Ian Ritchie

Managing Director

The newsletter from the UK’s leading supplier of MRO products and services Issue 7

www.brammer.co.uk

The LinkForewordAs we reach the halfway point of the year, it’s a good time to review the performance of the UK manufacturing sector and look ahead to the next six months.

Many key manufacturing sectors are experiencing solid growth in demand and there is optimism that this will be sustained throughout the remainder of 2011 – in fact, manufacturing is still forecast to outperform the rest of the economy this year.

However, companies still face challenges from high, often volatile, input costs that are unlikely to reduce in the short term. With energy a key component of these input costs, in this issue of The Link we are focusing on energy usage and our main article examines how best practice in specification, management and maintenance can deliver impressive energy cost savings, while reducing carbon footprint and improving overall profitability.

Meanwhile this issue’s guest contributor, Ed Holden, editor of Hydraulics & Pneumatics, provides a further insight into some of the latest developments in fluid power.

Specialist fluid power catalogue launchedBrammer has launched a specialist guide to the products, services and support it offers for pneumatic, hydraulic and process systems.

The 2011 Fluid Power Catalogue has 1,200 pages and showcases Brammer’s unrivalled range of over 33,700 fluid power products from leading manufacturers, including Festo, Norgren, SMC and Parker, which makes Brammer the largest distributor of fluid power products to UK industry.

Jeremy Salisbury of Brammer explained: “The 2011 Fluid Power Catalogue is the first dedicated product guide Brammer has launched and it provides a comprehensive overview of the products and support services we offer in the fluid power area.

“It is our aim that the guide becomes a key reference tool for fluid power maintenance, much as the Brammer Essential Maintenance Catalogue has for industrial maintenance spares management in general.”

Act now on motor efficiency

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Latest news

Brammer has urged UK industry to take

advantage of the opportunities for greater

energy consumption efficiency resulting

from the introduction of the European Union

EcoDesign Requirements for Energy-Using

Products Directive.

The first phase of the EU MEPS Directive

(2009) stipulates that all two-, four- and

six-pole single speed three-phase AC motors

from 0.75 – 375kW, must meet a minimum

efficiency of IE2, previously known as EFF1.

Products below this standard – categorised

as IE1 (formerly EFF2) – cannot be

manufactured for sale in the UK and

Europe after 16th June 2011.

However, Brammer believes that replacing a

non-IE2 motor immediately will in most cases

enable companies to benefit from greater

energy efficiency, carbon emission reductions

and the potential for improved productivity

and reliability.

Jeremy Salisbury of Brammer explained:

“The Directive simply legislates what is actually

best practice in motor management –

specifying the most energy-efficient product,

of the correct size and duty, for the job.

“The cost of changing from an EFF3 or EFF2

motor to an IE2 product will, in most cases,

be more than outweighed by the savings

achievable through improved energy efficiency

and reduced carbon emissions - particularly

if companies take advantage of the financial

support available through schemes such as

the Enhanced Capital Allowance and the

Carbon Trust loan scheme.”

The Directive is being introduced in three

phases. In the second phase, which comes

into force on 1st January 2015, motors rated

from 7.5 to 375kW will either have to achieve

the higher IE3 efficiency level, or meet the IE2

level and be fitted with a variable speed drive.

From 2017, these rules will be extended to

cover motors as small as 0.75kW.

UK counterfeit threat increasesBrammer has issued a fresh warning about the problems posed by counterfeit spares – in light of a recent incident where 2.5 tonnes of counterfeit SKF bearings were seized by Trading Standards officers from a non-authorised UK distributor.

Brynn Woods, Purchasing & Distribution Director at Brammer, commented: “Counterfeit products have become an increasingly serious problem in the industrial spares aftermarket over recent years. Up until now, the evidence largely indicated the problem was more prevalent in continental Europe, but this shows UK industry is very much under threat.

“The issue can be easily avoided by only sourcing bearings – and for that matter all MRO spares – from an authorised distributor. This approach will guarantee availability of factory-fresh components which have been stored correctly and whose source can be verified.”

Brammer has responded to increased demand from its south Wales customer base by relocating its Cardiff Sales & Service Centre to a new, larger site.

The new facility, located at 82 Portmanmoor Road Industrial Estate, Ocean Park, underpins Brammer’s commitment to maintaining a local presence for its customers.

Brammer Managing Director Ian Ritchie said: “We remain committed to offering a truly local service and the new and improved Sales & Service Centre in Cardiff will allow us to do just that for our many customers based in this part of south Wales.”

Brammer has further expanded its nationwide network with the opening of a new Sales and Service Centre at Pembroke Dock, its fifth branch in Wales.

Cllr Maureen Colgan, Mayor of Pembroke Dock, and Welsh badminton international Jordan Hart joined Ian Ritchie, Managing Director of Brammer, to officially open the new facility.

Its opening reflects significant growth in Brammer’s business with local companies from across south-west Wales, many of whom attended the opening event.

Ian Ritchie commented: “Our customer base in south and west Wales continues to grow and the new Pembroke Sales & Service Centre will enable us to further enhance our service to them.”

New Pembroke branch opens

Brammer Managing Director Ian Ritchie, Cllr Maureen Colgan, Mayor of Pembroke Dock, and Welsh badminton international Jordan Hart officially open the new facility at Pembroke Dock in Wales.

Holding the FortBrammer has opened a new

branch in Fort William, bringing

the number of branches in

Scotland to 12.

It continues a rapid expansion

north of the border which saw

Brammer’s Inverness branch

open in autumn 2010.

This latest branch opening

confirms Brammer’s

commitment to its fast-

growing customer base

in Scotland, which include

several major national

companies, in particular

in brewing, distilling

and quarrying.

3www.brammer.co.uk

Brammer expands in Cardiff

is increasingly a core part of reducing costs

and improving overall business performance.

Irrespective of other considerations, actions

such as reducing leakage from compressed

air systems, fitting variable speed drives (VSDs)

to motor-driven applications such as pumps

and fans and replacing inefficient motors will,

in virtually all applications, deliver significant

cost savings.

For example, industrial electric motors and

drives account for more than two thirds of power

consumption in industry. Yet many motors are

unnecessarily oversized for the machines they

drive. The annual energy consumption cost

of running a motor can be up to ten times its

purchase cost. A 10kW motor operating at 87

per cent efficiency could cost £1,500 more

over its lifetime than one that is just 5 per cent

more efficient. And fitting an appropriate variable

speed drive (VSD) can save as much as 50 per

cent in the cost of energy consumed.

The benefits of this become even more

obvious when it is remembered that many

plants operate hundreds of motors.

The cost of compressed air

Compressed air systems can also offer

major potential for energy cost savings. Used

for everything from cooling and drying to the

removal of scrap product, contamination and

vacuum generation, it represents up to 30

per cent of total energy usage.

However, of the total energy supplied

to a compressor, as little as eight to ten

per cent may end up being converted into

usable energy to power equipment, making

it a highly costly energy source.

Air leaks, poor maintenance, misapplication

and poor control are all areas where

compressed air is commonly wasted.

Driving best practice in energy efficiencyEnergy costs have soared over the past year

and are again presenting a particular challenge to

company profitability. Whether a manufacturing

company’s focus is on short-term cost savings

or on positioning the company for the long

term, investment in new, more energy-efficient

equipment will help to reduce costs and carbon

emissions and improve business profitability.

With current energy price levels, many energy

efficiency measures will represent a good

investment, and continued likely rises in these

costs are making the business case for such

measures even stronger. Brammer’s own survey

in 2008 conservatively identified that over €13

billion of energy is wasted across Europe in

production and manufacturing processes - and

with rising energy costs that figure will be even

higher now. Any company that is not already

targeting measures to increase energy efficiency

is wasting money. Reducing energy waste is not

simply an issue of cutting carbon emissions, but

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The big topic

Ian Ritchie, Managing Director, Brammer UK

5www.brammer.co.uk

“Reducing energy waste

is a core part of reducing

costs and improving overall

business performance.”

Meanwhile, partly because compressed air is

convenient and easy to use, and partly because

air is often perceived as a free commodity, it is

often overused.

In fact, reducing air leaks is often the single

most important energy saving action that

can be taken at many manufacturing plants.

Indeed, when the cost of all leaks and wastage

due to inadequate maintenance is calculated,

the outlay for detection equipment and

replacement parts is almost always justified.

Compressed air audits from an independent

supplier such as Brammer can help

manufacturers improve energy efficiency

– by removing leaks, using less energy to

create the same amount of air, providing

practical advice and ensuring compressed

air is used efficiently.

Getting into gear

The savings achievable in the area of industrial

gearboxes are often overlooked but can

be significant. Gearboxes generally have

a considerable service life and, in the event

that they do fail, can usually be repaired or

reconditioned.

However, their performance and energy

efficiency even after reconditioning may

mean that replacement with a more

energy-efficient product is advisable.

Each application should therefore be thoroughly examined and a decision made as to whether replacement is the right way forward. Savings of up to 20 per cent on energy can be achieved over traditional worm boxes by installing either a helical bevel or planetary gearbox, depending on the application.

Meanwhile, in the area of drive belts, continued innovation is creating ever greater opportunities to reduce energy usage.

While v-belts are widely used and generally reliable, synchronous belt drives are more energy-efficient and therefore offer a cost-effective method of improving overall system efficiency in many applications.

As an example, for a system based around a 30kW motor running at 1500rpm for 8736 hours per year at an energy cost of £0.06 per kWh, fitting a high-performance Poly Chain carbon belt drive will deliver an annual energy saving of around £940, and a saving of more than seven tonnes of CO2. The savings are even more marked when larger motors are involved.

The potential for energy cost savings has been clearly demonstrated at Cadbury in Sheffield where a solution involving the replacement of 11kW motors with 4kW products, substituting standard v-belts with synchronous drive belts,

The big topic

and fitting VSDs, is saving around £60,000 a year.

Managing power quality

The search for energy savings should always go beyond production equipment and components themselves.

The management of power quality is also key, with poor or ‘dirty’ power quality impacting not only on energy efficiency but also on overall operational and financial performance.

Once again, an independent survey will identify any areas of concern and suggest how these should be addressed. Implementing any recommendations from such a survey, combined with a strategic and sustained approach to the management of power quality can contribute significantly to improving efficiency, maintaining productivity and reducing downtime, and in turn create impressive savings.

Every manufacturing business should regularly review where and how energy is used and take whatever steps necessary to increase energy efficiency and reduce costs.

Making time to examine energy usage and investing in energy-efficient equipment makes perfect sense commercially given its impact on lowering operating costs and carbon emissions and improving overall business performance.

Brammer to the rescue

Brammer active

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A rapid out of hours response from Brammer has helped save an estimated £250,000 in lost production time at a large UK oil refinery.

Early on a Saturday evening, technicians

noted that the combustion air flow to one

of the furnaces had suddenly dropped,

causing the furnace to trip.

The fault was traced to a failed coupling,

for which no spare was available on site,

while it was not possible to engineer

a makeshift coupling to keep the unit

running until Monday.

When the in-house team were unable to

contact their usual MRO supplier, they

contacted Brammer’s National Distribution

Centre in Wolverhampton who advised the

coupling was available in stock and arranged

to transport it by courier to the site immediately.

The part arrived shortly after midnight and was

installed within an hour, with the furnace then

fully operational.

The quick response from Brammer avoided

a three-day shutdown of part of the facility

which would have resulted in an estimated

£300,000 of lost production. As it was, the

downtime lasted only around 12 hours,

a loss of approximately £50,000.

As a direct result of Brammer’s responsiveness,

therefore, some £250,000 was saved.

Ian Ritchie, Managing Director of Brammer UK, commented: “Unanticipated failure of production-critical components is one of the key causes of production downtime in almost all industry sectors and has the potential to be extremely costly.

“Our ethos at Brammer is about maintaining an extensive and varied stock of the components we understand to be most vital to our customers – and being prepared to go the extra mile to get them to where they are needed, even out of hours as in this instance.”

“As a direct result of

Brammer’s responsiveness,

some £250,000 was saved.”

to be a key growth area for Brammer, where

our versatility, flexibility and nationwide reach

through our 90-plus branch network enables

us to deliver an extensive and responsive

service to major players, whether they be

operators, manufacturers or maintenance

specialists.

“This contract clearly demonstrates Brammer’s

innovative approach, professionalism and

ability to tailor its offering for the specific

needs of a major train operator.”

A trio of Brammer employees

have taken part in a cycle

challenge that saw them pedal

800 miles around 16 Brammer

locations in Scotland and

Northern Ireland.

During the ten day ride, the

intrepid cyclists raised £5,000,

for one of the UK’s leading wish-

granting charities, Make-A-Wish

Foundation® UK.

The Brammer Make-A-Wish

‘Great Cycle Challenge’ team was

led by Ricky Johnston, Regional

Operations Manager for the North

Region, Scotland & Northern

Ireland, alongside Interim Regional

Sales Manager, David Sneddon,

Regional Insite Support, Kenny

Harris and supported by

Damian Colgan, Regional Key

Account Executive.

The challenge began at Brammer

Fort William, culminating at the

Carlisle branch and visiting several

Brammer Insites en route. Ricky

and the team were supported

by local Brammer staff at various

points of the journey and also

received great support and

encouragement from customers.

Ricky explained: “None of the

team are professional cyclists and

this was a demanding challenge

that saw us travel hundreds of

miles across very tricky terrain.

We cycled to all of the Brammer

branches in Scotland, from

Round-up

7www.brammer.co.uk

Right on trackBrammer has further extended its growing

rail sector customer base through a major

contract win with First Great Western.

The contract will run for an initial two-year

period and will see Brammer supply a full

range of tools and workshop consumables

to First Great Western’s seven maintenance

depots across the UK.

Ian Ritchie, Managing Director of Brammer

UK, commented: “The rail sector continues

Left to right: Kenny Harris, Ricky Johnston and David Sneddon

Pedal power boosts Make-A-Wish

Inverness to Aberdeen and

Dundee to Glasgow - we even

hopped on a ferry to the

Belfast branch!”

There are currently 20,000

children and young people in

the UK fighting a life-threatening

illness and this year alone around 1,200 children will be referred to Make-A-Wish to have their wish granted. Make-A-Wish relies upon the efforts of corporate partners like Brammer which, since 2007, has raised more than £115,000 for the charity.

Straight Talk

Projecting the right image The Fluid Power industry is vital to modern

manufacturing industry and something that

immeasurably enhances the quality of our

everyday lives – both professionally and

socially. Like any other technology sector,

it progresses through continuous innovation.

Unfortunately, it is sometimes considered to

be rather ‘mature’, but I would like to mention

just a few areas of development that deserve

to be applauded.

One of the more strident recent developments

has been the increasingly close marriage

between fluid power and electronics –

everything from VSDs and controllers to

remote diagnostics. This combination can

enable machines to work more intelligently,

delivering more efficient, quieter and more

environmentally friendly plant and equipment.

Meanwhile, sensors connected to remote

monitoring systems can effectively point to

parts that could be under stress, or need

replacement. And issues such as equipment

downtime, due to bearing or other parts failure,

can also be minimised through state-of-the-art

condition monitoring techniques. In this regard,

companies at the forefront of MRO and other

value-added services, such as Brammer, are

keeping standards of service and support

extremely high in our marketplace.

For more information about Brammer’s products and services please contact us.

0870 240 2100 www.brammer.co.uk

Straight Talk is a regular editorial feature delivered by leading manufacturing industry experts. In this edition, Ed Holden, Editor of Hydraulics & Pneumatics, looks at developments in fluid power.

www.hpmag.co.uk

The economic climate has certainly proved challenging over the past two or three years. However, manufacturing and distribution professionals recognise that innovation remains key to survival and long-term prosperity. It is also critical for UK manufacturing organisations to continue to thrive in the global marketplace through offering equipment and systems guaranteeing optimum reliability and efficiency. Therefore, it is encouraging to see many companies continuing to apportion sizeable amounts of their annual profits to R&D. This can give them a pronounced competitive edge through enhanced user satisfaction; and as any company knows, the customer is king in any marketplace.

And what of the future? We sometimes hear commentators suggesting the fluid power industry can be rather staid. However, the reality is that it can be extremely exciting and forward-thinking. And this is the image that must increasingly be conveyed by the media, educational establishments and industry itself to safeguard the next generation of enthusiastic and dedicated engineers and designers; ready and willing to make the fluid power industry – and industrial engineering in general – the basis of their life careers. If this can continue to be secured, we have little to fear.

“Manufacturing and distribution professionals recognise that innovation remains key to survival and long-term prosperity.”