International Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Industry News

European VRF and chiller sales grow

29/7/2019

europe middle east africa hvac sales 2018 chillers vrf air handling units africa

Sales of VRF systems and chillers grew in Europe in 2018, while there was also increased demand for air handling units, cooling towers, heat exchangers and IT cooling.

The latest study of HVAC equipment sales across the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region by Eurovent Market Intelligence, based on data collected from manufacturers, also shows that rooftop unit sales were down 12% and chilled beams 6%, while the market for fan coil units is described as 'stagnant' across the region, despite a 13.1% increase in UK sales.

The sector was said to worth close to 7.5billion euros last year, with 2.3bn spent on split systems, 1.67bn on air handling units, 1.38bn on VRF systems and 1.03bn on chillers with a capacity greater than 50kW.

The Chiller market in Europe for 2018, split by compressor for units above 350 kW

Chemours working with Axima towards HFO future

17/7/2019

Chemours has announced that it is working with Paris-based HVAC and refrigeration contractor Axima Refrigeration France to evaluate the use and future adoption of Opteon XL low GWP HFO refrigerants in commercial refrigeration before the next European F-Gas HFC cap and phasedown in 2021.

As a first step towards the reduction of CO2 quota, Axima Refrigeration France, part of the Engie group, has already adopted Opteon XP40 (R449A) for retrofitting existing R404A systems.

Refrigeration workforce tops 15 million

17/7/2019

More than 15 million people are employed worldwide in the refrigeration sector, according to a new publication to mark the recent World Refrigeration Day.

The International Institute of Refrigeration published a new informatory note to highlight The Role of Refrigeration in the Global Economy and also said that refrigeration, in all its forms, consumes about 20% of the overall electricity used worldwide.

CAREL appoints regional CEO

16/7/2019

air conditioning refrigeration controls europe africa middle east appointment

Mirco Cauz, CAREL

Mirco Cauz, formerly managing director of CAREL Central and Southern Europe, has been appointed as regional CEO for the Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa Region.

The new regional structure means the managing directors of CAREL‘S Russia, Middle East, Alfaco Poland, Ukraine, South Africa and Central and Southern Europe subsidiaries will all report to Mr Cauz.

ZAbluefin leads way on energy index

24/4/2019

ec fan centrifugal air conditioning HVAC energy efficiency germany EU Europe

Ziehl-Abegg has become the first company worldwide to certify a product range for the new fan energy index (FEI).

The energy efficiency metric was introduced last year by Air Movement and Control Association (AMCA) International to save energy, reduce operating costs, and accelerate decarbonisation.

ABB helping hotel cut energy usage by 40%

15/4/2019

The HVAC systems have been upgraded with variable speed drives and energy efficient electric motors

A top Spanish hotel is cutting energy usage by 40% after equipping its heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems with ABB drives and high efficiency motors. Usage at the InterContinental Madrid has been reduced by 445,000 kWh a year.

The hotel has eight pump groups that serve its HVAC systems as well as hot water supply for guest rooms, kitchens and other facilities. Although these systems were well maintained and in good condition, the hotel management was concerned that the energy efficiency levels were below current best practice.

CAREL announces senior appointments

10/4/2019

Allesandro Greggio

Roberto Sandano

CAREL has appointed Allesandro Greggio and Roberto Sandano as group chief sales and marketing officers.

The moves follow the appointment of Giandomenico Lombello as group managing director, and will see Greggio focus on refrigeration and Sandano on HVAC.

Free alternative refrigerant training

12/2/2019

The REAL Alternatives 4 LIFE project's alternative refrigerants e-learning platform is now live in 15 languages.

The free tool focuses on safety, efficiency, reliability and containment of low GWP alternative refrigerants – carbon dioxide, ammonia, hydrocarbon and low flammables (HFOs and R32).

Ziehl-Abegg sales up 8.1%

4/2/2019

German motor and fan manufacturer Ziehl-Abegg has increased sales by 8.1%, a performance it says is largely due to strong growth of its fan business in the ventilation technology sector.

Sales were up to to 584 million euros (provisional figures), compared with 540 million euros in the previous year and the growth has been achieved organically, without any acquisitions.

The company now employs 4,100 people worldwide (up from 3,900 the previous year).

Next generation from KSB

14/1/2019

circulator pump hvac ventilation germany ISH

KSB Group will unveil its latest generation of high-efficiency circulator pumps at ISH 2019 in Germany.

The Calio S and Calio-Therm S type series are used for heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, as well as for drinking water circulation systems (Calio-Therm S). KSB says they have been developed for ease of use and compatability with exisiting systems.

Mexichem to distribute Klea 448A

7/1/2019

Mexichem is to distribute Honeywell's R488A (Solstice N40) in the European Union and will sell the product as Klea 448A.

Sarah Hughes, Europe, Middle East, Africa and India commercial director for Mexichem’s Fluor Business Group, said: “We are committed to offering our European customers a product range which suits their needs today as well as safeguarding the future.

"We identified Klea 448A as a product which would complement our current product offering and give our customers a product that meets the future requirements of the EU market.”

LU-VE to acquire Alfa Laval business

17/12/2018

LU-VE is to acquire Alfa Laval’s commercial/industrial air heat exchanger business and says the deal will put the company in the top three global operators in the sector.

For the 12 months ending June 2018, Alfa Laval Air Heat Exchangers Division had revenues of €97.8 million.

Carel buys HygroMatik

3/12/2018

Carel has completed the purchase of German humidifier manufacturer HygroMatik as it continues its expansion strategy.

The company believes the move will consolidate Carel's positioning in German-speaking countries and northern Europe, thanks to the strong penetration of the acquired company in these markets.

Carel buys Recuperator

26/11/2018

air conditioning heat exchanger italy carel recuperator

Carel has bought Italian air-to-air heat exchanger manufacturer Recuperator.

The move is designed to expand the product portfolio on offer in the HVAC market, consolidating Carel's role as a supplier of complete solutions to manufacturers of air handling units and providing them with improved solutions in terms of performance and energy efficiency.

Francesco Nalini, chief executive officer of the group, said: "The transaction is an expression of a particularly important strategic direction, that of growth through M&A, to which Carel is paying and will continue to pay particular attention over the coming quarters. The integration with dynamic, cutting edge and complementary companies with respect to our business will be an accelerator of development that will be accompanied by organic growth, the latter based on the characteristics that have always distinguished us: innovation, energy efficiency and customer care."

www.carel.com

BITZER and Wurm join forces

14/11/2018

From left, Rainer Große-Kracht, member of the management board and chief technology officer at BITZER, Dr Horst Peter Wurm, managing partner of the new Wurm Holding GmbH, and Frank Hartmann, member of the management board and chief financial officer at BITZER

BITZER and automation expert Wurm have signed a joint venture agreement in which the compressor manufacturer will become the majority shareholder of the newly established Wurm Holding GmbH.

As a manufacturer of electronic system solutions for refrigeration, air conditioning and ventilation applications, all national and international Wurm companies will be integrated into the new holding company from January, subject to the approval of the competition authorities.

EIA targets CFC-11 crisis

5/11/2018

The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has released an update on China's illegal CFC-11 emissions crisis.

In the new report published to coincide with the 30th Montreal Protocol meeting in Ecuador, the EIA also called for a global ban on the use of disposable, non-refillable refrigerant cylinders, which are being used widely in the illegal HFC refrigerant trade across Europe.

New system cuts Eurocontrol energy usage

2/11/2018

Honeywell and Engie Axima have released official data on energy and cost savings achieved from a new cooling system for the Eurocontrol air traffic management organisation, which covers up to 36,000 commercial flights per day in European airspace.

The new system is designed to prevent overheating at Eurocontrol’s headquarters and flight management and data centre facilities in Brussels.

New call to halt illegal refrigerant trade

1/11/2018

Andrea Voigt of EPEE

Air conditioning, refrigeration and heat pump bodies across Europe have joined forces to call for proper enforcement of the F-Gas Regulation, with stricter border controls to halt the illegal import of refrigerants.

EPEE, representing the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump industry in Europe, and three leading associations in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration sector – EFCTC, AREA and ADC3R – say refrigerants should only be bouight from reputable sources in order to ensure the safe and efficient operation of equipment.

Avoiding common leak testing errors

29/10/2018

leak detection testing refrigerant safety refrigeration air conditioning

Leak detection specialist Inficom has compiled a top 10 checklist of common leak testing errors that companies can avoid.

1: The wrong method for the test leak rate
A common error in the water bath method is that the tester does not detect bubbles even though there is a leak. Problematic: A basic condition for the suitability of a leak testing or leak detection method is the leak rate limit. Often, however, companies do not pay attention to this in practice. For example, they examine plastic parts using the pressure drop method without considering their deformability and the change in volume caused by the compressed air. The leak rates of the integral leak testing and subsequent leak detection must match.

2: Incorrectly selected test time in the production process
At what point in the production process does leak testing make sense? This should be carefully considered. It is usually helpful to check partial components before assembly. If the pre-assembled components fail the series test, the effort is significantly higher - and the time invested in assembly is lost.

Fujitsu General to take 51% stake in FG Europe Italia

24/10/2018

Fujitsu General is to acquire a 51% share of Italian distributor FG Europe Italia in a deal worth 10 million euros.

The move will give Fujitsu General a presence in both distribution companies of its brands in Italy. FG Europe Italia is the official distributor of General brand equipment and Fujitsu General also has a 20% share in Eurofred Italy (official distributor of Fujitsu equipment).

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