Compressor manufacturer VMAC announced a rebranding as the company revealed two new products at the Work Truck Show in March in Indianapolis.
The announcement of the “Air Innovated” rebranding theme coincided with the unveiling of VMAC’s new Underhood40, a.k.a VR40, air compressor series for vans, and the DTM70-H underdeck PTO-driven air compressor and hydraulic power system. Nanaimo, B.C.-based VMAC, which stands for Vehicle Mounted Air Compressor, described each of those products as the firsts of their kind.
Gord Duval, vice-president of marketing and sales, unveils new products at the VMAC press conference during the 2018 Work Truck Show in Indianapolis
“From humble beginnings over 30 years ago when VMAC was designing disposable military jet engines, that same spirit of innovation is what drives VMAC today,” Gordon Duval, VMAC’s vice-president of marketing and sales, said during a press conference at the Work Truck Show. “One of the only rotary screw compressor manufacturers in the world, VMAC’s been designing and manufacturing innovative products specifically for the North American work truck industry for over 20 years.”
Duval described the DTM70-H as “the world’s first direct transmission mounted 70 cfm air
The DTM70-H provides “continuous duty compressed air, and hydraulic power to run a crane or other tools at the same time.”
compressor with hydraulic pump.” He then introduced the VR40 Underhood system, calling it “the only engine-mounted compressor in the world specifically designed for commercial vans.”
The DTM70-H provides “continuous-duty compressed air, and hydraulic power to run a crane or other tools at the same time in one complete, very small and easy-to-install system,” Duval said.
It also frees up gross vehicle weight by as much 600 pounds because it doesn’t require a receiver tanker or compressor to mount on the truck bed.
“Prior to this innovation, service truck operators required two separate systems to run air and hydraulics,” Duval said.
VMAC’s new Underhood40 air compressor, available for trucks and vans, weighs just 14 pounds
Underhood40 air compressor, or VR 40, frees up 10 cubic feet of cargo space
and can fit in the palm of one’s hand, Duval said.
It produces 40 cubic feet per minute of continuous-duty compressed air, reduces gross vehicle weight by up to 290 pounds and frees up 10 cubic feet of cargo space. It will replace VMAC’s Underhood30 model, a news release noted.
“Until now, compressed air systems for vans had to be fuel-based and mounted in the cargo area of the truck, creating an unsafe working environment for the operator, and taking up valuable cargo space,” Duval said. “Or they were electric-driven compressors that simply were not able to keep up with the commercial applications.”
Duval went on to say that “innovation isn’t just about developing new products that the world has never seen before. It’s also about evolving existing products to better suit customer needs.”
As an example, VMAC’s G30 gasoline driven compressor was designed from the southern U.S, market from Texas to Florida. But “interest in this new product quickly spread throughout the U.S.,” he said, noting that it is a “premium, compact, high-performance rotary screw compressor” that doesn’t need a receiver tank.
Duval closed the press conference with one final product release: At the request of Finning, VMAC designed and built its multifunction power system for a Caterpillar engine.
The Oilman Series power system, used by Finning, “combines an air compressor, generator, welder, battery booster/charger, PTO and a positive air shutoff system, powered by a diesel engine,” said a subsequent news release from VMAC.
From initial concept to field trials took only six weeks, Duval said. VMAC began supplying the units exclusively to Finning in March and plans to make them available to other customers this fall.
“Having full in-house design, engineering and manufacturing, and as of 2016 our own onsite foundry, VMAC works with its customers and partners to turn their ideas into reality and in very short time,” Duval said.