We spoke with Carlos Job, Chigo's Americas Sales Director, about the importance to the company of the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) business in the HVAC world.
by ACR Latin America
The OEM market is quite important for Latin America and North America, so the technological innovations that come from China seek to offer the best technology and meet the customer's needs in terms of innovation and efficiency, indispensable requirements in today's air conditioning solutions.
In Latin America there are different Chinese companies specialized in OEMs, one of them is Chigo, which have been expanding their participation in all global air conditioning markets, competing with technologies at the level of other manufacturers.
To learn a little more about Chigo's movements, its main innovations and its goals, we spoke with Carlos Job, Sales Director for the Americas, who will give us details of the activity of the Chinese manufacturer.
ACR: In 2018, what have been Chigo's main developments in its residential and commercial air conditioning lines?
Carlos Job: In 2018, Chigo HVAC never stopped, but accelerated the development of new products, launching the EVI VRF products, AHRI LCAC Inverter High Seer On-Off Index, to meet the different requirements of global customers.
ACR: What technological evolution has the company had in recent years (growth in production, R&D)?
Carlos: For the year of 2017, Chigo HVAC has invested more than 100 million Chinese Yuánes or RMB (about US$14,400,857), to build 23 laboratories, achieving an industry-leading level. With a professional R&D technical team with more than 200 experts, Chigo HVAC declared approximately 500 patents in recent years.
ACR: Tell us about the technical characteristics of the VRF systems you design. How is Chigo different from the competition?
Carlos: Chigo launched several VRF product lines aimed at different countries. With a wide operating range. The cooling operating temperature is above 55°C, and the heating operating temperature is below -30°C. For a combined VRF system, the largest capacity is 88 HP, which will be extended to 128 HP in 2019.
ACR: What is the degree of efficiency of the equipment that Chigo designs?
Carlos: Different markets have different efficiency requirements. To comply with the principle of achieving 100% - 105% efficiency, Chigo HVAC developed corresponding products to request various certificates of efficiency, including ERP for the European market, SEER 13-14 LCAC for the US market, 7.5 Star and ESMA for the Middle East market, and a class A efficiency product for the South American market.
ACR: How important is the OEM business in Latin America to Chigo?
Carlos: The OEM business takes 80% of the global business for Chigo HVAC. Being the number two OEM manufacturer, now Chigo is making great efforts to become the Number 1 OEM manufacturer in the next 3-5 years.
ACR: What has 2018 been like for Chigo in Latin America?
Carlos: The year of 2018 in Latin America is a coexistence of opportunities and challenges for Chigo. The HVAC company successfully achieved cooperation with new partners in the Southern Cone, taking advantage of this opportunity to expand the OEM business in Latin America with a sales increase of up to 56%.
ACR: What differentiates Chigo from the other Chinese competitors selling in the global market?
Carlos: Chigo respects the OEM business partner and takes the expansion of the OEM business as the first priority. One of the strategies is to provide a custom design for customers to differentiate the OEM brand and offer outstanding and reliable products.
ACR: What future plans does Chigo have in Latin America?
Carlos: Chigo will strive to achieve greater market share in LCAC and VRF products by launching full product lines and offering technical support and installation to help customers promote and win AC projects. At the same time, Chigo will shorten the manufacturing period and adhere to the high quality of the product. In the interest of customers, Chigo will develop new products or new features to meet localized requirements, in order to improve customer satisfaction.
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