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EXTRA: Innovation, it’s a gas
EXTRA: WESTERN Australia-based ATCO Gas Australia has established an innovation showroom and operations centre that is more ‘go’ than ‘show’. ATCO is actively using all the new gas-fired technologies on display, aiming to encourage business to take up more efficient gas-powered systems.
Located at Jandakot, the purpose-built facility showcases new natural gas technologies, including state-of-the-art appliances, vehicles and back-up generators all fuelled by natural gas. 
“This new facility demonstrates how gas-powered innovations, such as gas-powered air conditioning, can provide greener energy solutions,” ATCO Gas Australia president Alan Dixon said.
“By switching to natural gas, businesses can benefit from lower running costs, improved environmental ratings for buildings and a diversified portfolio of energy solutions which provides energy security.”
Mr Dixon said the facility’s state-of-the-art natural gas-powered air conditioning units would help to minimise operating costs and environmental footprint. The facility also features natural gas-fired back-up power generation that provides security of continuous operations without the need to store fuel on site.
A compressed natural gas (CNG) refuelling station has been installed to service ATCO’s CNG fleet vehicles, which will result in lower fuel costs and reduced emissions. The CNG refuelling station also has the capacity to fuel CNG vehicles owned by other organisations.
The facility also houses the new ATCO Gas Blue Flame Kitchen, which engages the local community with cooking classes and demonstrations, in addition to offering educational programs to teach school children about nutrition, kitchen safety, and cooking with natural gas.
To celebrate the official launch of the ATCO Gas Blue Flame Kitchen, ATCO also announced an initiative to provide funding to select local City of Cockburn schools to help them establish their own kitchen gardens.
ATCO Gas Australia owns, operates and maintains the largest reticulated gas infrastructure in Western Australia, serving Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Albany, Bunbury, Busselton, Harvey, Pinjarra, Brunswick Junction, Capel and the Perth greater metropolitan area including Mandurah. These combined networks connect more than 683,000 residential, commercial and industrial end users to natural gas and LPG.
ATCO Gas Australia is part of the Canada-headquartered ATCO Group of Companies which have more than 9,800 employees and assets of about C$16 billion.
ATCO delivers innovative business solutions worldwide with its leading companies engaged in divisions of Structures & Logistics (manufacturing, logistics and noise abatement), Utilities (pipelines, natural gas and electricity transmission and distribution), Energy (power generation, natural gas gathering, processing, storage and liquids extraction) and Technologies (business systems solutions).
It is now a global company that has thrived on the sustainable development philosophies of its founder, Samuel Southern, who returned home from World War Two and, looking for a way to raise funds to further his son Ron’s formal education, founded Alberta Trailer Hire. What began with a $4,000 father-and-son investment in a fleet of 15 utility trailers, which were used at work camps in Alberta’s booming oil industry, Alberta Trailer Company – then ATCO – soon had its first export orders to Alaska. Its international businesses began with a contract to supply housing for the Mangla Dam project in Pakistan and the company has diversified globally and technolgoever since.
ATCO is still in the hands of the Southern family and Ron’s daughter Nancy Southern is chair, president and CEO of ATCO Ltd. and Canadian Utilities Limited.
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POSTED JULY 23, 2014
