Rand-Air: 48 years of ‘refined’ service to South Africa’s pivotal petrochemical sector

As such, the highest considerable care – combined with the most stringent safety, quality equipment, and operational continuity – is non-negotiable for ensuring smooth operations at the country’s many large and highly complex petrochemical plants and operational sites.

With 48 years of operation, and extensive rental experience in this sector, Rand-Air – an established leader in the field of air, nitrogen, power, flow (pumps), steam boiler and lighting solutions, and part of the global Atlas Copco Specialty Rental division – has become one of the preferred and long-standing rental equipment supply partners to South African petrochemical sector.

“Due to the nature of the petrochemical sector, its ‘zero-tolerance-for-error environment’ and stringent industry regulations, customers are particularly conscious of safety, quality, time, and cost. Extensive and dedicated care is, therefore, a top priority,” says seasoned Rand-Air sales representative Melanie Lake, who is also the company’s key account manager for a long-standing customer in the petrochemical sector.

“Rand-Air considers it a vital responsibility to mitigate any damage or risk by paying thoughtful attention to our customers, carefully listening to their requirements, and gaining a thorough understanding of these, so we can provide the optimal solution,” she emphasizes.

According to Lake, sincerely connecting and engaging with customers includes interactive communication: it is imperative to ‘dive deep’ through concise questions and constant feedback to achieve utmost clarity about the best solution to provide.

“When pairing this understanding with Rand-Air’s equipment rental options, our service excellence and solutions-orientated approach enable customers to have the peace of mind to focus their energies and time on completing their projects or running their operations cost-effectively – rather than worrying about which equipment they may need in order to do so,” Lake points out.

As a significant supplier to the petrochemical sector – which is based on trust and the company’s intimate understanding of the industry – Rand-Air provides strategic rental solutions ranging from Class 0 oil-free compressors, and generators, to lighting solutions and more.

“Among the most popular favorites, our Class Zero, oil-free compressors have achieved preferred status, thanks to their production of high-quality, clean, oil-free, and totally dry compressed air,” Lake points out.

These rental solutions are all supported by swift, responsive, and 24/7 technical assistance from qualified Rand-Air technicians.

Rand-Air’s dedication to this high degree of care is demonstrated by the company’s keen motivation to exceed requirements and surpass service expectations at all times.

Referencing a petrochemical sector customer project, Lake notes that: “Rand-Air was proactively involved in the project, fully participating in all safety discussions. When asked for proof-of-concept to demonstrate how our compressors would function under certain industry conditions, we could provide satisfactory test results in line with the customer’s request.

With a commitment to all the steps in this process – from beginning to end – we could ensure safety and quality will be the foremost outcome,” she enthuses.

As such, Rand-Air upholds its guiding ethos of making agility count and its brand value of investing care in each customer interaction. In this way, and by remaining flexible and able to adapt to each customer’s needs, the doors of new opportunities – for greater involvement in more projects – are opened, Lake believes.

“This not only creates new revenue streams, but customers have access to the best advice, and a streamlined, optimal course of action through the provision of the best solutions,” she points out.

Reflecting on Rand-Air’s continuous service strategy evolution to accommodate the changing needs of the petrochemical sector, Lake highlights the company’s commitment to regular fleet investments in the latest fleet – which are constantly renewed to ensure a comprehensive portfolio of solutions.

This ‘360 degree’ complete product offering, premium technology, and service excellence enable Rand-Air to proactively anticipate future industry needs and adapt accordingly, Lake says.

“Underscoring our solutions-driven approach within the petrochemical sector are the cornerstones of customer care, reliability, visibility, accessibility – and the tenacity to consistently find an appropriate solution.

It is these qualities and capabilities which offer our petrochemical sector customers the assurance that no matter the hour or the request – be it an emergency, shutdown, or new project – they can trust in Rand-Air – ‘fuelling up’ customer care with a reliable, appropriate and swiftly-delivered solution,” Lake concludes.