AXA Power reports yet another successful year despite global crises

The year started out at a slow pace, whereas our order intake over summer and autumn was quite amazing, says General Sales Manager Mr. Poul Elvstroem.

The sales increase is not as significant as last year, but with companies all over the world suffering from the financial crises, we are quite happy. One reason that AXA Power is not being so badly hit is because we do work on a lot of airport projects. Those were started-up before the financial crises started and they are being completed anyhow, Elvstroem continues.

Our main markets have been within Europe lead principally by the UK, Spain and Scandinavia. But also the Gulf Region has been a very good market for us. Recently, we have concluded orders for New Doha Int'l Airport for approximately 100 pieces of the AXA 2300 Compact 400 Hz GPU to be delivered from February till May of this year. Last week, we concluded an order of 48 pieces to the Remote and the Cargo Aprons for the New Doha Int'l Airport as well.

According to the latest passenger statistics, the Middle East records positive traffic growth of 3.1% in February, so altogether, we believe that the Gulf Region will remain a big market for AXA Power this year, Poul Elvstroem explains. To strengthen and to expand our relations to the market further, we shall be exhibiting at the Airport Expo in Dubai in May where we will display the AXA 2300 compact GPU and the AXA Power Coil.

The AXA2300 Compact Power Makes up 65% of AXA Power's Production

In 2007, almost 50% of AXA Power's production was made up of the AXA Compact series. This percentage increased to 65% this year which we take as a clear indication that the market place has understood and accepted the "One Plug - One GPU" philosophy that we introduced some 6-8 years back. Since the max. power that an aircraft plug can transfer is 90 kVA, it makes sense to let this criteria determine the rating of the GPU.

One may not always be able to exploit the total GPU power at the time of installation, but with the ever increasing power requirements of modern aircraft, it is almost certain that full power will be required after a few years. Of course, it goes without saying, that for power requirements above 90 kVA i.e. 180; 270 and 360 another GPU is simply added.

The AXA 2300 is by far the most "clean" and stringent GPU on the market. It holds fewer single components and less electrical connections than the previous series of AXA GPUs. This is an advantage for our customers who continue to expect the traditional high levels of reliability and quality from our products, says Elvstroem.

Improved AXA Power Coil with all the AXA 2300 features

Following the huge success of the AXA Power Coil - a combined ground power unit and a cable retriever in one enclosure - we have decided to up-grade this product. As from mid-June, the AXA Power coil thus incorporates all the advantages of the AXA 2300 product line i.e.
• Optimum Voltage Quality at The Aircraft Plug
due to AXA Power's patented Plug&Play System
• Optimized for All-electric Aircraft i.e. with high overload capabilities
• Numerous Interface Facilities

Further, it will be possible to have up to 26 m of cable in the Power Coil which is sufficient to service all types of aircraft.

The AXA Power Coil incorporates a 90 kVA GPU and a cable retriever in one and the same cubicle. It offers considerable cost savings, particularly on installation, as the AXA Power Coil is delivered on-site fully factory tested thus reducing commissioning time to a bare minimum.

Together with its' compact design and low weight - the AXA Power Coil weighs approximately 40% less than traditional "individual" systems - the AXA Power Coil provides an elegant and aesthetically pleasing solution to compliment any air-bridge, particularly where glass-bridges are preferred.

During 2008, AXA Power had several orders for Power Coils among others 37 pieces for King Shaka Airport in Durban, South Africa, 18 units for Sabiha Gocken Airport in Turkey as well as 16 units for Lyon in France.

Turn-of the APU and cut down costs

In Passenger Terminal Today of 26.02.09, Lorne Riley, a spokesman for IATA, says, "The fact that passenger traffic is down affects airports too... we are looking for airports to come to the table with ideas about how facilities across the world can operate more efficiently. Both airports and airlines need to find ways to cut costs if the aviation industry is to weather the financial crises."

A good way to reduce costs would be to substitute the aircraft auxiliary unit (the APU), by a fixed 400 Hz and pre-conditioned air installation, Poul Elvstroem states. This would mean considerable savings on the fuel budget as the APU of a narrow-body aircraft consumes approximately 150 l fuel/hour.

Industry figures reveal that typical savings of about $100.000 per gate per year for a typical single aisle gate can be expected. At the same time, also the carbon emission will be reduced by approximately 80%.

This fact become even more important for the airlines with the new legislation with regard to CO2 emissions that enter into force for commercial flights within the EU from 2011 and for flights to and from the EU from 2012 as "Those who exceed their limit and are unable to buy spare permits are fined for every excess tonne of CO2" (BBC news, 20-12-2006).

At AXA Power, we feel confident that airports and airlines will soon be aware of this very easy to implement solution that at the same time will cut down costs and improve the environment at the airport.