Tamturbo Wins the International CleanDesign Award With its Oil-Free Air Turbo Compressor

TAMPERE, Finland, May 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Over the past three years, the Tampere, Finland-based Tamturbo has developed a new type of turbo compressor which produces oil-free compressed air using direct drive high-speed technology. From its very first introduction at the Hannover ComVac Fair in spring 2013, the new compressor stimulated extensive international demand in the multibillion compressed air market. This success is continuing, as the technology has been recognized for its eco- and user-friendliness with the international CleanDesign Award at the Cleantech Venture Day event for capital investors in Malmö, Sweden on Wednesday, May 29.

     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130529/617763-a )
     (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130529/617763-b )

The CleanDesign Award is an international design award recognizing environmental technology. It is given to products that successfully combine eco-friendly technology with user-friendly industrial design. The jury praised the winner as follows: "The Tamturbo compressor is small and light. Its ungeared high-speed motor allows turbo impellers to be mounted directly to the motor shaft. These technical solutions, together with magnetic bearings, reduce or eliminate contact between mechanical parts and, therefore, cause significant reductions in power consumption and the need for maintenance due to minimal wear on the parts. The motor has a long service life, and its operating and maintenance costs are low. The use of the Tamturbo compressor does not produce any hazardous waste, such as oil filters. All in all, the compressor has a very eco-friendly design."

The award was presented at the evening gala which closed Cleantech Venture Day, the largest capital investment event in the Nordic countries. It was accepted by Sami Somero, Chairman of Tamturbo's Board of Directors, and Jaakko Säiläkivi, Tamturbo's Managing Director. "I'm happy and grateful for the recognition shown towards our technology," the delighted Säiläkivi says. "It's wonderful to be part of the next revolution in compressor technology."

There is rapidly growing demand globally for oil-free compressed air. Are awards and other international attention truly the prelude to a revolution led by Tamturbo? Sami Somero, Chairman of the Board of Directors, is as confident as the Managing Director. "Certainly. The change is on and our technology is leading the way," Somero says. "A small environmental load coupled with savings on energy and maintenance costs is a combination that sells itself."

Tamturbo Oy based in Tampere, Finland, is a compressor manufacturer which has developed its direct drive oil-free air turbo compressor since 2010 and is now doing a global breakthrough in multibillion compressed air business.

Industry consumes 10% of its electricity in the production of compressed air. More and more applications require compressed air that is not only efficiently produced but also completely oil-free. Tamturbo's products and business idea are based on these factors.

Direct drive from high-speed motor to turbo impeller means significantly fewer parts in mechanical contact, i.e. less energy loss and less wear compared to conventional ways of producing oil-free air. It also means that energy efficiency does not deteriorate over the life cycle of the compressor. Furthermore, simplicity means less need for maintenance. All these together result in remarkable savings in the life cycle costs of the compressor. The environmental benefits of producing oil-free air with a high-speed turbo compressor are also clear. In addition to energy savings there is, for example, no need to change oil filters and throw them into the waste bin. Tamturbo has also developed and patented a new capacity control method that extends the efficient control range of turbo compressor by dozens of percentage points, which again translates into lower electricity bills.

Tamturbo is going to scale its business very fast globally by launching its products both as a Tamturbo-branded compressor directly for end customer industries in Scandinavia, and in cooperation with major compressor manufacturers worldwide by selling them an OEM component package together with a license for the technology. In the business field, cooperation between major corporations and smaller technology suppliers is a standard.  http://www.tamturbo.fi

CleanDesign Award is an international design award created by Lahti Region Development LADEC Ltd to acknowledge those who have successfully combined environmentally friendly technology and user-based industrial design. The award has previously been won by Oceanvolt Oy from Helsinki, Beijing District Heating Company, and the Finnish Oilon International Oy. The CleanDesign Award winner will be chosen by a jury headed by Product Development Manager Katri Parovuori (UPM ProFI). The CleanDesign Award is given in conjunction with a significant international environment or design event. Last time, the award was handed over in Shanghai, China, during the Radical Design Week. The winner will receive a trophy made of recycled aluminum. The award winner has the right to use the award logo in their marketing. The CleanDesign Award trophy was designed by Isko Lappalainen and Mikko Murtonen from iam design in Lahti. http://www.ladec.fi/CleanDesignAward_English

Cleantech Venture Day Every year, LADEC organizes an international capital investor and cleantech company meeting, Cleantech Venture Day, that is now the biggest event of this kind in the Nordic countries. This year, the meeting took place on May 28-29 and was organized in Malmö, Sweden. This was the first time the event took place outside its hometown Lahti. The event in Malmö showcased the most promising companies in the field of cleantech, offered investors' views and predicted future technologies. Lahti Region Development LADEC Ltd was in charge of organizing the event and of the event brand. The keynote speakers are former Finnish prime minister and Harvard University Senior Fellow Esko Aho and Greater China Director of The Climate Group, Ms Changhua Wu. The next Cleantech Venture Day will be organized on November 19-20, 2013 in Lahti in cooperation with the Global Cleantech Cluster Association. http://www.cleantechday.fi

Contacts:
Jaakko Säiläkivi
Managing Director
Tamturbo Oy
+358-400-628-917 | jaakko.sailakivi@tamturbo.fi
Timo Pulkki
Sales Manager
Tamturbo Oy
+358-50-527-6670 | timo.pulkki@tamturbo.fi
http://www.tamturbo.fi