Case
Tamturbo manufactures turbo compressors and sells the compressed air produced by them to factories with a monthly fee. CEO (2012-2025) Timo Pulkki believes that traditional industry needs the circular economy.
Case type
Machinery and equipment, Product as a service
Published
8.9.2021
“All factories need compressed air to transmit power. However, the production of compressed air consumes up to five per cent of the electricity in the world.
At the beginning of the millennium, Kimmo Laine had 40 years of working in the field of compressor technology at Tampella behind him and was reflecting on whether compressed air could be produced more efficiently.
Laine’s interest in compressors beat retirement and he founded Tamturbo together with Jaakko Säiläkivi. I joined a couple of years later to build the idea into a company.
As a result of an extremely long and demanding product development process, we have developed an oil-free compressor that is up to 20 per cent more efficient than traditional compressors. Our equipment has a long service life and requires very little maintenance. In addition, we can monitor the operation of the equipment digitally.
Factories already subscribe to electricity, water and heating on a monthly basis, so we began to investigate whether the same model could be used with compressed air. In compressed air as a service, the customer pays only for the compressed air it uses and Tamturbo owns the compressor producing it in the factory. The customer saves money and we are responsible for the durability and quality of the equipment.
Our model is different from the model of traditional compressor manufacturers who make a profit by servicing the equipment and providing spare parts. Therefore, they may not even want to make equipment that has a long service life and is durable.
I believe that in the future, compressed air will be mainly bought as a service. Traditional sectors adopt new technology slowly, but reducing the emissions of industry will have a huge impact on emissions worldwide. Our customers already include AB InBev, the largest brewing company in the world and the manufacturer of beers such as Corona and Budweiser.
Our aim is to achieve a turnover of hundreds of millions of euros by reducing the environmental effects of industry. The world has no choice, and factories need a technological revolution to embrace the circular economy. We can be part of the solution.”
“The Touch-Free™ Air service by Tamturbo makes it easy to update compressed air systems to the latest technology. The service also means that we can control and anticipate the costs of compressed air better than before: we only pay for the air we use. The system gives us the right air level for all occasions and is very cost-effective.”
Petri Kulmala, Maintenance manager, Componenta
“Instead of an expensive investment the customer only pays for the used compressed air. The service brings clear benefits: reduced costs and reduced emissions. The service provider takes ownership of the products throughout their life cycle, which makes the lifetime of the product significantly longer.”
Panel of experts
Main industry: Industrial turbo compressorsFounded: 2010Turnover: under EUR 1-50 millionCircular economy solution launched: 2010Share of the circular economy solution of all business operations: 100%Staff size: 10-250Based in: Tampere, FinlandVisit Tamturbo’s website.
This example was picked from the list of Most interesting companies in the circular economy in Finland 2.1, published by Sitra in September 2021. The list was built to encourage Finnish companies to develop smart business in the circular economy.