Drives alliance

Advantage Control becomes the 12th ABB Drives Alliance member following its appointment in July. Advantage Control offers ABB variable speed drives from 0.18 kW to 400 kW throughout Ireland.

As with all ABB Drives Alliance partners, Advantage Control offers a lifecycle of drive services, from pre-purchase including energy appraisals and application advice; through to installation and start-up; operation and maintenance; upgrade and retrofit; replacement and recycling. The company can be contacted 24/7, allowing a fast response to breakdowns.

Sales Director Alan Armstrong says: “Our customers come from wide and varied industries such as the agricultural sector, food and beverage, animal feed producers, plastic extrusions, quarries, and water authorities. As such, we provide solutions for our customers from initial concept to supply, fit and commission of drives for applications such as mixers, conveyors, extruders, as well as pumps and fans application, in many cases saving energy as a result."

Advantage Control has specific expertise in converting plastic extruders and cable winding machinery from DC drive control to AC drive control. The company also manufactures frequency converters using variable speed drives to convert 240 v single-phase supplies to 415 v 3-phase up to 5.5 kW. This has proved popular with the rural farming industry where the expense of running in a 3-phase supply from the grid can be very expensive.

Hire drives is another service offered by Advantage Control. “We offer hire drives up to 600 kW,” says Armstrong, “for customers who have suffered a breakdown and need a drive quickly, or to prove the energy savings possible on an application on a try before you buy basis. “Becoming an ABB Drives Alliance partner gives us the additional credibility of being part of the most advanced drives distribution network in Britain and Ireland. The support of ABB and the other partners will help us in our plans to grow the business by bringing an even better service to our customers.”