The Situation
Each year, nearly 40 million pieces of mail leave Adams Direct & Media Services’ 35,000-square-foot facility in East Hanover, NJ. The company must meet strict U.S. Postal Services regulations. The majority of clients require strict turnaround and mailing dates targeting clients’ customers. This, in turn, requires reliable support equipment. With its mailing, printing and gluing equipment, “We are very dependent on air,” said plant manager Jeff Smith.
The Challenge
Jeff said the company’s two “dirty, old compressors”–a 20-HP screw compressor and a 10-HP reciprocating machine, both tank-mounted–suffered constant breakdowns. It often took a week or longer to get parts. Sometimes, the parts weren’t available at all. “It got tougher and tougher. It was taking too much time, and it was a real burden on us,” Jeff added.
In addition, the company’s advanced Canon varioPRINT iX3200 printer needed clean air at constant pressure, automatically shutting down if humidity changed. It was also sensitive to airborne oil.
As business grew, the company expanded to include another Canon iX3200 printer, which required compressed air for its pneumatic controls. The existing compressors couldn’t deliver what they needed, and Jeff began looking for a solution. “Enough is enough,” he said.
The Solution
Jeff knew Tom Sullivan, who worked with Airmatic Compressor Systems in Carlstadt, NJ. After analyzing Jeff’s situation, Tom recommended the installation of two Kaishan rotary screw air compressors—a 25-HP KRSD direct-drive model with a variable-speed drive and a 20-HP KRSB belt-drive fixed-speed machine as a backup.
The two machines are linked using Kaishan’s standard control system, balancing the workload between compressors and monitoring system performance measurements such as pressure, flow, temperature and electrical use.
The Results
- “BULLET-PROOF” RELIABILITY: “They run, they do what they have to do—maintain our PSIG with very few issues,” Jeff said. “They are almost bullet-proof.”
- “SUPER-EASY” CONTROLS: The two Kaishan machines are much easier to operate than the previous machines. "All the specifics are right in front of you,” Jeff said, including temperature, pressure and flow. “You turn it on or off just by pressing a button.”
- REALLY GOOD MACHINES: The two Kaishans are “really good machines,” Jeff said. They are in constant communication, turning on and off as needed to maintain the desired 115-PSIG pressures the Canon printers need. One or the other is always running, meeting system requirements. They overlap for about an hour each day.
- PERFORMANCE THAT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF: “We’re pretty happy,” Smith said. “Kaishan came through for us. The performance speaks for itself.” Adams has also found a trustworthy, reliable compressed air partner. “Airmatic did a great job. As a partner, Airmatic is fantastic.”
“They run, they do what they have to do—maintain our PSIG with very few issues. They are almost bullet-proof.”
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