By Diane Silcock
RAND-AIR’s industrial chillers, introduced to the South African market in 2024 as an addition to their temperature rental range, are gaining traction, with the company set to grow its business in sectors like agriculture and food and beverage.
Part of the global Atlas Copco Group’s Specialty Rental division, Rand-Air is well known across Sub-Saharan Africa as an industrial rental equipment leader, specialising in rental of state-of-the-art air compressors, steam boilers, chillers, pumps and mobile nitrogen generators.
Industrial chillers support cost-effective, scalable rental models
This article (the third in a series) focuses on Rand-Air’s industrial water-to-air chillers, introducing the concept of seasonal rental, and how Rand-Air’s scalable solutions can assist manufacturers save on capital outlay and help ensure a more predictable cashflow throughout the year.
Industrial chillers essential in high-precision manufacturing sectors
Chillers are used in a variety of industries, from platinum refining to winemaking and food and beverage. They are utilised in manufacturing processes that require precise temperature control, where a 1°C or 2°C increase can lead to expensive process failures.
Extreme weather during summer months and failure of existing chillers are usually the catalyst to a rental project.
Edmund Haddad, Rand-Air’s business development manager for temperature says, “We supply the whole value chain of utility rental. For short-term emergency-based rentals, we have machines onsite within a few hours to keep our customers’ downtime to a minimum. Our long-term rental solutions are typically for customers looking to outsource their utility requirements, in this case, process cooling.”
Industrial chillers enable reliable cooling in unique applications
Haddad explains that seasonal rental is an established concept in New Zealand, Australia and Europe. He maintains that the wine industry can greatly benefit from this concept.
“With seasonal rental, the farm would rent a chiller unit during the peak harvesting season, then return the unit to us when work quietens down. This scalable solution eliminates expensive equipment standing idle most of the year due to an overdesigned system. It makes business sense: lower risk, no capital requirements, and no maintenance expenses, with predictable cashflow throughout the year.”
Applications for industrial chillers are wide-ranging with nuclear dome testing by far the most unique, an application that Rand-Air has assisted with for some 30 years. “It’s an exciting project where dry, oil-free air is cooled and pumped into the nuclear dome during crack testing. This year, we will be supplying not only our oil-free compressors and large generators but also newly acquired heat exchangers and chillers,” says Haddad.
Other successful rental projects include a brewery that utilised a Rand-Air chiller during plant maintenance to keep the yeast at the required temperature, thereby preventing spoilage. At a chicken hatchery, Rand-Air supplied and connected a rental unit in parallel to the aging onsite system, ensuring a cool environment in the hatchery during the hot summer months.
Rand-Air has access to Atlas Copco’s global rental chiller fleet comprising equipment ranging in cooling capacity from 200kW to 750kW. Currently, the local fleet comprises 550kW units—a good all-round rental solution—that can idle for smaller cooling loads and be doubled for projects with larger cooling requirements.”
Industrial chiller rentals meet evolving industrial demands
“Businesses grow and evolve, often outgrowing the system requirements of previous years. Rand-Air’s rental solutions are flexible and scalable to better address these ever-changing needs. Renting additional capacity and returning it when no longer needed makes good financial sense—whether for seasonal demand, load reduction during hot summer months, or a temporary project. Invest your money where it matters, and rent the rest,” advises Haddad.
