Launches new range of innovative solutions
The Best Air Group of companies, which includes Best Air Engineering (India) Private Ltd., Best Air Systems Private Ltd. and Best Foundations, is one of the well-known names in the field of air engineering and humidification solutions in the country. Headquartered in Chennai, the group has its special focus on innovation and has become a preferred choice for a wide range of clientele in the textile industry.
In an exclusive interview, Mr. Jerrome Sudakar, Chairman & Managing Director, gave detailed insights into the air engineering solutions offered by the Best Air Group, its prefabricated air washer system, the key points that make its products popular, the role played by humidification plants in different set-ups and the group’s future plans, among others.
Excerpts:
Giving a brief overview of the Best Air Group history, Mr. Sudakar said: “We commenced operations in 2001. Right from the beginning we have been focusing on humidification and air engineering, as well as waste collection systems. With respect to humidification we do it for the spinning, weaving and knitting sectors. We also do it for the texturizing sector. This is an area which requires specialized expertise.”
The group is headquartered in Chennai with its branch offices in Coimbatore, Erode, Madurai, Mumbai and Bhiwandi. “At all the places our offices are managed by technical directors. At Mumbai, we have a service center-cum-manufacturing set-up with more than 10 service engineers across India”, Mr. Sudakar explained.
2-stage cooling technology
Best Air Group has made a mark in the market in recent times with its compact air washer system. Going into details as to what makes the product stand out from the rest, Mr. Sudakar said: “The prefabricated concept is quite new to the market. This prefabricated system, which is entirely made up of stainless steel, requires minimal civil work, can be transferred, portable, the efficiency is very good and consumes less power, as well as water. All the inner components are imported from Germany. Moreover, the entire system is also virtually noiseless, at less than 60 decibels.”
Talking further on the air washer system, Mr. Sudakar disclosed: “The prefabricated units with 2-stage cooling technology can reduce the inside temperature up to 28 degrees to 30 degrees, even during peak summer.”
Areas of expertise
Another interesting product that the company is into is chillers. He said: “We have introduced this concept in Thailand. You know that Thailand is a very humid country. In such conditions you cannot take outside air for the humidification process. The inside air is already hot, and if it is cycled again and again, the temperature inside could shoot. Hence to maintain the temperature, we have developed the chillers concept with the help of a Japanese counterpart.”
He further observed: “Now, the question is why should you cool the tank completely. The tank is 14,000 liters, while the actual spray takes place only in 6,000 liters. So, we segregated the tank. We made some tank modification. The project was very successful. The customer has been able to save around 16% of power. When we could do such a project at a place in such extreme conditions, we are confident that we would be able to do the same relatively much more easily in a place like India.”
Referring to another area of specialization of the company, Mr. Sudakar disclosed: “These days most mills are changing from conventional to compact spinning. When new generation ring frames are installed with compact during the conversion from conventional to compact, the mill customer attaches less importance to the “CDS AIR” discharge. Consequently, the air discharge from the compact process is let inside the department (or) through the pneumafil exhaust (or) through the return air exhaust trench. The result is the department gets dusty, hot and polluted. This ‘CDS’, which is the compact drafting air, must be handled separately by taking it out. Otherwise it will result in yarn quality deterioration. Now, we have an excellent solution for this issue. We have already offered the same to several mills.”
Citing another example of the company’s expertise in the field, he said: “We are very well established in the Mumbai belt. In Mumbai, as you know, space is a major constraint. So sometimes we may have to place machines on the 2nd or 3rd floors. We have found a solution for this too. In Bhiwandi alone we have done around 65 such projects. Overall we must have done more than 900 installations globally. While around 60% of them would be in weaving, 30% would be in spinning and the rest in other sectors.”
Best Air has a long list of customers, including the Loyal Group of Mills, GHCL, Dilip Fabrics, Cotton King, Kamathgiri Textiles, Siyarams, Topman Exports, etc. It is also doing projects overseas in places such as South Africa, Dubai, Mauritius, Madagascar and Thailand in a big way, offering fully automated systems.”
Referring to the company’s future plans, he said: “Our motto is “NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE”. We want to further improve the prefabricated air washer system with the mini chiller that we have developed. Hopefully we will be able to share some more good news soon, especially in the area of humidification.”