Interview to Manuel Aguilera - HIMOINSA Gas Product Manager

Among Mr. Aguilera's outstanding achievements in the company are the development from scratch of the HIMOINSA Gas Range and the commercial network for the distribution of gas generators and lighting towers internationally.


Manuel Aguilera, Gas Product Manager at HIMOINSA

Mr. Aguilera holds a University Degree in Industrial Engineering and was awarded with honors by the Polytechnic University of Cartagena, Spain for his work on “Microgeneration with Natural Gas as a Sustainable Energy Alternative”.

He has extensive experience in Cogeneration projects with diesel and gas engines and as an Engineer in the Solar Energy sector and the HVAC sector (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning). He started his work in HIMOINSA in 2011 as Cogeneration Sales Manager for the Spanish market. One year later he was promoted as Gas Product Manager. Among his outstanding achievements in the company are the development from scratch of the HIMOINSA Gas Range and the commercial network for the distribution of gas generators and lighting towers internationally.

With extensive experience in Co-generation projects with diesel and gas engines and also as an Engineer in the Solar Energy sector and the HVAC sector (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning), Mr. Aguilera started his work in HIMOINSA in 2011 as Cogeneration Sales Manager for the Spanish market. One year later he was promoted as Gas Product Manager and launched the range worldwide. 


[This interview was first published in Power Insider Asia magazine and has been edited for the purpose of this article]


1. As Gas Product Manager of HIMOINSA, can you tell us what has been the evolution of the Gas power range in the company and in what direction is it going?


The HIMOINSA Gas range was introduced in the market in the beginning of 2012 and we manufacture gas generators from 10 kW to 2.500 kW COP Power.

Our growth has been constant and secure by improving our product and training and supporting our dealers and sales teams worldwide.

Our Gas Range is now consolidated and we are working on the development of new products for niche markets, like the new gas range specifically designed for the rental market or the innovative AS4012 LPG lighting tower, which is the first one in the market fueled by LPG gas. 


2.  The new LPG Lighting Tower was a unique launch this year as it is the first one in the world with this characteristics.  To what sectors is this lighting tower recommended and what are its advantages when compared to diesel lighting towers?



This LPG lighting tower is a good solution for the Oil and Gas applications, since the gas used in oils wells as standby supply (propane) can be used to power the tower's engine that lights up the working area.

This tower can illuminate an area of 32.000 square meters and guarantees 24h running time, meaning 3 nights of continuous work.

The AS4012 is also suitable for rental companies who provide the service for events where low noise and low emissions are appreciated, and for construction companies who suffer from fuel theft.

The main advantage of this new tower is that it provides a much lower OPEX: longer maintenance intervals than the diesel versions and lower fuel price in many countries, not to mention the reduction of CO, CO2 and particulate emissions, like gas generator sets. 



3. What are the advantages of Gas-powered generators and how do they compare to diesel generators in terms of OPEX and efficiency? What added value does HIMOINSA provide in their Gas generators?


Despite a lower electrical efficiency than their diesel brothers, gas gensets have a lower OPEX thanks to cheap fuel and longer maintenance intervals. They also have lower emissions, less noise, no black smoke, longer engine life and they are a much better choice for cold weather environments, where diesel can freeze easily.

Our gas range includes only engines that are capable of continuous duty. They include a full gas train with all the security elements from the smallest to the biggest genset. We cover almost all the gaseous fuels: NG, LPG, Biogas, Syngas, CSG, wellhead gas, etc. which allow us to be ready for any need that our clients may have. 


4. What are the advantages of Gas-powered generators and how do they compare to diesel generators in terms of OPEX and efficiency? What added value does HIMOINSA provide in their Gas generators?

The main markets for gas generators in APAC are Bangladesh, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Australia. The demand for gas generators comes mainly from big power generation plants and oil and gas applications.

 The main challenges that we are facing nowadays in the gas market is the lack of legislation in the majority of the countries to limit the emissions, a low price in oil and strong competition from Chinese OEMs


5. HIMOINSA also has a factory in China, in the city of Changzhou. How does this affect the competition in the country?

The product that we make in China and any other of our factories around the world follow the standard quality levels that we have in Europe. All our factories follow the design from Spain and also the same production procedures, which ensures that the quality of the product is not jeopardized in any case.

 The product that we deliver from China meets the highest quality standards and that together with our excellent sales team and distributors is the reason behind our big growth in this country.

 The best advantage for our customers of having a factory in China and a full team in Asia-Pacific is that we are able to deliver product with a much better delivery time. We are also able of providing local service in the different markets and real time support to our distributors in the region. 


6. Recent studies show that Gas generator sets are increasingly being the norm in Asia. The Paris Climate Talks have pressured all countries to reduce emissions and countries like Thailand and Indonesia are already demanding clean power and low emissions for power generation projects. Do you think this trend will extend to other APAC countries? How does HIMOINSA meet the needs of these markets?



It is clear that due to low emissions requirements, natural gas generators will be the trend for the coming years.

The truth is that the low oil price is not helping to increase the market share, as diesel has a very competitive price at the moment.

Fortunately, HIMOINSA has a strong distribution network in APAC that allow us to collect information of every market through our distributors.

For example, the needs of the Chinese market have nothing to do with the needs of the Australian market or the Indonesian market, and this is where our unique expertise and capabilities come into play, as we are highly flexible and able to adapt our product to the specific needs of our clients.

We have recently designed gensets with maintenance intervals of 10.000 hours for the Australian market and 400kVA gensets that are operating in important plants of oil and gas in China.


7. A new Rental Range for gas generators has been recently developed by HIMOINSA. What new features has this new range to offer to the market?

We have designed this new solution with versatility as our main goal. This range has LPG tanks inside the chassis for 28 to 45 hours autonomy depending on the model.

The integrated tanks are LPG-certified for vehicles, making them a great option for the rental sector, where the demand for mobile machines that are easy to transport. You can place them on a trailer and refill them in the petrol station or on site by truck. In addition, these generators allow to use them either with internal or external LPG tank or Natural Gas from the pipeline.

They offer 25, 40 and 60 kVA of continuous power with a rental canopy that provides the excellent soundproofing quality that all HIMOINSA generators have, which is an excellent advantage for densely populated areas where noise pollution needs to be controlled. As an option, we also offer dual-frequency capability for 50 and 60 Hz.



8.  Asia-Pacific is a very important market for HIMOINSA. What are your plans for the future in this region?

APAC will be 50% of the gas market in less than 10 years. Of course we are focused also in this area for gas gensets and lighting towers and we are sure the growth is going to be sustainably strong.

We will continue to provide our sales force with the right tools and get the support of our distribution network to increase our presence in the market and developing new solutions for specific needs.