When it comes to the design and manufacture of advanced compressors, Adicomp is one of the world’s leading players. Having dedicated the last four years to an extensive strategy for growth, the company is spreading its reach far and wide. Managing Director Pietro De Faveri Tron explained more, in an exclusive interview with Inside Oil & Gas. Report by Imogen Ward.
IN2019, Adicomp implemented a new strategic plan that was predicted to accelerate the company’s physical presence.
“We keep growing,” said Managing Director Pietro De Faveri Tron. “The implementation of our strategy for growth has enabled us to expand abroad. We have also been investing in new workshops to grow our production capacities. It has been an incredibly exciting time, and we have just launched our final workshop. As a result of all these investments, we have witnessed an average annual growth of 33 per cent.”
Established in 1998, the Italian compressor manufacturer quickly garnered a reputation for excellence with those operating in the sector of renewable gases. From biogas, RNG and natural gas to carbon dioxide and hydrogen, Adicomp plays a key role in the development of these renewable solutions.
Strategic implementation
With its growth strategy firmly in place, Adicomp has dedicated the last four years to critical investment, resulting in five new workshops.
“The development of our workshops was an important step in our growth strategy,”
Mr De Faveri Tron explained. “The most recent building is predicted to increase our production capacity by around 30 per cent. We also designed the building in a lean way to make it easy to transport raw materials from warehouse to workshop.
“The last four years have been dedicated to the development of these buildings, and now that the construction phase is complete, we are expecting an improvement in efficiency and a decrease in lead times.”
T he fifth and final facility began operating in April with a brand-new ERP system. This is expected to provide improvements to the company’s operational efficiencies.
“The new system will help us improve scheduling of stock and parts arrivals,” Mr De Faveri Tron continued. “This will also help us integrate a smarter way of picking materials.”
Although Adicomp is incredibly excited about the growth it has achieved thus far, Mr De Faveri Tron was quick to point out that the road has not always been smooth: “Of course, it is nice to grow, but it does come with its challenges. Keeping up with the pace of expansion has not been easy, and a new facility means new space, employees and the need for the correct competencies. That is a lot of change. Finding people to hire has also been a challenge, but it is one we are determined to conquer.”
Managing Director
Prominent partnerships
Alongside its new workshops, Adicomp has also been targeting development in new markets. With a desire to meet the needs of its customers in the US, the manufacturer entered a joint venture with a UK-based company.
“The joint venture was formed with Heat & Power Services,” Mr De Faveri Tron explained. “It is a 50/50 joint venture, which will serve the US market for all aftersales activities, including maintenance contracts, sales of spare parts, warranties and commissioning. Effectively, the venture will accommodate all the activities that occur after a product has been delivered to a customer’s site.”
Adicomp has just established Adicomp India Pvt Ltd: a JV with an Indian partner aiming to address the growing demand in the Indian biogas sector for cost effective and highly reliable compressor technology.
“We are feeling positive regarding the impact of this new joint venture, and we are also now in talks with a company in Brazil as well,” Mr De Faveri Tron continued. “So, expansion is still very much at the forefront of our operations.”
Growing capabilities
As experts in compressor manufacturing, Adicomp has championed the biogas market for quite some time. Despite this,
Adicomp is yet to penetrate the market for low-range compressors between 45kW to 90kW. Keen to carve out a space in this segment, Adicomp is working around the clock to standardise its products.
“The standardisation of our products will have several benefits,” Mr De Faveri Tron commented. “Our R&D team is working hard to accomplish this, because a pre-engineered product will save time, effectively cutting our delivery estimates by 30 per cent.
“This will also help us penetra te a certain segment of the biogas industry, where we are currently not as competitive.
A standardised line of low-range com pressors, will allow us to offer a competitive price to those seeking a compressor ranging from 45kW to 90kW.
“Currently, our strongest offering targets the 90kW to 400kW range. Of course, we are happy to be able to serve this slice of the market, but it would be nice to taste a different part of the proverbial cake.”
Going green
As Adicomp continues with its growth strategy, the company intends to lead by example. With a strong presence in the renewables market, the company
believes it is crucial to address its own environmental commitments.
“We are a company delivering a product which is dedicated to the renewables, tha t is why we have created our own environmental targets,” said Mr De Faveri Tron.
“We intend to become carbon neutral by 2026. To accomplish this, we have installed solar panels on the roofs of all our facilities and we’ve started to measure our impact and our CO2e emissions according to ISO 14064-1.”
“We have also adapted our testing process. Traditionally, when testing our units, we compress a lot of air, which is then released into the atmosphere. Now, we capture that air and deliver it
to neighbouring companies for use in their air guns.”
“Our main target remains centred on growth,” Mr De Faveri Tron said, in conclusion. “We want to diversify the risk.
Adicomp is very strong in the European market, but we don’t have a huge list of clients. From one point of view, it is good to be able to build those relationships, but at the same time it is rather risky. To overcome this, we will continue with our plans for expansion in other markets, such as USA, India and Brazil.
“The biogas market is ever-growing and being able to play our part in such a dynamic and positive industry is truly inspiring.” n
