Redesigning Sensors & Measuring Technology

February 15, 2011 11:47 am

“We shall be launching a redesigned multipoint flow sensors and a brand new Air Flow measuring Station for the first time in India indigenously developed with lot of thought. These products will be affordable and can help save a lot of energy and initial capital needed to install such products. This is being launched at ACREX 2011”, says Sarfraz Panjwani, Managing Director, A L M Engineering & Instrumentation.
 
Tell us about the business activities of A L M.
A L M is mainly in the business of sensing, measure and control of Pressure (including differential pressure), Air Velocity & Flow, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), Relative Humidity & Temperature, Occupancy (motion) Sensors, liquid flow & level and allied products for conserving energy through Automation for non-hazardous and hazardous areas. These products find application mainly in HVAC, BAS (Building Automation Systems), EMS (Energy Management Systems) for Green Buildings etc.
 
A L M is mainly into instrumentation products related to sensing, measure and control of pressure. What are the sectors your products are catering for?
As I said earlier, the main sectors are HVAC, BAS, EMS finding applications in Green Buildings, Clean-rooms, Data Centres, Pharmaceutical, Textile, Chemical, Semiconductor, Electronics, Power Plants, Steel Plants, Powder & Bulk Handling etc.
 
A L M Engineering & Instrumentations has a considerable market share in products for differential pressure and air velocity measuring instruments in the Indian subcontinent. Can you give us an overview of your business sector?
We established A L M in 1996 and have been associated with HVAC turnkey companies ever since those days as we used to supply to them our own brand of Acrylic Manometers at competitive prices. In those days we were among the first to supply these instruments with calibration certification which is mandatory today in Pharma and other industries going for USFDA, MCC, MCA, TGA or energy audits mandated by BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Govt of India) or simply applying for LEED Certification by USGBC/IGBC.
 
We have invested heavily in advanced state of the art calibration systems mainly for Differential Pressure, Air Velocity & Flow and Temperature equipments which are internationally traceable to NIST-USA, NPL-UK and NPL-India. We have recently ordered a Wind Tunnel Capable of Testing and Calibrating Air Velocities from 0.1 m/s up to 50 m/s at an accuracy of 1%.
 
We have given successful calibration tests on board a new Naval ship where others have backed out and have successfully offered international quality products at highly competitive prices apart from trials, test and calibration on-board a newly manufactured Naval ship ready to sail. We have supplied instruments at various airports including Mumbai airport and major buildings through various HVAC and BAS contractors.
We export these instruments to Middle-East and South Asian nations and the response is tremendous.
 
We have head strategic tie-ups with most of the major HVAC, Clean room and BAS contractors and equipment manufacturers for supplying the instruments at competitive prices. Competitive pricing and International Quality Service with minimum turnaround have been the keys to our customers’ loyalty. We have a very high reputation with our customers some of whom have been with us since the time we were established in 1995-96.
 
How effective is your distribution network?
We have our representatives and distributors spread fairly all over the nation which include and are not limited to Hyderabad, Ahmadabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi and Chandigarh.
 
We also intend to open an office in the middle-east and SE Asia shortly.
 
What are the prime growth drivers for differential pressure and air velocity measuring instruments in the Indian market?
The infrastructure and the building boom that the country is currently going through bring in tremendous potential for these products which include Indoor Air Quality products apart from differential Pressure and Air Velocity and Flow. Apart from this the Pharma sector and Clean room industry growth has been pushing up the demand for such products including the occupancy sensors, IAQ sensors, RH/Temperature sensors which we offer of highest international quality at affordable Indian prices.
 
Which are your key products that have maximum demands in Indian market? And why?
Differential pressure measurement inside the ducts and rooms is a must today in all HVAC projects in Hotels, Airports, Corporate Buildings, and Shopping Malls. These are the products which verify whether we are able to achieve and maintain the designed pressures and enable saving of energy accordingly. The same applies to Air Velocity & flow instruments to be used inside the ducts. The RH/Temperature, and IAQ Sensors like CO2 and VOC maintain comfort in HVAC system operated through BAS. Carbon Monoxide Sensors are used for Car Parking, Tunnels and other similar ventilation systems for safe breathing and pumping in fresh air whenever needed by hooking it up to BAS/BMS. Occupancy sensors normally delay the operation of closing or opening of door in a manufacturing area in Pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities.
 
We shall be launching a redesigned multipoint flow sensors and a brand new Air Flow measuring Station for the first time in India indigenously developed with lot of thought. These products will be affordable and can help save a lot of energy and initial capital needed to install such products. This is being launched at ACREX 2011, New Delhi scheduled between 24 and 26 February this year.
 
Can you discuss about your QA & QC strategies?
Apart from following international standards we have our own internal standards and work instructions for testing, calibration and certification which are followed religiously. We have the most advanced calibration systems one of them from Setra which is based on a NASA patented technology and eliminates the risk of a human error as it is totally computer controlled.
 
We have recently ordered a Wind Tunnel Capable of Testing and Calibrating Air Velocities from 0.1 m/s up to 50 m/s at an accuracy of 1%. This will be of great help as there is a requirement of calibration in the HVAC/BAS industry for calibration of Air Velocity Transmitters and Anemometers.