Graham Leach, Director of Mattei Group's Rail & Transportation Division since 2019, has gained significant experience in the compressed air sector and production technology. Passionate about the rail sector, which he knows in depth, Graham has no doubts about the role the Vimodrone-based group should play in this very important and exciting market sector.
The Rail & Transportation division is of particular interest to Mattei, which, thanks to its technology, is able to provide the best solutions to any train builder, integrator or operator active in this market.
Graham Leach's experience at Mattei is overwhelmingly positive: "Mattei is a solid company, responsive to the dynamics of the market," he says, "I believe we are a 'sleeping giant,' which has not yet expressed its full potential, and I think it is destined to have a brighter future than its competitors, thanks to rotary vane technology being definitely superior to alternative technologies, with the products speaking for themselves.”
The Rail & Transportation Division markets the RVR Compressor Series that are best suited to rail and road applications. These are, of course, rotary vane compressors, which Graham points out maintain their high performance even "in the most arduous of weather and environmental conditions and are extremely resilient to stress and vibrations. But the most important aspect, which represents one of our key company goals, is that our machines perform better and require less maintenance than those of our competitors. This translates into lower operating costs with customers experiencing less vehicle "downtime." What is really important is, unlike our competitors, we can overhaul or perform compressor optimisation work directly on-board the vehicle, without the need for removal, which provides a much better working solution."
Both on-board vehicle compressor applications (i.e. mounted on rail or road vehicles) and industrial infrastructure applications have a wide variety of functions. On-board; they are used to activate braking systems, suspensions, pneumatic doors, pantographs, windshield wipers, mirror movements, valves, cylinders and a whole host of other applications.
"All of these applications require good quality, clean and dry compressed air for reliable operation,” Graham Leach states. "Mattei can deliver this with tailor-made Air Generation & Treatment Units (AGTUs), specifically designed to match the clients’ precise requirements, guaranteeing that the compressed air we supply is free from contamination, residual oil, dirt or other particulates. Of course, our static compressors can also be used in infrastructure applications, where railway depots use compressed air for general day-to-day maintenance.
“Compressed air is a powerful utility and Mattei has no problem supplying compressors for any size since Rotary vane technology is flexible and does not require bearings or other parts subject to wear, resulting in twice as many hours of operation than competitor solutions, even when exposed to stress and vibration. The life cycle cost of Mattei's compressors is significantly lower since, as mentioned earlier, our products can be overhauled and maintained directly on-board, which is a considerable advantage.”
Graham Leach has an optimistic outlook for the future, "Mattei will take a big step when there is increased awareness of the benefits we can provide: lower maintenance costs and less time needed to complete maintenance, high performance which improves over time, longer life and greater reliability since we know that every moment of delay creates an “impact minute” of cost, especially when you are talking about train delays. I am confident, thanks to the Mattei team, which is really compact and focused, that we are able to respond quickly to market trends and requirements, because we possess the ‘Crown Jewels’ in rotary vane technology."
We know Rail transportation is on the verge of a major transformation: "If the market asks us for a solution, we are ready to provide it." That's what we do: thanks to our flexibility and versatility, we grasp the needs of the market to offer solutions, no matter how big or small. There is no challenge we at Mattei cannot meet. Our Innovation & Industrialization works to expand, implement and improve our technology to the best of our ability.
At Mattei Rail & Transportation our goal is to be ready to take on the challenges that the market brings and occupy an increasingly prominent role in the world of rail vehicles, providing tomorrow’s products…today!
From Vane Magazine 21, August 2022