VMC, Howden reach 1001 compressors in South America

Over the last 10 years, VMC has expanded from the refrigeration to the oil and gas industry.

In May VMC, hit an important sales milestone by placing orders for Howden bare shaft screw compressors, taking the total to over 1000 compressor units sold within South America, the companies announced.

VMC has been Howden’s distributor and package partner since 2000. During the past two decades VMC have grown steadily in the Latin American industrial refrigeration market, and for the last ten years in the oil and gas sector, with an enormous potential in Argentina.

“For the past 20 years, Howden and VMC have worked closely in a deep technology and commercial partnership where we have both learned and gained valuable insights into the markets we serve,” said Douglas Latta, product director at Howden.

“It has meant we have improved our core compressor and packaging capability and this shared achievement is one to celebrate and be proud of. This sets a strong precedent for future opportunities and we look forward to a future based on a shared strategic vision within the region as we support their continued growth,” he said.

“When we bought the first bare shaft screw compressor from Howden in 2000, we knew we were initiating an important stage in our industrial path,” said VMC President Marcelo Modenesi. “We exclusively focused in the refrigeration sector for food and beverages, with a strong and robust compressor design which is conceived for the most demanding applications.”

From there, VMC expanded into the oil and gas industry. “We worked to obtain the construction certifications, quality standards and trained our people for entering such a challenging market. We invested in new machinery and expanded our industrial warehouse, all of which has paid off after the discovery of Vaca Muerta Formation in Patagonia,” Modenesi said.

The Vaca Muerta discovery has become the second-largest shale gas and fourth-largest shale oil reserve in the world. VMC provides compressor packages for Vapour Recovery Units (VRU), Dew Point, Wellhead, Low Pressure Booster (LP), among other applications to oil and gas operators in the region.

Both teams celebrate this achievement as the result of an excellent work from the VMC sales force, by selling units into a wide range of applications with the refrigeration, food and beverage and oil and gas markets. The success and the high volume of units sold is underpinned by the robust Howden screw compressor technology combined with the provision of engineering, equipment, service and aftermarket support provided by VMC.