Food and pharmaceutical markets use blowers (low pressure air compressors) for Dilute Phase Pneumatic Conveying to transport powders and granules within factories. All the core designs behind these blower machines date back to before 1935, and have undergone serial modifications in attempts to address inherent design issues. By investing in a clean sheet design Lontra have leapfrogged the competition and created a new state of the art technology which is oil free, more energy efficient and more reliable.
PureBlade - Innovation Project
Lontra is a young, dynamic engineering business with an innovative air compressor design poised to shake up the status quo in the established air compressor industry in the EU and then globally.
Lontra’s team is experienced in commercialising new engineered products, exporting and international sales. We are already rolling-out the Blade Compressor® across the EU, integrated within the compressor package of Sulzer Pumps, Lontra’s first licensee. Lontra is committed to engineering excellence and has drawn its talented team from some of the top, high value engineering firms like Cosworth, Cummins, Rolls Royce.
We took a clean-sheet design approach to develop the revolutionary Lontra Blade Compressor®, an innovative air compressor which addresses the failings in current technology with a triple win for end-users; being oil free, energy efficient and reliable. Our core technology was demonstrated in trials with Severn Trent Water and showed:
(1) Energy efficiency –demonstrated 21.2% better efficiency than traditional technology;
(2) Reliability - after just 18 months of high duty cycle operation, Severn Trent Water (STW) went to press that the Blade Compressor® had run for the equivalent of more than 3 years of a normal duty cycle without issue, during this period there were many maintenance events and failures of the existing machines.
The Phase 1 Project Objectives were to:
• Identify potential project partner(s) in the food and pharmaceutical industries
• Identify likely sales growth rates for PureBlade
• Identify the best way to develop the technology in Phase 2
Conclusions
This Phase 1 feasibility study has provided essential design and operational information for the food and drinks market. Our research has also enabled us to better understand what are compelling propositions for end-users and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). OEMs are faced with quite a range of technologies to choose from and Lontra offers clear and compelling competitive advantages for them.
