Malaysian renter Aegis buys Atlas Copco compressors

Aegis Venture, founded in 1998 and based in Johor Bahru in southern Malaysia, has added 60 new Atlas Copco compressors in the past 12 months. The company has a fleet of over 200 compressors - as well as welding equipment and aerial platforms - which it rents to Malaysia's shipyards and oil and gas industries.

Aegis director, Mr Song Yong Peng, said the company's fleet in the past had been dominated by US manufactured equipment; "Although we were of course aware of Atlas Copco's international reputation, the brand was new to us. But we were in need of some new machines so early last year we decided to place an order for 10 units of XATS 456...This year we have placed more orders, so that currently we have 60 units, including models such as XATS 456 Cd, XAS 97 Dd, XATS 156 Dd and the XAS 186 Dd."

Mr Song said the low fuel usage, good technical back up and the quality of the units had led the company to repeat its orders with Atlas Copco.

"Time is money for a rental company", said Mr Song, "If a compressor stops working the problem has to be rectified immediately. Under the terms of our agreements with our customers, we either have to remedy the fault straight away, or replace the machine. So reliability is extremely important, both in practical terms and in terms of reputation."

Aegis rents mainly heavy duty air compressors to shipyards - often for sandblasting work - but there is also a demand for smaller units to power equipment and tools on board ships or on structures that are being assembled.

In addition to its Malaysian operations, Aegis Venture also rentals equipment in Singapore, China and the Philippines.