International. The Institute of Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration (AHRI) officially opened its first office outside of North America, which will be located in Hefei, China. The office will allow AHRI to interact directly with all members and participants of the certification program in Asia and the Middle East. and position AHRI to provide timely service in those rapidly growing markets for AHRI's standards and certification programs.
"Our globally recognized certification program is steadily growing around the world, as well as the demand for AHRI standards. This requires AHRI to have a stronger presence in Asia to promote our standards and manage manufacturer participants and oversee laboratory testing," said AHRI President and CEO Stephen Yurek. "At the same time, we are a business membership organization that attracts members from all over the world, and this office will allow us to better serve those members."
More than 60 industry representatives, including member companies and certification program participants, attended the opening of the office. Government officials from the Anhui Province Professional Supervision Unit (PSU-AHQI) and the NGO Office attended the opening, as did representatives of the China Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry Association (CRAA), the General Institute of Machinery Product Inspection (GMPI). Representatives from several AHRI member companies were present, as were AHRI staff, including Yurek, Henry Hwong and Bridge Xue, who will head the new office.
AHRI has a head office in Arlington, USA, and an office in Ontario, Canada.
