You might be happy if you make it through a year without your air compressor needing some attention, but at Dundee Energy Recycling Ltd, three CompAir Hydrovane compressors are in an endurance race all of their own to see which will last the longest.

Together they have clocked up 310,000 hours of fail-free operation since 1999, running 24 hours a day, five days a week, for 16 years so far.

It’s an impressive running total for the waste-to-energy recycling plant, where the air compressors are used to convert 120,000 tons of waste each year into electricity.

The plant’s 8 MW hourly output is sold back to the National Grid, supporting power demands in the surrounding area and beyond.

Of course, that is not to say that CompAir Hydrovane compressors do not require servicing – and Dundee Energy’s plant support technician George Rodger explains it is regular servicing that has helped to avoid any equipment failure in the past 16 years.

“The Hydrovane compressors are a key component in the operation of our waste-to-energy plant,” he said.

“All three systems work non-stop, but it is thanks to our regular service and planned maintenance programme that they have kept going strong.”