Atlas Copco air compressors have helped one Portuguese semiconductor manufacturer to focus on high standards and low emissions for the past 16 years.

Nanium SA, based in Vila do Conde, have partnered with Atlas Copco for well over a decade, with oil-free air compressors, drying and filtering systems used to produce high-quality compressed air.

At present, five Atlas Copco air compressors are creating the air supply for Nanium’s clean rooms in which, because the air comes into direct contact with components, low moisture content, no oil and low particle counts are all essential.

By customising the cooling water output of the compressors to discharge at a temperature of 80 degrees Celsius, Atlas Copco ensured that it can be used in the on-site heat recovery system, which reduces the amount of gas used in the company’s boilers.

This has allowed a 90% reduction in gas consumption and a real-terms reduction in the cost of running the air compressors themselves.

Carlos Costa, director of infrastructure management at Nanium, says: “This gave us the possibility of practically stopping the use of our boilers with gas burners, which resulted in a huge reduction in CO2 emissions, as well as in the energy bill.”