European corporations looking to reduce their environmental footprint as well as their electricity bill will now have a patented turn-key dust and fume extraction system readily available thanks to a new partnership recently announced by a global leader in the field of industrial exhaust ventilation systems.
Ecogate, which has its global headquarters in North Hollywood, California, has been helping businesses to protect workers and the environment with their on-demand dust collection systems since 1997. Thanks to a partnership announced in December 2021 with AIR JET S.A. of Barcelona, Spain, businesses in Spain and Portugal now have direct access to the full line of products provided by Ecogate.
“We’re delighted to be working with a company of high caliber like AIR JET,” says Ales Litomisky, President and Chief Engineer at Ecogate. “They have already shown a strong understanding of how Ecogate technology supports businesses. We look forward to helping them assist many companies in their markets in the future.”
“To have the chance to bring this solution to our clients will be very helpful in assisting businesses achieve their environmental and financial goals,” says Xavier Espanol, Managing Director of AIR JET. “Ecogate is not yet well known in our local markets, so we are excited to be one of the first to bring the message about this solution to our client base.”
Dust results from a wide range of manufacturing processes, from wood working to welding to automotive production to food processing and more. When not adequately removed from the work environment, dust poses a number of dangers, from threats to employee health to threats to fires or explosions. For example, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), reports that exposure to wood dust is associated with health issues including dermatitis, allergic respiratory effects, mucosal and nonallergic respiratory effects, and cancer. And wood dust is just one example of dust that is produced by industrial systems.
Efforts to collect and control dust in the workplace leads to other challenges, most notably keeping environmental impacts low. The inefficiencies of many systems result in dramatic increases in energy costs for organizations and a larger-than-necessary carbon footprint. In addition, the failure by many systems to employ intelligent controls results in a lower reliability and a shorter lifespan for system components.
“Dust and fume extraction systems for manufacturers have worked basically on the same principles for the past 70 years; suck all the air from all of the places where dust or fumes could possibly be produced, all day, every day,” Litomisky explains. “That’s kind of like air conditioning every room in a hotel because a guest might be there, regardless of the fact that half of the hotel is empty. It’s not very smart.”
Intelligent systems, like those provided by Ecogate, do away with the “all day, every day” strategy for dust control. Rather, they direct suction to exactly where it is needed by using intelligent controls in real-time to maximize efficiency. The result is a work environment where air quality, electricity use, and noise levels are all improved dramatically.
The efficiency that Ecogate systems achieve make them an obvious choice for those who are concerned about environmental impacts. Ecogate customers around the world are currently saving a total of approximately 65 million kWh per year in electricity. The resulting reduction in CO2 emissions is staggering. When compared with emissions from passenger vehicles, it represents the equivalent from 9,929 cars driven for one year. When compared with home energy use, it is the equivalent of the annual output from 5,303 homes. When compared with the charging of smartphones, it is the equivalent of emissions from 5.8 billion charges.
“At Ecogate, we are passionate about how our solutions improve the lives of our customers, the performance of their business, and the health of our planet,” says Litomisky.
Ecogate’s solutions have been available in the United Kingdom since 2009 through partnerships with a number of companies. In September 2021, it announced that Extractly Ltd. had become the Ecogate Master Dealer for Ireland and the UK. Extractly will be directly supporting AIR JET in its new work with Ecogate, evaluating the current dust and fume control systems being used by companies in their manufacturing processes and offering recommendations for increasing efficiency and effectiveness.