The AHR Expo show , held between January 22 and 24 of this year, was no exception. The feeling that remains is that this year's version was bigger than last year's, although on this it is not easy to agree with anyone. With all the above, about 1800 exhibiting companies could be counted.
The industry did not vary much compared to last year (it is an aspect mentioned by the exhibitors and one of the reasons why the Mexican version of this show was made every two years and not annually like its northern counterpart).
But despite the little change, there were quite interesting elements, and above all quite important comments on novelties and trends, adoption of legal regulations in Latin America, politics, economy and education; the next ones will expose what 2008 could bring to the CVAC/R business.
Intelligence and environment
The current conjuncture of the economy poses almost an obsession with two elements: a more efficient operation, but also a more friendly performance with the planet. A large percentage of the companies that participated in the show made this issue their commercial flag. AC/R LATINOAMÈRICA took advantage and obtained some details by segment of what could be seen in 2008 for each of them.
Controls
Johnson Controls invited journalists from local and international media to learn about its business strategy for this year. In that meeting, the editor spoke with Terry Hoffmann, marketing director of the Building Automation Systems division, who pointed out that there are two elements that will give a lot to talk about during 2008: wireless technology and the integration of control solutions within IT networks. As he explained, "this integration allows the use of third-generation mobility technology, enabling communication with systems based on Windows Mobile versions 5 and 6 for the transmission of alarms to users." This is complemented by the development of a new GUI (graphical user interface) by this company.
Air conditioning (chillers)
The chiller segment will see several important elements this year, but the ones that perhaps stand out are the residential and commercial markets. In the first, we will have to pay attention to Latin America, since a significant number of projects are being presented that are requiring air conditioning solutions of different tonnage, thus offering a fairly segmented niche. On the commercial and industrial side, the market will be able to enjoy new solutions, such as chillers cooled by cold water. With regard to refrigerants and energy consumption, companies such as Multiaqua are offering, according to Carlos Sánchez, in charge of the firm's international sales, units operated with R-407 C (ecological) and with energy saving possibilities of between 40 and 50%, thanks to its application technology by cooling zones, allowing the Fan Coil being used to be applied zonally.
Cooling towers
For the new season, the cooling tower market will continue with the trend of building such solutions in steel and not in fiberglass as was previously done; however, this practice is not new, dating back a few years; According to Alfredo Sotolongo, president and CEO of Protec Cooling Towers, building the towers in this way gives them extended life. On the other hand, these products have enjoyed a significant drop in prices, thanks to the fact that manufacturers have begun to make them with other compounds that also offer good anticorrosive properties, instead of making them entirely with stainless steel, a raw material that has significantly raised its international price. {mospagebreak}
Instruments
The instrumentation segment is one of the most advanced in 2007, but it also promises a lot this year. According to Rob Thompson, marketing manager at Dwyer Instruments, the market has tilted, and will continue to do so, to equipment with greater precision but lower cost, as well as to better performance in the field of operation.
Another trend that will also be seen this year is the strengthening of new competitors and the emergence of greater digitality in instruments, as expressed by Idean Barjesteh, director of MasterCool. He added that "this is the first year in which technology has lowered its prices so much that we have been able to offer instruments at highly competitive rates. We have also witnessed greater creativity in the engineering corps, as it is perhaps the only way to defend against Chinese competition, which is very much given to copying and imitation."
IAQ (Indoor Air Quality)
For this niche, compliance with international regulations on the environment has really become a priority, as it has been the way to adapt to the needs of the client, as stated by Rafael Briceño, sales director of Armacell for Latin America: "The priority at the moment for the market is to have a product that meets environmental parameters, as well as building requirements in the United States and other countries." He assures that since 2007 his company has been offering solutions that adapt to the demands such as "green" technologies especially for schools and hospitals.
Likewise, the Latino industry will see in 2008 a greater development of applications adhering to the trends mentioned above, all as a result of the investments made by US companies in some countries, such as Mexico.
Ductwork for air conditioning
Not many changes have occurred in this segment and the solutions currently offered have been standard for several years now, according to Randall Hinden, CEO of DuroDyne. "In this segment, the development of new advances or products is not so frequent, but what is changing and improving is the way to install them; users for example have changed the methods because they are now more educated than before. Something that has changed are the elements to hang the ductwork, as well as the elements to secure one end of the other," he said.
Latin America 2008: specific visions
As has already been raised on numerous occasions in this medium, for 2008 the industry will have two major concerns and trends: technological development always seeking the protection of the environment, but also the operation with high standards of energy efficiency. The question is how Latin America will react to these phenomena; what is clear is that two things can happen and that is that on the one hand the arrival of technology in the region is delayed, being faithful to its history, or that on the other hand the revaluation of its currencies against the dollar promotes the acquisition of cutting-edge, ecological and environmental technology, something that has begun to be noticed since last year in various industrial segments.
Victor Yeramian, Vice President of Sales for the Americas at Dectron, is leaning towards the latter possibility, who says that although it is true that Latin America has been a region that has shown an interval of six to seven years to adopt the fashionable technology in the United States and Europe, there is a greater concern of the countries of the region for the adoption of green technologies and the control of refrigerants. However, in the segment in which this company is, solutions for indoor pools, it could take about three or four years for the market to start using the technology that this company develops for this market.
For his part, Alejandro Treviño, director for Latin America of Multi-wing, believes that although latin America has traditionally been slow to adopt new equipment, they are currently making leaps and bounds and that 2008 will be a key year for this factor.
Increasingly virtual education
Markets are enjoying or suffering, depending on how you look at it, a huge saturation of competitors. This situation has modified marketing and commercialization strategies, leading to the use of education as the method for the dissemination of information about X product or technology. However, the latter has also undergone a "mutation", as the high cost of services and travel has led to the consideration of other alternatives, such as teleconferencing and the development of software to train in the use of various applications.
But in addition to the above are conventional schemes to educate and bring knowledge to potential customers. An example of the above is Duro Dyne, a company that through its CEO claims to be complementary involved in a market education policy and that this implies a constant visit to its clients in Central and South America, as well as participation in a large number of commercial exhibitions, something that was not done in previous years. They have also carried out strategic alliances with distributors in several countries, and particularly in Costa Rica and Mexico they have implemented a program of educational seminars.
The signing of this type of strategic alliances seems to be one of the most successful practices today, because it should not be forgotten that local distributors are the companies that actually know their markets.
On the other hand, the markets are quite diversified; To conclude, it is important to note that in the opinion of the editor, the last version of AHR Expo had a very comfortable environment for the Latino public, because at this time when the US domestic economy is a little slow, the dynamism of Latin America emerges as a great opportunity for foreign companies interested in exporting to new niches.
