Text: Alexie Valois
Photos: Bauer Kompressoren and Alexie Valois
German expertise in high-pressure service
Founded in Munich in 1946, the German company Bauer Kompressoren has established itself as an international specialist in high-pressure. Renowned for the robustness and reliability of its diving compressors, the brand has attracted a large number of diving centers worldwide. While Bauer Kompressoren is not the only player in the market, its presence remains the strongest among industry professionals.
The diver’s essential: pure air and a reliable compressor
Unless practicing free diving, scuba diving requires a quality compressor to provide safe breathable air. Today, the German manufacturer, with more than 70 years of experience, dominates the European market and remains a must in the United States. There are over 5,000 Bauer compressors in France, representing 80% of national equipment in diving centers.
The different models, for both air and nitrox, equip clubs and leisure structures worldwide, as well as offshore platforms and saturation diving vessels. In France, in Aix-les-Bains, La Ciotat, Paris, and Alsace, about fifty employees work for the group, now established in eleven countries.
“We offer a hundred solutions, from compact compressors for sailboats to complete systems coupling several units,” explains David Adonta, diving & sports manager at the Grand Sud agency in La Ciotat. Structures hosting many divers rarely have just one compressor. Generally, they install two or three, adding a membrane or a blender to enrich air with oxygen to obtain nitrox with precise percentages. This technology relies either on an oxygen bottle coupled with the compressor or on a system that extracts oxygen from ambient air and introduces it into the mix.
Tailor-made technical support
A diver himself and a member of Bauer Kompressoren since 2003, David Adonta details the approach: “We analyze the client’s needs to recommend the installation best suited to their daily uses. Local ventilation conditions are checked to ensure compliance with standards. The Bauer design office based in Aix-les-Bains follows each project before validation, then our technicians ensure the installation of the high-pressure system. We then declare the station to a public body, the DREAL, which also checks the safety devices.”
This technical expertise also relies on a team of engineers, designers, and developers within the Bauer France design office, a real asset for designing innovative solutions. A recent example: the Grand Sud agency has put into service a mobile and autonomous nitrox station integrated into a container with its own generator.
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