024, professionals who operate, maintain and design industrial compressed air, vacuum, blower, nitrogen generation, process cooling and HVAC systems gathered at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, GA, for the 6th annual Best Practices 2024 EXPO & Conference. The event featured two tracks of conference presentations and panels.

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Egger Modernizes Its Compressed Air System for the ESG Era

By Graham Coats, Director of Strategic Product and Business Development, CMC

Wood-based materials manufacturing plant transformed its compressed air system from an invisible utility into a data-driven energy asset by deploying a modern, multi-zone monitoring and control platform. The upgrade delivered real-time transparency, ISO 50001- and ESG-ready reporting, and verified annual savings of 1.43 GWh, \$166,500 and 889 tons of CO2.
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Best Practices 2025 EXPO & Conference Show Report

By Troy Dreier, Senior Editor and Brooke Jones, Digital Content Editor, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine 

The Best Practices 2025 EXPO & Conference was the busiest one yet, with 89 presentations, 84 exhibitors and nearly 1,000 registered attendees. It included two conference tracks, five workshops and five EXPO classroom pavilions. The event was so big, we’re splitting our show report into three reports to capture all the activity. 
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Hitachi Celebrates 60 Years of Sullair Air Compressors

By Roderick Smith, Publisher, and Troy Dreier, Senior Editor, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

In this article: We sat down with Hideki Fujimoto, President and CEO of Hitachi Global Air Power Timeline: Major Moments from Sullair’s 60-Year Journey A Picnic 60 Years in the Making Manufacturing in the Midwest: A Conversation with Andy Fayyad
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The Business Case for Air Compressor Rentals and Air-Over-the-Fence

By Matt Piedmonte, Vice President and General Manager, Americas, Aerzen Rental Solutions

There is no single right approach to putting the necessary volume and pressure of air in the pipe to meet production needs. There is a place for purchasing assets, there is a place for renting assets and there is a place for an AOF contract. Just as the business models around these assets change, so do the needs of an industrial plant. This article aims to explore these options and explore some of the pros and cons associated with different methods. 
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Maple Leaf Foods Saves with Compressed Air and Heat Recovery Upgrade

By Troy Dreier, Senior Editor, Compressed Air & Cooling Best Practices Magazine

One existing air compressor was a rental and not fully integrated into our compressed air system. We upgraded the desiccant compressed air dryer to improve operational efficiency, reduce energy consumption and save on the combined cfm. We save close to 900,000 kWh of electricity, and about 704 cfm every weekday.
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Trust Through Testing: Inside the CAGI Performance Verification Program

By Jayme Leonard, Digital Marketing Specialist, Atlas Copco Compressors 

To further support transparency and confidence in compressed air system equipment performance, CAGI established the Performance Verification Program. This third-party testing initiative verifies that participating manufacturers’ published performance data, such as energy consumption, flow rate and efficiency, are accurate and consistent with industry standards.
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Texas Recycling Plant Saves Water with Air-Cooled Air Compressors

By Troy Dreier, Senior Editor, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

There are multiple compressed air applications in a waste management facility. This new recycling center uses laser-guided optical sorters to divide waste, with no human involvement on the sorting line. Laser optics determine what type of material each scrap is, then compressed air jets maneuver each piece to its collection area. Compressed air also powers handheld blow guns used for cleaning, as well as the bundling and packaging system. 
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Air Compressor Design Considerations for a Successful Compressed Gas Mixing Project

By Chris Ahnen, Director of Engineering, EnviroMix

Compressed Gas Mixing provides uniform mixing of water or wastewater tank contents by firing programmed, short-duration, high-intensity bursts of compressed air through engineered nozzles located near the tank floor. Mixing parameters – including pressure, sequence, duration and frequency – may be adjusted, either through operator input or automatic process feedback, to optimize power use and deliver ideally mixed conditions. 
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The Industrial Sustainability 2025 Best Practices EXPO & Conference Show Report

By Bill Smith, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine launched its first event in Europe, the Industrial Sustainability Best Practices EXPO & Conference, in June 2025 in Barcelona, Spain. Designed to educate and connect factories and specifying engineers on the optimization of industrial compressed air, vacuum and cooling water systems, the event featured 12 hours of conference sessions, exhibits and the first Compressed Air Challenge training to take place in Europe. 
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The 2025 AICD Show Report

By Bill Smith, Regional Sales Manager, Compressed Air Best Practices® Magazine

The Association of Independent Compressor Distributors held its annual trade show in Louisville, KY, April 27-29, 2025. Participating distributor members and guests enjoyed the AICD trade show, guest speakers, a golf tournament and a visit to the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory. This report presents a sampling of the trade show exhibits (by technology, alphabetically) to share company and technology news. 
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