Armstrong Fluid Technologies has launched an industrial division that channels its full range of sustainable pumping solutions to a wide range of sectors from primary resources, food and textiles to consumer products, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and energy. The new division, Armstrong Industrial, combines two of the company’s business entities: Armstrong Gas Transmission Systems and RMI Pressure Systems. Below, Michael Cline, general manager of Armstrong Industrial, shares how this new initiative will drive customers’ sustainability goals through energy efficiency and carbon emission reduction.
MPT: Let’s start with some background on this new industrial division. How is it set up?
Michael Cline: Armstrong Industrial is organized into two specialized teams focusing respectively on fluid and gas to better serve these distinct industrial needs. While the fluid unit will cater to applications such as metals foundries, non-metals manufacturing, glass production, pulp and paper, food processing, and mining, the gas unit will focus on the oil and gas sector, as well as energy and utilities.
MPT: What do you feel necessitated this new initiative?
Michael Cline: Armstrong Industrial is all about sustainable efficiencies—using demand-based control and digitalized optimization to deliver superior performance and value. Our high-pressure pumping solutions, combined with a range of specialized services and intelligent control systems, will transform customers’ operational efficiency and transparency. We offer solutions that save on energy costs and drive down carbon emissions—even conserving water use in some applications.”
MPT: How does this benefit your customers? What are some of the cost savings they’ll see?
Michael Cline: The combination of efforts in fluid and gas pumping solutions will help customers reduce costs and optimize their operations for better performance This saves money and the planet, as less energy means fewer carbon emissions. Our closed-loop systems, intelligent controls, and digital tools directly support customers as they work to meet their sustainability objectives.
Customers also benefit from Armstrong’s Parallel Sensorless Pump Control (PSPC), a patented technology that improves the efficiency of a multi-pump installation through optimized load sharing. While the traditional approach involves staging pumps on the basis of motor speed, PSPC technology stages pumps based on operating efficiency rather than motor speed. This improves the efficiency of the full pump array by up to 30 percent.
MPT: And this translates across several industries?
Michael Cline: Armstrong Industrial’s pumping solutions deliver high returns on investment as part of driving strategic goals. In mining applications, for instance, the company’s systems boast payback timeframes of as little as twelve months. Similarly, in the steelmaking sector, its descaling and smart pumping systems achieve a payback period of twelve to eighteen months. In both cases, this is considerably less than traditional systems in those applications.