Compressed air appointment announced

As well as continuing its primary role in providing compressor and vacuum systems optimisation, and aftermarket services including genuine spare parts and scheduled maintenance plans, Barnes believes his mission is to help customers embrace the tangible business benefits that big data analysis, remote monitoring and predictive maintenance technology has to offer.

Brian Barnes has 26 years’ experience of working for Atlas Copco. He began his career in the UK, as a field service engineer, before progressing through technical support roles to become a service manager and regional team leader. Subsequently, he successfully completed international assignments both in Canada, in a service manager role, and in Egypt where he was business line manager for the local CTS division. Most recently, Barnes held the position of national operations manager for the CTS division in the UK.

In addition to his day-to-day role, Barnes believes it is his, and Atlas Copco’s, responsibility to help identify, recruit and retain the next generation of compressed air engineers. He says: “In order to maintain the high level of technical skills required within our field service engineering team, we have to place a strong emphasis on offering compelling apprenticeship training schemes that will inspire young people to pursue a career in the compressed air industry. This will help us to bridge any skills gap between traditional mechanical engineering and emerging electronic engineering disciplines, which is an essential requirement when dealing with today’s ever-evolving air handling technology.”