Air Products Delivers the Difference – Strong Customer Focus Puts The Company Ahead in the Packaged Gas Supply Chain
Air Products South Africa, industry leaders in the manufacture, supply and distribution of industrial and specialty gas products, prides itself on an effective supply chain based on open channels of communication.
This is especially true of the Packaged Gas Business Unit, which operates a responsive, ‘just-in-time’ (JIT) system, according to customer demand.
Shamo Moonsamy, Customer Service Manager: Packaged Gas at Air Products describes how the company keeps its finger closely on the pulse of market demand and is in constant touch with its customers.
“A crucial part of our operations is our daily meeting where the key stakeholders – Customer Services, Production and Distribution – come together to look at the customer requirements.
After the meeting we get in touch with the customer and keep him up to date with the status of his order. This proactive feedback to customers is a key feature of how Air Products does business.”
The result of this interactive approach is a flexible, organic supply chain system, based on the principle of sound communication, and delivering on promises.
“We call this ‘service that delivers the difference’”, says Moonsamy, who emphasises the company’s commitment to a 24 hour service delivery.
“By keeping the channels of communication open, Air Products can deliver on our promise of the quickest possible turnaround,” he says.
This is one of the reasons why Air Products runs its own fleet of delivery trucks.
In addition, the company regards its fleet drivers as an important link in an effective supply chain, and as such, values its older, more experienced drivers.
“Again, it goes back to the people factor”, says Moonsamy. Our drivers are very much part of the customer service ethos – they are trusted to deal with customers: and are trained in customer relationship management and in understanding customer requirements.”
Although manual processes form the backbone of the Packaged Gas supply chain, technology also plays a key role in managing the supply chain. GPS vehicle tracking systems and recording devices on trucks monitor speed, diversion from routes, delays, as well as erratic driving behaviour. This means that Air Products can keep a close eye on what happens on the roads, and thus protect its drivers as well as its vehicles.
The company is in the process of implementing new hand held technology which should affect a smoother invoicing process. With information pre-loaded through the host system and transferred to the hand-held device, invoicing records are constantly updated and each transaction is recorded instantaneously.
The Packaged Gas business is run on a just-in-time principle and Air Products uses the Kanban system to analyse the rate of production in relation to customer demand.
“The Kanban system is based on the number of cylinders dispatched over a fixed period of time, closely monitoring stock levels and the volumes that need to be replenished in order to maintain optimum levels”, says Moonsamy.
The dynamic nature of the business means that Packaged Gas does not rely on strenuous planning. “It is a ‘today for tomorrow’ operational ethos. And because we have to be flexible and responsive to demand, we find that a largely manual system, one that is optimised to suit the customer, works most efficiently.”
Moonsamy concludes: “We run a very lean and cost-effective operation with minimal technology: we consistently outshine the industry benchmark, when we compare our running costs against the RFA (Road Freight Association) figures.
Daily communications mean we have control over our service delivery and when it comes to our 24 hour turnaround, we really do deliver the difference!”
Published on August 22, 2011 in Air Products News |
Air Products guarantees security of supply for all gases in the cutting process
Air Products South Africa ensures that there is security of supply for all essential industrial and speciality gases in cutting applications. “In the case of high volume nitrogen and oxygen gases for laser cutting, we provide a dedicated uninterrupted service,” says Sean Young, Welding Specialist at Air Products South Africa.
He explains that high pressure gas is required for laser cutting, and that Air Products introduced Maxitank to meet customers’ essential requirements. “We strive to provide unmatched customer service through the Maxitank concept. The company introduced the tank, aiming to reduce its reliance on cylinder assets.”
According to Young, each Maxitank is linked to a telemetry system which provides Air Products with up-to-the-minute tank levels. The tank stores high purity, liquefied gas and is often selected to replace cylinders or bulk in the usage range of 0,1 to 30 metric tonnes per month.
“There were a few technical challenges in guaranteeing security of gas supply for industry through the Maxitank,” says Young, adding that Joshua le Roux, Air Products South Africa General Manager of Packaged Gas, recognised the potential for the use of a Maxitank in the laser cutting industry.
Le Roux explains: “When Maxitank was developed by Air Products South Africa, it was considered as an industry pathfinder for laser cutting applications; and is still leading the market today.”
Maxitanks are filled by an Air Products-introduced Ocar tanker. As standard road tankers are not equipped to fill both high and low pressure bulk systems and Maxitanks, each Ocar tanker was dedicated to one gas type. A dedicated filling facility is based in Kempton Park.
Air Products owns each Maxitank to ensure customer service, quality, traceability and management.
“Through our Managed Gas concept, Air Products provides customers with holistic, end-to-end management of all their gas requirements. This in turn, allows customers to focus on their core business more effectively. We furthermore provide full technical back-up service and follow-up. There is therefore a cradle-to-grave approach of ownership and accountability,” notes Young.
He continues: “Air Products provides a 24 hour, 7 day a week back-up maintenance service.” Preventative maintenance is carried out on a regular basis according to a schedule. This system is part of the ISO 9001 listing, therefore regular audits are carried out to ensure compliance.
All equipment complies with industry specifications, safety standards and is maintained in such condition. All work is carried out by trained technicians. Any addition or alterations to the installation is routed through Air Products, which has qualified personnel to design and carry out these additions or alterations.”
In addition, Young discusses on-site gas management for customers. This is encompassed in outlook services, designed to serve the needs of industrial companies that require flawless gas supply at low total cost. “Our scope of services includes on-site management of cylinder, bulk and pipeline gases, wet chemicals, maintenance services, engineering and technical consulting.”
“Air Products understands industrial gas chemistry, industry requirements, customer service and accountability. This is crucial in the cutting industry, and we are dedicated to customers’ needs,” concludes Young.
Published on August 15, 2011 in Air Products News |
Making Snow While The Sun Shines: Leading Gas Supplier Rises to a Festive Challenge
As a leading supplier of gas and chemical products to South Africa for more than 40 years, Air Products South Africa services a multitude of industries, including paper and pulp, petrochemical, mining and engineering.
However, as Sachin Kulkarni, Air Products’ National Sales Manager for Bulk Gases says, the company is ever ready to meet new challenges and discover new markets for its products and technologies.
“It has always been one of Air Products’ main objectives to introduce innovative new technologies, which, in turn, open up new markets for our products.”
One such fresh challenge presented itself late last year, when Air Products was approached by Mark Wilson, Managing Director of Live Productions and Events, to assist in a major Christmas event at Carnival City in Gauteng. The challenge, in short, was to create 12 days’ worth of freshly-made snow to transform a 60m x 45m marquee into a winter wonderland.
This amounted to 240 tons of snow, which involved a carefully worked out logistical plan and close communication between the events company and Air Products.
One of the most popular means of making snow, explains Wilson, is the cryogenic method, which involves a combination of liquid nitrogen, compressed air and water.
“Air Products supplied the bulk liquid nitrogen, stored in tankers at –180ºC, which is instrumental in ensuring the right freezing conditions for the vaporised air to form snow”, he explains.
He comments that making snow is a process which is not as simple as it might seem, and requires the experience of technical personnel and carefully calibrated equipment. Having been one of South Africa’s specialists in snow making for a number of years, Wilson ascribes much of the success of his company to a joint venture he has with Europe’s main snow making company, Polar Europe, who supplies his equipment.
So how exactly does one make 240 tons of snow in the middle of a Gauteng summer?
Wilson explains: “We have two or three tents, depending on the amount of snow required in which water is blasted into a fine vapour at a temperature of between -10 and -15°C. The liquid nitrogen is used for the cooling down process,” he says. “In the tents”, Wilson continues, “we create the perfect atmospheric conditions for a proper snow storm, with perfectly formed powdered snow. We ultimately produce the correct atmospheric conditions for snow to form naturally. This is done through the use of a snow gun, which is in fact a kind of carburettor, blending the three main elements. The end result is snow as pure as found on any Alpine mountain slope.”
Logistically, the exercise involved a daily delivery of liquid nitrogen in an Air Products cryogenic tanker at around 5am, in order to make about 20-30 tons of snow prior to the event. This went on for a total of twelve days, with a total of 240 tons of liquid nitrogen delivered (one ton of liquid nitrogen makes one ton of snow).
“There were a few teething problems, initially”, says Wilson, “but all thanks to the Air Products team, these were quickly and efficiently sorted out: they were particularly flexible and hands-on in their approach, which is exactly what one needs in a massive project like this.”
Having worked with Air Products on previous events, it made sense to approach them again, says Wilson. “And once again they were very professional in their approach. The communication levels were superb, and the delivery went like clockwork.”
Wilson, in pointing out the potential hazards in handling such large volumes of liquid nitrogen, emphasised that safety was at the forefront of everyone’s minds. “Once again, Air Products came to the party. They provided expert advice and conducted regular inspections to ensure that the environment was a completely safe one for our customers.”
Snow Productions also teamed up with Air Products for a one day Christmas party in Menlyn, Pretoria, which according to Wilson, also went very smoothly.
Says Kulkarni: “These events were both hugely successful in creating proper alpine conditions to the Highveld – complete with tobogganing and snow ball fights – and Air Products was proud to be able to add to the festivities, truly ‘making snow while the sun shone’!”
Published on August 5, 2011 in Air Products News |