Acquisition of market leading specialty rental provider of oil free air solutions furthers OTC’s expansion into utilities services solutions market.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — December 14, 2021 — Ohio Transmission Corporation (OTC), an industrial equipment service provider and distributor headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, today announced the acquisition of Critical Rental Solutions, a leading provider of oil-free air and temperature control rental equipment throughout the United States. Critical Rental Solutions will operate under OTC’s Air Supply Group.

Click here for Release on Ohio Transmission Corp. Website Posted on December 14, 2021

Headquartered in Houston, TX over the last 37 years, Critical Rental Solutions has grown to two sales and field service locations in Texas and has approximately 42 employees.

Adam Gibbs, OTC President of Air Supply Group, said “Having CRS join our robust family of compressor brands and products, will allow OTC to offer best-in-class compressed air solutions to a wide range of end markets throughout North America.”

“CRS will compliment our service and product offerings with their industry knowledge and unique and expansive fleet of oil-free rental compressors, dryers and temperature control units,” Adam went on to say. “Whether customers are looking for aftermarket support, new equipment, short term rental solutions or our DirectAIR utility air solution; OTC will now be a one stop shop with the help of CRS.”

“We are all extremely excited to join the OTC family,” said Mark Shedd, CRS President. “When one starts the process of transitioning a company that they and their team have invested countless hours and efforts to build, it is a very personal experience.”

Mark continued, “It is important that the new partner share a common vision for its people and customers. Given this criteria, we could not have handpicked a better organization than OTC. Our market leading capabilities and customer service will only improve and I see nothing but positives for all involved.”

With this acquisition, Ohio Transmission Corporation now has 57 locations throughout the United States, along with over 36 service shops.

The addition of Critical Rental Solutions associates expands Ohio Transmission Corporation’s workforce to nearly 1500 employees.

To learn more about Critical Rental Solutions visit the company website https://criticalrental.wpengine.com/.

About Ohio Transmission Corporation

Established in 1963, Ohio Transmission Corporation (OTC), https://otcindustrial.com, is one of the largest industrial distributors and service providers in the United States. OTC provides expert solutions for industrial motion control, factory automation, fluid power, pumping systems, spray finishing, power transmission, and compressed air systems. OTC operates a broad geographical footprint and delivers value to customers through its primary operating brands and divisions including OTP Industrial Solutions, Air Technologies, Advanced Industrial Products, Buckeye Pumps, C&C Industrial Sales, Compressed Air Systems, Contrast Equipment, Crimson Electric, Filter and Coating Technology, Furey Filter and Pump, IDG Compressor, Industrial Process Equipment Group, JCI Industries, Keller Electrical, Laron, Midway Industrial Supply, Ohlheiser, PK Controls, Pumps, Parts & Service (PP&S), PumpTek, PSI Engineering, Tape Industrial Sales, and Tri-Power MPT.

The OTC business is focused into four key segments:
Pump Motor Technologies, Air Supply Group, Filtration, Dispensing & Finishing, and Industrial Product Group.

About Critical Rental Solutions

Originally founded in 1984 as Industrial Compressor Services (ICS), the Critical Rental Solutions team has been providing temporary oil free compressed air, services and expertise to the manufacturing and industrial markets throughout North America. Along the way they have acquired multiple companies with additional fleet and expertise. Most recently, they have expanded their rental equipment offerings with the acquisition of Surplus Group to provide best-in-class temperature control solutions.

A centrifugal compressor is a mechanical device that compresses gas via an impeller and diffuser. In a centrifugal compressor, the gas at low pressure enters axially in the impeller and discharges at a higher pressure radially. In this article, you will learn about the components, benefits, applications, and performance optimization of a centrifugal compressor.

As the gas enters the compressor, it experiences centrifugal forces due to its high-speed rotation of the impeller. This increases the pressure and speed of the gas flow through the impeller. The airflow loses its velocity after entering the diffuser section. As the gas velocity decreases, pressure increases. The impeller contributes to about 65% and the diffuser contributes to about 35% of the total pressure developed in the compressor.

The centrifugal compressor uses rotating impeller blades to transfer energy to the gas. Because the flow of gas is radial, the transfer of energy occurs due to a change of centrifugal forces that take place on the gas. Centrifugal compressors are quite efficient,  reliable, and economical to maintain. These compressors deliver a high flow capacity of gas per unit.

Multiple stages of compression action allow for higher pressures to be obtained. Single-stage compressors are designed for simple applications and large multi-stage compressors are designed for complex high-temperature pressure and flow applications.  

Components

Major components that make up a compressor’s design and subsequently performance are the impeller, housing, diffuser, collector, and casing.

Impeller

The impeller disc and associated blades, dictate the compression rate. The impeller disc is attached to the shaft of the compressor. About 15 to 20 curved blades are attach to this impeller disc. These blades act as a diffusion channel for the gas flowing for compression.

The impeller blades in the compressor increase the velocity of the gas through vanes attached to the rotating disk. Blades can be shaped in many configurations depending on the design requirements. Most of the multi-stage compressors use backward tilted blades for maximizing efficiency.

Housing

The centrifugal compressor components are encased in metallic housing. The housing provides a tight path to the gas around the impeller. This design ensures that the gas released at the impeller outlet has high kinetic energy. At this point, the kinetic energy converts into pressure before the gas exits the housing.

The housing must be sealed to ensure that gas does not leak at the shaft ends. From the many types of seals available, most centrifugal compressors use dry gas seals. However, for air or nitrogen compression, carbon ring seals are preferable. Dry gas seals achieve sealing by a stationary and rotating disk with a very small gap between them. When not moving, the springs press the movable seal onto the stationary disk. During compressor rotation, the groove pattern on the disks pushes it making the seal tight.

Diffuser

The impeller compresses the gas into the diffuser channel at very high speeds. The diffuser makes up the radial channel. It slows down the gas and converts dynamic pressure to static pressure. After the diffuser section, the gas goes into the collector.

Collector

The collector is the last component of the centrifugal compressor. After the last impeller, the collector directs the gas towards the outlet section. This outlet is also known as a  volute. A collector can also have valves for controlling the compressor. A volute is a curved-like funnel structure that connects with the discharge port. 

The simplest centrifugal compressor is a single-stage machine with an overhanging rotor but larger compressors have multiple stages and much more complex designs. In a multi-stage compressor, a single-stage consists of the inlet system and a return channel for subsequent stages, the impeller, the diffuser which may have vanes or it may be vaneless.

Casing

The outer shell of the compressor is commonly referred to as the casing. The casing of the compressor may be either horizontal or vertical. The rating of the casing and the compressor flanges should be sufficient to sustain the maximum discharge pressure.

The number of impellers in one casing is usually limited by rotodynamic considerations which limit the maximum amount of pressure generated in one casing. More pressure can be generated by the use of multiple stages. Another limitation for head is the limitation of discharge temperature which is typically around 350°F. For greater head pressure, cooling the gas between stages may become necessary.

Various Design Options

Depending on the flow requirements, several other additional configurations may be available. These include multibody tandems, compound compressors, back to back compressors, and integral gear types.

• Multibody tandems, which drives up to three compressor casings with a gearbox either between the driver and the compressor train or between two of the compressors.
• Compound compressors containing multiple compartments, with each compartment having its own suction and discharge nozzle. The impellers are on the same shaft and face the same direction.
• Back-to-back compressors containing two compartments. The impellers are on the same shaft, but the impellers in the first compartment face in the opposite direction from the impellers in the second compartment.
• Integral gear type compressors have overhung impellers at each end of multiple pinions, driven from a central bull gear.

Benefits of Centrifugal Compressors

Compared to rotary and reciprocating compressors, centrifugal compressors offer low weight. Their design is simple, making them easy to manufacture and design. Centrifugal compressors have few rubbing parts, are energy efficient, and can deliver high flow rates.

These advantages translate into high reliability with low maintenance costs. Unlike recriprocating compressors, vibration is typically not a concern and special foundations considerations are not required. They also provide oil free air, an essential consideration for medicial and food grade applications.

Despite the plethora of benefits, centrifugal compressors are usually not a good fit when the users requires very high compression rates. Additionally, when not run at the proper speed, surging, stalling, and choking may result.

Centrifugal Compressor Applications

Common applications are food and beverage industry where centrifugal compressors provide compressed air for food processing equipment. Oil refineries, natural-gas processing plants, refrigeration, air-conditioning, HVAC systems use them widely. Centrifugal compressors may  be found in gas turbines, turbochargers, and superchargers in various types of engines. Generally speaking, where high flow rates and low to moderate pressure is required, centrifugal compressors are the best choice.

Optimizing Performance of Centrifugal Compressors

Centrifigual compressor performance presents as a curve that relates flow to pressure for a given machine. The relationship between flow and pressure is influenced by cooling water temperature, site altitude, inlet air temperature, and humidity.

As site altitude, cooling water temperature, inlet air temperature, and humidity increases, the compressor generates lower pressure at a given flowrate. As these variables decrease, the compressor generates higher pressure at a given flowrate.

As site altitude and cooling water temperature increases, the compressor generates lower flow at a given pressure. As site altitude and cooling water temperature decreases, the compressor gvenerates more flow at a given pressure.

The pressure-flow curve is influenced by site variables as discussed above, but also by general mechanical performance. Quality compressed air providers supply appropriate inlet filters, lubrication, and personnel to ensure long lasting and reliable air.

This article has been brought to you courtesy of Critical Rental Solutions, a high quality provider of compressed air solutions. For more information on selecting the proper compressor for your needs, contact sales@criticalrentalsolutions.com.

Air Compressor Rental

Renting an air compressor to power a plant, facility, or temporary operation requires the careful evaluation of a multitude of factors. In this article, you will learn how to determine your air compression requirements, how to translate those requirements into machinery, assess the capital expenditure versus rental decision and ensure high quality and long-lasting compressed air delivery.

Determining Air Compression Requirements

The easiest way to roughly estimate present and future air requirements of a plant or site involves the compilation of the air requirements for each connected equipment as well as the utilization of airpower equipment. The utilization factor is the ratio of the time that a piece of equipment is in use to the total time that it could be in use.

Furthermore, some large air-powered equipment may see intermittent use, but in continuous service. An air-powered impact that sees continuous duty service to tighten 50 lugs over a 10-minute period is such a device. Care must be taken to estimate the collective usage requirements. Known air losses from fittings, long piping runs, and quick connects should be estimated or determined empirically from a plant air audit.

Often, a thorough operation analysis provides a level of detail and certainty to compressed air requirements. The analysis should cover at least a week of operations and care taken to properly represent typical operation needs.

With a reasonable estimation of the compressor flow and pressure needs, translation of those needs into physical machinery can occur.

Centralization vs. Decentralization

Location, size, and provision of compressors is a key factor to ensuring an appropriate amount of available air. Some asset owners elect to have a central source of compression while in other cases decentralized and smaller compressors in key facility areas make better operational sense.

Physically, this translates to either a centrally installed large compressor with pneumatic lines running to stations or smaller compressors at their point of usage. Environmental conditions play in sizing and layout as some compressors may overheat in the summer and be unable to start in the winter. Furthermore, cooling water temperature, inlet air temperature, humidity, and site elevation impact the performance of dynamic displacement compressors.

With required pressure and flow specified and potential physical arrangements proposed, a capital expenditure versus rental decision can be made.

Capital Expenditure vs. Rental Decision

The default choice for many companies is to simply purchase a machine(s) that provides the required air. However, capital avoidance, flexibility, and contingency are parameters worth considering in the purchase/rental decision.

Capital Avoidance

Industrial compressors retail at a high price and require the outlay of significant cash for procurement and installation. Renting a compressor frees up the capital budget and allows companies to pay for air as needed. The procurement of a complete plant compressor set-up and associated infrastructure must be considered from a cost and lead time perspective. Accommodating line routing and provisions for permanent machine installation may disrupt ongoing operations as well.

Flexibility

By choosing a rental arrangement, companies can easily adjust for fluctuating requirements brought on by changing seasonal demand or the additional equipment. A single plant air no longer bears the burden of dictating all future compressed air needs. Flexibility is especially important in rapidly expanding and temporary installations.

Contingency

No matter how well built, compressors can and will go down. Mission-critical compressors can cost a facility thousands of dollars per hour of lost productivity when operation ceases. Rental agreements decrease risk to operations by providing guaranteed up-time to ensure maximum productivity.

Ensuring High Quality Air

Whether buying or renting a compressor, proper air compressor maintenance requires a careful following of the manufacturer’s guidelines. Most manufacturers designate preventive maintenance intervals on machine running hours. A more comprehensive plan known as predictive maintenance uses real-time running data to identify nascent problems before production is interrupted.

This article has been brought to you courtesy of Critical Rental Solutions, a high quality provider of compressed air solutions. For more information on selecting the proper compressor for your needs, contact sales@criticalrentalsolutions.com

Relevant Rental is excited to announce the strategic acquisition of Surplus Group, a leading supplier of temperature control equipment, and the concurrent rebranding of Relevant Rental to Critical Rental Solutions.

Surplus Group serves a global customer base from its 80,000 ft² facility in Dallas, TX, where it has one of the largest and highest quality fleets of surplus temperature control equipment, including air and water-cooled chillers, cooling towers, and related accessories, in North America.  Surplus Group will continue to grow its share of the temperature control equipment sales market while adding temperature control expertise to Critical Rental Solutions’ rental platform.

This acquisition adds a full suite of temperature control equipment and capabilities to Critical Rental Solutions’ existing capabilities as the leading independent North American provider of oil-free air rental services. “With the addition of Surplus Group, we are expanding our product and service offering to become a more valuable partner to our customers while maintaining our niche position within the equipment rental industry,” says CEO and President, Mark Shedd.

With Channel Partner relationships across North America, Critical Rental Solutions is expanding its services to ultimately provide end users with a broader offering of cost-effective, nimble, critical solutions with continued safe work environments and maximized environmental efficiencies. Critical Rental Solutions provides niche rental services globally through its primary facility in Houston, Texas, which houses a high-quality fleet of oil-free compressors, dryers, and low-pressure blowers and fans. To learn more about Critical Rental Solutions, visit: https://criticalrental.wpengine.com

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