Gardner Denver (CompAir) MD appointed as new BCAS president

Colin Mander, managing director for Gardner Denver (CompAir) UK and Ireland, has been appointed as the new president of the British Compressed Air Society (BCAS) – in a special year that marks the society’s 80th anniversary as the UK’s sole trade body for suppliers and users of compressed air equipment.

Colin was officially welcomed to his new position at the recent BCAS’s 80th anniversary ball, held at the Savoy Hotel in London and attended by 200 members and guests.

Commenting on his role, Colin said: “80 years on, BCAS still plays an important part in promoting the safe and efficient use of compressed air across a broad spectrum of industries, both here in the UK and overseas.  I have been working in the compressed air industry for more than 28 years and now, as the society’s 53rd president, I am looking forward to using some of this experience in helping our members to improve the range of services they offer to end users; especially by encouraging ongoing professional and technical training.”

In his role as president, Colin will be focusing on two specific areas that will help to further improve the quality and range of equipment and services offered by BCAS members.

AirSAFE registration
The first of these is raise awareness of the AirSAFE registration scheme; a scheme established by BCAS to promote the credibility and professionalism of its members to end customers.

As the only scheme of its kind in the UK compressed air industry, it enables users to select a provider based on recommendation using a system of customer feedback, which is available to view online on the BCAS website at http://www.referenceline.com/bcas.

From July this year, all members have been enrolled in the scheme and results already show that over 90% of customers would recommend the use of a BCAS member to their peers.

Colin adds, “BCAS is committed to raising standards for quality, safety and environmental performance across industry.  The AirSAFE registration scheme is just one way that customers can see this commitment in action.

“It also means that the society can receive feedback on its members’ performance and will help to further improve the types and levels of service that it offers.”

Genuine spare parts
Cheaper, imported parts continue to be concern for the industry and problems with the use of non-genuine spares is well documented; particularly the false economy of saving on the purchase cost, but paying a higher price to rectify the problems such parts can cause.

Throughout his presidency, Colin will be highlighting the importance of using manufacturers’ components, which have been developed to the correct specification.  These will not only help users to avoid expensive repair bills and the associated cost of downtime, but can also improve overall compressor performance; including improved energy efficiency and higher reliability.