By: Eng. Flavio Clavijo
President ACAIRE
The initiative to propose a technological mission to China and Korea has its origins since 2004 when ACAIRE, under the presidency of Eng. César Jiménez, managed to manage and obtain approval from Colciencias (Institute of Science and Technology of Colombia) to financially support a delegation of members to a technological and training mission to Germany.
On that occasion, an outstanding representation of members shared experiences in several cities of this European country for two weeks, in which visits were made with research institutes, universities and a program visit to the IKK cold fair of that country.
China and Korea: new winds
The technological world has been advancing by leaps and bounds, and in this China and Korea are presented with their technological miracles and their scientific advances that openly challenge the achievements and developments of countries that exhibit a scientific trajectory recognized and accepted in the global arena.
The technological mission carried out by ACAIRE members between April 28 and May 11, took 15 of its members on a tour of the cities of Beijing, Guangzhou and Seoul in a journey that lasted two weeks in this Asian country.
On this occasion, the group led by Eng. Fabio Clavijo, president of ACAIRE and Arch. Claudia Sánchez, executive director, participated in coordinated meetings with various universities, trade associations and industry, as well as concerted visits with industries representing these sectors.
Many surprises
The technological advance shown by China in the industrial field ended up being the highlight of the visit. The presentation of young companies that exhibit patents as certain achievements of their advances, confirms the push and technological management that mark the productive system with clear projection in international markets.
The dedication and concentration of universities that are committed to matching the efforts of the industrial sector to the extent that they concentrate their engineering faculties on energy, cryogenics and environmental programs. These powers form the basis of the sustainable progress of their countries.
The government, for its part, understanding its role as facilitator and promoter of a solid economy, has promoted both in China and Korea, evaluation and performance centers of the equipment produced there. It is surprising in our eyes that this full investment has been accompanied and promoted by the hand of the government through its ministries of technology.
China Refrigeration 2009
The Chinese fair of refrigeration and air conditioning allowed to appreciate the size and technological variety of the industrial sample presented. It is very remarkable to find a huge number of outstanding manufacturers that are barely glimpsed from our commercial space.
The quality of the industrial samples that present new applications, components and developments is also surprising, underlining that the technological focus is on optimizing heat recovery processes while taking advantage of alternative energy sources such as geothermal energy and solar radiation.
This directs the market towards heat pump solutions with absorption equipment mainly. In addition, many of the manufacturers are focused on improving the thermal performance levels of their equipment with innovative energy recovery options.
For now, the Latin American region is presented as a little explored space that offers an interesting potential to the industry and we can anticipate that in the coming years a growing offer of equipment of optimal quality and high performance from the Asian region will continue to be presented.
Agreement of Understanding
The Korean Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Industry Association (KRAIA) and ACAIRE accepted the proposal to strengthen exchange ties within the objective of supporting the process of expansion and technology transfer among our partners.
The proposal to integrate a similar proposal with the Chinese Refrigeration Association (CAR) has been left open, which offered to study the issue in the coming weeks.
For ACAIRE, this scenario is an unbeatable opportunity to advance in the proposed objectives and to share with our friends in the region these results and achievements.
Let this be the opportunity to thank from this space all the members of the mission for their invaluable management and commitment.
_______________________________________________________________________
Box
Members of the ACAIRE/COLCIENCIAS mission:
Fabio Clavijo, Tecnaire Ltda and President of ACAIRE
Claudia Sánchez, Executive Director of ACAIRE
Aurelio Jiménez, president of Aire Caribe.
Gabriel Jiménez, Vice President of Aire Caribe.
Roberto Fonseca, General Manager of Airtek Engineering S.A.
Miguel Ayala, director of Casa Industrial Alemana.
Rodrigo Vásquez, financial manager of Comercial y Servicios Larco.
Édgar Jaramillo, administrative manager of Comercial y Servicios Larco.
Hernán Rodríguez, advisor of Comercial y Servicios Larco.
Carlos Serrato, general manager of Frío Fax Ltda.
Marco Vinicio Suárez, management advisor of Frío Fax Ltda.
Fernando Grisales, general manager of Grivan Ingeniería.
Gustavo Cruz, manager of Omega Ingenieros S.A.
Humberto Barragán, General Manager of Projects and Services.
Mauricio Baena, general manager of Thermal Engineering.
