Atlas Copco - Annual Report 1999

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COMPRESSOR TECHNIQUE COMPRESSOR TECHNIQUE European network guarantees delivery Atlas Copco Rental Europe, a company in the Portable Air division, provides temporary oil-free compressed air, electric power and related services to industrial customers in Europe. The company’s key strength is based on its ability to react instantly, providing total quality and full service to its customers. Rental customers these days are looking for more than just additional compressed air or electricity: They want a total solution. This was also the case at Phenolchemie, a chemical company in Belgium that produces phenol, which is used as the basis for products such as aspirin, compact discs, textile prints, and paint. Already a customer of the Group, Phenolchemie turned to Atlas Copco Rental Europe when the company urgently needed 46 ATLAS COPCO 1999 back-up production capacity at its Antwerp plant. Within 12 hours after Phenolchemie made its first phone call to Atlas Copco one Saturday morning, 10 units and “round the clock” technical surveillance were operational at the customer’s site. To be able to deliver the full 30,000 m 3 /hr of air required, five additional units had to be installed in parallel with the 10 already available at the plant. The choice fell on the new diesel-driven oil-free portable compressor, offering additional environmental protection as standard. The engine of the machine complies with the latest regulations, and the unit has a frame that is completely spillagefree, to protect against harmful discharge to the environment.
Lead time cut from 35 days to six The Airtec division delivers core compressor parts to other Compressor Technique divisions on a daily basis. The division is committed to creating value for its customers and staying competitive when it comes to cost and performance. A new spark erosion system in tooth production has significantly reduced lead times and costs. Long-term commitment to China To improve service to customers and to safeguard future expansion the Wuxi compressor assembly plant in China expanded its production capacity during the year. The new facilities were inaugurated in September 1999. Since production began in Wuxi in 1995, the plant has steadily upped production volumes, and the periodic introduction of new compressor models has meant that the initial set-up of the factory was not sufficient. Thus, a decision was made in November 1998 to extend the production area to cope effectively with the larger volumes forecast. Besides increasing the factory’s surface area, the complete set-up of materials handling, assembly, and test functions was changed. Each of the three divisions – Oil-free Air, Industrial Air, and Portable Air – now has a dedicated assembly line. Although the lines can function independently, all tools and equipment used are interchangeable. COMPRESSOR TECHNIQUE For many years, tooth compressor stages have been the very heart of oilfree compressor units in the lower power range. A tooth compressor consists of a male and female tooth rotor built into a casing. The manufacturing process for this type of rotor was previously set up with different dedicated, single machine tools to cut a complex, cast stainless steel rotor body. The result was batch production with lead times up to 35 working days. Recently, Airtec introduced a simplified, cost-saving process. The technology cuts complex pieces with the utmost precision using electrical spark erosion between a special thin wire and the material to be cut. The challenge was to implement this process – usually devoted to high-precision parts produced in small quantities – in serial production. The resulting machined rotor-profile has been improving the performance of the compressor in all stages of production since early 1998. Improved manufacturing flexibility has reduced lead times, in some cases to six days. Special care was taken to ensure an environmentally friendly factory, especially when it comes to noise emissions from the test cells and prevention of oil spills into the soil. For the customer, the increased production capacity enables shorter delivery times as well as a wider range of products from which to choose. The test cell facilities are also very advanced, providing good arguments for promoting equipment to customers. ATLAS COPCO 1999 47 COMPRESSOR TECHNIQUE
Page 1 and 2: Atlas Copco Annual Report 1999 99 A
Page 3 and 4: Atlas Copco 1999 Revenues Group rev
Page 5 and 6: The Board of Directors’ Report on
Page 7 and 8: Wuxi compressor plant in China exte
Page 9 and 10: ponding to a margin of 6.9 percent
Page 11 and 12: Product development 1999 1998 Resea
Page 13 and 14: Consolidated Balance Sheet ATLAS CO
Page 15 and 16: Notes to Atlas Copco Group Cash Flo
Page 17 and 18: Notes to the Financial Statements S
Page 19 and 20: The Parent Company reports all leas
Page 21 and 22: Remuneration and other fees for mem
Page 23 and 24: 8 Taxes Group Parent Company 1999 1
Page 25 and 26: NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS N
Page 27 and 28: 18 Shareholders’ equity Group Sha
Page 29 and 30: 23 Current liabilities to credit in
Page 31 and 32: Goodwill The Group applies an amort
Page 33 and 34: Number of Per- Book shares cent val
Page 35 and 36: ing this report in February 2000, t
Page 37 and 38: for sale and recorded at fair value
Page 39 and 40: On January 1, 1999, the Rental Serv
Page 41 and 42: fully served previously. The Prime
Page 43 and 44: ATLAS COPCO AND THE BUSINESS ENVIRO
Page 45 and 46: Distribution of Revenues by Busines
Page 47: Investments The business area inves
Page 51 and 52: Premier web pages improve informati
Page 53 and 54: Structural changes To adjust to dep
Page 55 and 56: Protecting operator and environment
Page 57 and 58: Uniroc offers full service to Mount
Page 59 and 60: ics for the end-user. Also, in-hous
Page 61 and 62: Starting in October 1999 and runnin
Page 63 and 64: Moving customer-supplier relationsh
Page 65 and 66: efficient way to develop already es
Page 67 and 68: A hub system to serve non-urban are
Page 69 and 70: Internet Makes Impact as Business T
Page 71 and 72: Evaluation of power tools To develo
Page 73 and 74: Excellence in Sales Every year, the
Page 75 and 76: ight to existing shareholders. The
Page 77 and 78: Five Years in Summary Atlas Copco G
Page 79 and 80: Summary in USD and EUR Atlas Copco
Page 81 and 82: Consolidated Balance Sheet in USD a
Page 83 and 84: Group Management Giulio Mazzalupi P
Page 85 and 86: Kurt Hellström Ulla Litzén Tore H
Page 87 and 88: Addresses Group Center Atlas Copco

Atlas Copco - Annual Report 1999

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