After the crisis of the beginning of the century in Argentina, everything seems to indicate that the economy has recovered and this has positively impacted the air conditioning and refrigeration segment. Sales are growing and the consumer is becoming more demanding every day.by Julián Arcila
During the days in which the commercial meeting took place, it was possible to know the characterizations of the local market, in which a marked influence of the industrial refrigeration segment is observed, due to the strength of the Argentine food sector. But in addition to the above, important developments can also be observed in the transport refrigeration segment, both in air conditioning applications and in the transport of refrigerated material.
Air conditioning and ventilation are not far behind; in the Argentine market, a large group of companies dedicated to the manufacture of air conditioning systems stand out, although there are also numerous representatives and distributors of the most recognized brands in the industry, some of which even have their own office in the south of the continent.
To highlight, the presence of numerous Brazilian companies, which bet strongly on a market that promises and that is in frank recovery after the economic crisis of the beginning of the century. Although it has been offering the highest annual growth rates in the region, along with those of Venezuela, the Achilles' heel of this nation seems to be inflation, an issue that undoubtedly worries economic experts.
A certainly growing market
The Argentine economy has many nuances that are sometimes interpreted as instabilities and that make it somewhat difficult to predict what may happen. However, companies show positive moments in terms of the demand for solutions and the sales they have had in that territory.
Mariel López, in charge of sales within the firm Nacsa, distributor of the American firm Goodman, agreed with the above and assured that sales have grown year after year. "The sale has grown since the company started working with this type of equipment. This catches our attention because the economy out there is very stable in this country, however the sale never decreased," he said.
The demand for these solutions is a sign of the good moment that the local economy is experiencing, as expressed by Gastón Gandolfi, seller of the company Autovias S.A., which has been in the automotive air conditioning segment for 35 years, although they also import and manufacture cold equipment for transport. He commented that Argentina has a particularity and that is that it does not have a warm climate throughout the year as it happens in most Latin countries. Considering the above, automotive air conditioning is, so to speak, an element that is highly related to the economic moment of the nation.
"People have to be fine to install an air conditioning system in their vehicle. Right now, as the country is fine, they are selling well, it is rising, although there were times when it slowed down. Refrigeration has always been good business, so it never stops completely," he explained.
Meanwhile, Rodnei Peres, export coordinator of Full Gauge, a renowned Brazilian manufacturer of digital controls with 22 years of operation, said that the Argentine market is giving very positive signals related to an increase in the needs of customers, who are always looking for new types of controls, something that has favored them a lot, since they are always developing technology from the needs of buyers. Such a phenomenon has placed this market in a special place for The interests of Full Gauge.
Training, a "luxury" in Latin America
Many international companies are aware that the Argentine environment is going through a good time, but they know that there is still a bit to find that point of balance where more job opportunities are generated thanks to aggressive macroeconomic policies. Therefore, many companies look at Argentina from neighboring countries, but at this point it is necessary to ask whether Argentine human capital, that is, technicians and contractors are prepared to respond to the demand that will eventually arise.
The big drawback is that, as the headline puts it, education and training in Latin America is a luxury, which becomes more difficult to access as the differences between social classes become larger.
Hernani Paiva, general director for Latin America of the European company Tour Anderson, which has been dedicated for more than 100 years to the manufacture of calibration valves, without neglecting respect for the environment, agreed with the above, who said that "a qualified education in South America is expensive, so it should be the same companies that through their ethics and social responsibility programs that invest in this through their ethics and social responsibility programs. in these technicians." He further suggested that companies should introduce more technology into the market, to benefit contractors and thus grow the business environment.
In contrast, for Ricardo Osorio, manager of the company Inda Refrigeración, which is dedicated to the installation and development of large refrigeration projects, he considers that the degree of qualification of the Argentine technician has improved over the years and even said that now companies are more concerned about having qualified personnel at their service. "Previously companies did not have permanent staff for refrigeration, but now almost all of them have them; it has improved a lot and all these professionals ask questions and participate, when carrying out projects, about what is the best way to do them, according to the trends that are presented in the market, "he said.
Now, for some foreigners, such as Dave Boyd, international vice president of sales and training of Appion, a company dedicated to the manufacture of equipment for the recovery of refrigerant gases, the problem of empiricism is not only in Latin or developing countries, but the phenomenon exists around the world. "It may be believed, for example, that in the United States there is enough training, but it is not entirely true. I've been to Australia and it's the same, not all technicians in the industry are properly trained. I know at least that in Latin America there are several entities dedicated to providing training to these personnel," he noted.
Later he commented that an element with which his company is very committed is the development of new technology so that it is used by technicians, replacing the old technology that in some cases has gone more than 30 years without modifications; with the idea of technological change what is intended is to make the work easier and more practical for technicians.
Argentina, very sensitive to prices
It is no secret that Latin America is a region highly sensitive to prices and where competition is getting stronger every day, thanks to the emergence of new players, either in the distribution or manufacturing segment. During the last edition of SIRAA we tried to know how the local market is facing these elements and what we found is that Argentina is a nation that faithfully reflects the day to day practice of business in Latin America.
For Peres, from Full Gauge, there is a lot of competition in Argentina, basically derived from the import of solutions from other countries, since he does not know many controllers manufactured in this country. Now, he commented that in this country there is still a lot of competition based on prices, but said that "it is a factor that does not make a difference for us. We are offering a lot of service, support, as well as a product that is designed according to the needs of those who are going to use them, and that among other things offers facilities in programming and water resistance."
Faced with the sensitivity in prices, Luciano Caputo, marketing assistant of the air conditioning division of BGH, an Argentine company with more than 90 years of existence and that manufactures and imports air conditioning technology, said that this situation is the same in Argentina and Latin America, and commented that this phenomenon has favored the installation of many solutions manufactured in China, and suggested that what should really matter in a market is the support behind a traditional brand. "Many times these brands that offer such a good price do not have a real support behind, which supports the sale of the equipment; so if the equipment fails, the buyer will not find the required support," he said.
Norberto Montecucco, managing partner of Induterm Ingeniería, a company that produces flexible polyester ducts for central air conditioning systems and represents the firm Duro Dyne in this country, also agreed with the market's sensitivity to the issue of prices and said that the Argentine consumer seeks low prices but with the highest quality. "In short, they can resign a little quality for a lower price, that is one of the problems we have to face with our product line. Thus, many times we have to resign a little economic to introduce to the market a product that is characterized by its performance, "he said.
At the close of this edition of SIRAA, what is going on is a climate of optimism among all the actors surveyed. Certainly, the Argentine market is in full expansion, so investments in this country by foreign firms looking for a slice of the cake will surely not delay. Although there are elements to change such as the generation of a culture of energy efficiency beyond prices, it must be borne in mind that this is a Latin phenomenon and that the change is progressive and to the extent that the manufacturers themselves are encouraging such migration.
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