Contributing to infrastructure development, Atlas Copco's portable air compressors are giving wings to the new international airport project in Navi Mumbai.

Atlas Copco's XAV216 portable air compressors are working hard in quarrying operations at the prestigious under construction greenfield Navi Mumbai International Airport being built at Ulwe Kopar-Panvel in Maharashtra.

With difficult terrains and a large area of approximately 1,160 hectare (11.6 sq km), easy maneuverability of the XAV216 portable air compressor ensures movement as per the requirement and location.

The best fit
The new airport project area does not have regular quarry elevations as the entire area is over 90 m from the ground level. This entails a huge amount of drilling and blasting operations, where levelling from over 90 m to 8 m is a daunting task.

This cleaning up of the hill required a portable air compressor, which could be optimised for drilling and sizing activities.

Thakur Infra Projects is a renowned infrastructure development contractor in Maharashtra, which is actively involved in the embankment work for the Navi Mumbai Airport project. It is a leading company in infrastructure development, soil reclamation, concrete roads, asphalting and crushing.

The XAV216 proved to be the best fit with a suitable drill combination. 'After consistent efforts from the Atlas Copco sales team in pitching the right product, a trial with their existing 450 cfm/200 psi compressor resulted in an immediate increase in pressure from 10 bar to 14 bar', says, Anand Lal, General Manager, Thakur Infra Projects.

He adds, 'The penetration rate, which was at 8 m per hour earlier, has now doubled to 16 m per hour. Further, if we compare diesel consumption with other make of compressors, it was at 2.25 litres per m, and now with Atlas Copco XAV216 compressor it has reduced to 1.25 litres per m, thereby demonstrating a decrease of 44 per cent in diesel consumption per meter of drilling.'

With this successful trial, Thakur Infra Projects were not only convinced to purchase the compressor on trial but also gave repeated orders of the XAV216 portable diesel compressor. A fleet of four such compressors is now deployed in the Navi Mumbai Airport project as well as stone quarrying projects in Panvel.

Enhancing productivity
Atlas Copco's XAV216 portable air compressor has proved to be the correctly pitched product in a project which demands high productivity within a tight schedule. Lal recommends the XAV216 compressor by stating, 'This is a good compressor which saves diesel, enhances productivity, has good after-sales service and has proved to be a great replacement to our earlier compressor.'

Atlas Copco portable air compressors will continue to strive to be involved in projects to transform the urban map in India while leading the way in bringing in new technology and more energy-efficient solutions for its customers.