$42,000 Annual Savings: How Compressed Air Transformed GWorks’ Laser Cutting Operations

About GWorks

GWorks is a precision ute canopy and tray manufacturer based in Port Macquarie, NSW, offering durable and versatile canopies designed to thrive in the Australian outdoors. Using a CNC laser cutting machine, they custom-design steel and aluminium frames and panels for the consumer market. 

The Challenge 

GWorks was spending approximately $3,500 on nitrogen gas every month to power their laser cutting machine, a huge expense and time-consuming operation. Constantly reloading gas tanks and re-ordering nitrogen gas to keep an abundance on hand was a cumbersome workflow. 

Our Solution

After a custom consultation with us at Focus Industrial, Gworks Trays invested in a new high-pressure Focus FC300-16 Screw Compressor for air-assisted laser cutting. The investment paid for itself; the savings from switching from bottled nitrogen to high-pressure compressed air for laser cutting covered the cost of the entire new compressed air system in just one year!

The Results

• No production downtime in swapping over nitrogen packs

• No wasted gas in the lower pressures of the nitrogen packs

• Improved cutting-edge finish, especially with nitrogen

• Significant cost savings – Approximately $42,000 per year!

• No loss of production due to delayed deliveries of nitrogen

• Increased free space and production area due to the reduced footprint that used to be taken up by multiple packs of nitrogen

• Backup compressed air supply linked back to the shop's air through a regulator, providing lower-pressure air to the rest of the workshop and assembly bays for full redundancy

The approximate $42,000 in annual savings even factors in the operational energy and service costs of running on compressed air. (This is based on mid-2025 power prices, which have since increased even further.)

Client Testimonial 

Since the compressor has been installed and the Bystronic laser programming adjusted to match the air cut, GWorks has indicated that the cut quality has improved when using compressed air for their aluminium cutting compared to nitrogen. 

Why Compressed Air Made Sense

For GWorks, the investment paid off fast. By eliminating their dependence on bottled nitrogen, they’ve unlocked ongoing annual savings of $42,000+ and protected themselves from the mounting cost of nitrogen supply in future production.

Want to See Similar Results?

If you're using bottled nitrogen for laser cutting and want to reduce your costs, we’d love to help. We can provide a customised cost savings estimate for your operation and help you explore whether compressed air is the right fit. Try our calculator for a general estimate, or get in touch with us directly.