What do users really need?
9 August 2022
What do users really need?
It’s easy to overlook just how extensive the changes have been in the tool and equipment market in terms of new energy sources. As well as low emission Stage V diesel engines, we have seen the introduction of products utilising battery, electricity, solar and wind power on a scale that was scarcely imaginable just a couple of years ago.
Talking recently with Gayle Palmer of Atlas Copco, it is clear that there is a considerable challenge in educating customers and users about what is now available and the benefits this new technology can bring, because operators are so used to traditional ways of working and established energy sources.
Gayle is business line manager for Atlas Copco’s Power Technique business, which manufactures products including diesel powered compressors, generators, lighting towers and pumps, as well as electric and battery powered variants. The line-up also includes hand tools like pneumatic and hydraulic breakers.
She describes new technology as being something of a ‘disruptor’ which should cause people to explore new methods. “Customers traditionally tell you what they want to buy or hire because that is just what they have always used in the past.
“We did some research a year or so ago into buying habits relating to two-tool compressors which are typically used to power breakers. Hirers and dealers were being asked by their customers for the machines, but many weren’t finding out what they were actually using them for. Only 50 per cent of the time were they actually supplying the units with breakers.
“We are in a situation now where there are so many different ways of working. So you have to disrupt customers’ ways of thinking, asking them exactly what they are doing and where they will be working because there might be a much better method that is more efficient, more economical and more sustainable.”
Gayle points out that Atlas Copco’s E-Air electric compressors, for example, can be a useful alternative for contractors working on sites within low emission zones where mains power is available, enabling them to reduce their carbon footprint.
The shift to white diesel and the steep rise in fuel costs is also making people explore new options. Gayle says that Atlas Copco machines like the ZBP-ZBE and ZBC compact and containerised battery packs in its ZenergiZe energy storage range (pictured), and HiLight electric and battery lighting towers are now attracting much more interest because of such reasons.
