Mach-Aire News

October 2011

Patent Applied (UK Application No. 1117890.2) for CFoil

Mach-Aire are pleased to confirm that they have just received "Patent Applied for" status for CFoil, an exciting innovation developed by Mach-Aire engineers, at their facility near Bolton.

The aerofoil device is designed to drastically improve the containment (robustness) performance of their Fume Cupboards, regardless of the air velocity at which they are operating.

Tests have shown that on a 2m wide Fume Cupboard operating at a face velocity of 0.5 metres per second, a 35% improvement in containment was achieved, whilst on the same Fume Cupboard it was 38% better when operated at 0.3 metres per second.

By improving the containment of the Fume Cupboard, there is less need for an increased face velocity, and hence energy consumption and operating costs can be reduced.

Additional details will be available in due course, but if you would like to discuss this further with Mach-Aire, then please contact us directly.

August 2011

Sterility Test Isolator destined for South Korea

Mach-Aire Ltd, the Bolton based manufacturer of containment and aseptic Isolators, recently hosted a visit to their factory from Young Sciences Inc. (their South Korean agent) together with their customers from LG Life Sciences, who are based just outside of Seoul.

LG, are a leading Korean pharmaceutical company developing and producing a diverse array of treatments. They made the visit to undertake a Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) on a Sterility Test Isolator and vapourised hydrogen peroxide system, which is to installed in their Quality Control laboratory on their Osong Campus.

The three days of tests at Mach-Aire allowed the end users to check the Isolator functionality and to familiarize themselves with the complex control system prior to the installation and testing next month. Following this, full training will be given to all users by the Mach-Aire Commissioning Manager.

July 2011

Mach-Aire (Shanghai) awarded Fume Cupboard projects

Mach-Aire (Shanghai) Clean Air Technology Ltd, the Mach-Aire JV which became operational in March this year has already been successful in booking its first purchase orders. A total of 27 Fume Cupboards for the Fujian Police Authority and 14 for a pharmaceutical customer in Dalian have been ordered, and because of their complexity, they will be manufactured in the UK and then delivered to site for local installation and commissioning.

The enquiry level has been higher than expected particularly for the containment range of products, and Darren Hughes the General Manager is confident that the business will only get busier.

He said "We have made some significant customer visits, along with presentations to major engineering companies and architects in the last few months, so the outlook is looking very positive. Shanghai is a very exciting place to be right now, so we look forward to continuing this trend".

May 2011

Mach-Aire Joint Venture in China

Mach-Aire publicised at the end of 2010 their intention to operate a Joint Venture (JV) in China with their trading partners Shanghai Tech Labway in Shanghai.

They are now pleased to announce that as of early March this is now operational, with Darren Hughes relocating from their Horwich, Bolton facility to take up the position of General Manager. Alongside him will be Carol Chuk, who joins the JV from Shanghai Tech Lab to handle marketing.

This is an exciting development for Mach-Aire which will enable them to raise the profile of their organization within one of their prime target markets of South East Asia.

Having successfully worked with Shanghai Tech Lab for the last three years designing and supplying locally made Fume Cupboards to pharmaceutical companies, water testing centres, police stations and other industrial laboratories, it was felt that the time was now right to expand the product portfolio. The JV will therefore be introducing Mach-Aire's range of "containment" products, namely Isolators, Downflow Booths, and Laminar Flow Systems etc into the Chinese market, giving the customers the benefit of experienced design technology with local manufacture.

March 2011

Fume Cupboards for Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd (DSRL)

Mach-Aire has just completed a shipment of thirty two Fume Cupboards to the Dounreay nuclear decommissioning facility near Thurso, Scotland.

The contract was placed in early January, and Mach-Aire were chosen not only because of their experience on this particular site, but more importantly because they had guaranteed they could meet the ambitious delivery target of the end of March.

The customer's requirement was for these new Fume Cupboards to replace ones that were no longer fit for purpose, the on site facility has at least another 10 years of operational life. They are to be used to carry out analysis of environmental material.

The Fume Cupboards will handle a variety of acids in concentrated solutions, and hence the internal surfaces are fully welded 316 grade stainless steel and polished to 1.6µm Ra finish to allow easy cleaning and decontamination.

Comprehensive Containment Tests to eight of the Fume Cupboards were undertaken in the extensive testing facility at Mach-Aire's factory. On the same visit, DSRL inspected all of the other Cupboards prior to packing ready for shipment, and this all had to be incorporated into the tight schedule.

Michael Bailey, the project manager from DSRL who oversaw the whole project commented; "When we proposed the original delivery programme we were not sure that it was achievable. I am delighted though that Mach-Aire have pulled out all of the stops and delivered excellent quality Fume Cupboards as ordered, on time and to cost".

February 2011

Wates Award Major Fume Cupboard Contract to Mach-Aire Limited

Mach-Aire are pleased to announce that they have been awarded the contract from Wates Construction for the Fume Cupboards required on the University of Liverpool Central Teaching Labs project.

A total of seventy three Fume Cupboards are to be designed and supplied to the University by July 2011. The majority of the Cupboards are 2m wide, and features include multiple mechanical services connections, 8 switched electrical outlets, cast epoxy work surfaces, automatic fire extinguisher systems and underbench storage units. An electrically operated variable height facility is also fitted to a number of the bespoke Cupboards.

Additionally, the Fume Cupboards will have variable air volume (VAV) controls linked to a common extract system, all designed to help reduce energy costs.

Once delivered to the new laboratory, Mach-Aire will be fully involved in the installation of the Fume Cupboards across two floors of the building, and then the subsequent commissioning and testing, before final handover to the customer.

January 2011

Schools Series Fume Cupboards

Mach-Aire have just re-launched their range of Schools Fume Cupboards, which comply with Building Bulletin 88 from the Department for Education & Employment, and which have been tested in accordance with BS EN 14175-3 2003 and witnessed/inspected by CLEAPPS.

The Fume Cupboards are supplied as 'built-up' and available in two widths; 1000mm and 1200mm, both designed to fit through standard single doorways.

Manufactured in white epoxy coated zintec steel with a satin smooth finish, the side walls and baffles are in clear toughened glass, which allows excellent 360° visibility. The worktop is a black solid grade laminate, dished to help contain any spillages.

Services are pre-plumbed in flexible hoses for gas and water, thus allowing the mobile Cupboard to be pulled away from the wall by approximately 1.2m.

Other features include a sash lock to prevent a working opening greater than 400mm, a lockable underbench cupboard and swivel castors with the front two having an integral brake.

An optional feature is a service pod that can be installed in each laboratory which will allow a single Fume Cupboard to move from room to room.