With the celebration of the fourth version of Refricolombia 2007 in the city of Bogotá, a new path was opened towards what is expected to be the refrigeration industry in the Andean country and the future with a view to the world.
by: Diana Agudelo
Refricolombia 2007, a fair organized by AC/R LATINOAMÉRICA exceeded the expectations that were planned, both by the attendees and exhibitors, as well as by organizers and panelists.
The congress and commercial exhibition that took place on July 5 and 6 in the city of Bogotá, at the Compensar Convention Center, strengthens its status as the only congress aimed at engineers, contractors, technicians, professionals and end users who use refrigeration processes in Colombia and the Andean region.
If what was expected was to update and enrich the knowledge in refrigeration, the atmosphere at the fair showed that it was being achieved thanks to the different socialization events and the various academic conferences. The topics on industrial refrigeration, especially the critical issue of the use of ammonia, were of a very good technical level and met all expectations generating suitable spaces for discussion and updating.
Being a fair small in size, but not in knowledge, invited that the atmosphere that was breathed was of great camaraderie among the attendees, and the hospitality and courtesy on the part of the people interested in this medium, allowed to make contact with people linked to the activity of refrigeration in this part of the region, know experiences from other latitudes and something very important: understand the evolution of refrigeration and its prospects for the immediate future.
With an academic program designed according to the needs of the industry and a commercial sample where the latest technologies of the market were appreciated, Refricolombia 2007 sought to achieve a level of training and updating for the improvement of refrigeration practices in the region.
Opinions about the market
Some of the attendees, who were also there as exhibitors, gave us their vision of what they had seen in the Colombian market and their conclusions enriched the knowledge management that we now share with our readers. Our interviewees were able to verify that in addition to updating and enriching their knowledge in refrigeration, the topics discussed in the academic days were more than satisfactory and gave a broad vision of what was happening in the national market and the possibility of adapting it to their own markets.
Ricardo Ávila, head of sales of Cold Import S.A., a company with 50 years in Peru, affirms that "I have the impression, from the information collected, that the level and development of refrigeration in Colombia is very similar to that of Peru, in recent years driven largely by the export of perishable products, which has generated the development of the cold industry. Likewise, the establishment of foreign companies of various kinds in our countries have introduced new comfort standards, such as air conditioning, which has generated an important development of their level of sales".
At the same time Ricardo Alfredo Lugo Villalba, from the Department of Naval Machinery and Propulsion of the company Cotecmar Astillero Naval de Colombia, argues that "the fair met my expectations, in fact I did not know that there will be this type of congresses in the area of refrigeration. I took advantage of the knowledge about new technologies in compressors, ecological refrigerants and the latest trends in refrigeration facilities. In the naval area in Colombia, only the deepest knowledge and the most attention is being given, however other nations such as Brazil are very strong in this field."
The engineer Gianfranco Ruggiero, a visitor from Venezuela and representative of the technical unit of Fondoin (Industrial Reconversion Fund, a public foundation created in 1992), said he has made a good impression but has an analysis from the outside that enriches the view of the industry in Colombia. "I'm Venezuelan and I don't know the Colombian refrigeration market. In my appreciation of what was observed at the fair, I believe that the Colombian market should be consolidated through the promotion of various associations that initiate participation in this type of event. The contribution of few companies at the fair does not represent the potential of the market in this segment and it would be important to reverse this situation in order to promote sustained development."
In general, the growth rates in this sector for Colombia have been very positive considering the economic boom of the nation, which results in the improvement in services. In this case, this situation will affect the flourishing of the country's refrigeration capacities towards the international standards of developed countries.
Air conditioning teams have a tendency to continue increasing their participation in the problems of global warming of planet earth. As a perspective and given the conclusions of the seminar, it is expected and has been mandatory for some years now, the installation of ecological air conditioning equipment that is not harmful to the environment and does not affect the health of human beings.
Environment as a vital issue
To really understand what is happening in the country, in ecological matters, we asked these attendees what they thought of the progress in this area and what they could learn from their interaction with the other actors in the refrigeration sector.
Patricio Gualotuña of Soportec, an Ecuadorian facilities company, affirms that "in relation to the Ecuadorian market, Colombia has better technology in the area of refrigeration and air conditioning systems, we can say that we are on par. Like everyone else, 'green' technology is causing a great positive effect on consumers in all countries, for this reason companies are changing the way they work, and they are starting to take care of the environment with ecological equipment and refrigerants, which in the short term are the best alternative for us human beings. "
To land the issue a little and not stop pointing out the importance of understanding the market of any latitude Ricardo Alfredo Lugo Villalba of Cotecmar Astillero Naval, declares that "it is important to know real costs of maintenance and operation of systems with ecological refrigerants, many of our suppliers do not handle these types of gases and I think that in our environment (Colombia) it is still a taboo subject".
Ricardo Ávila, of Cold Import S.A., concluded that "the development of ecological refrigerant fluids will continue to innovate with environmental protection as its main objective; I think I am not wrong to think that ammonia will continue with its development and great diffusion, even in equipment of lower capacities".
Gianfranco Ruggiero of Fondoin concludes that "without a doubt the market is inserted in the ecological wave of the use of new refrigerants and energy savings. Users are increasingly aware of this situation and it will be reinforced by the need to reduce electricity consumption due to the energy situation and the problem of global warming. The contribution of the sector will be important and will have a high priority when the strategies to meet these goals are evaluated, regardless of the country or the market."
The contribution of companies should then be framed in the orientation of users towards the adoption of new technologies in order to accelerate change. For this, companies first need to be trained in these aspects, in order to convey to the public the need and convenience of adopting the changes that will benefit everyone, in all aspects.
Continuing to carry out research to innovate technology and increasingly find new alternatives that are less harmful to the environment, seems to be the conclusion of the Colombian fair, which will continue to be held annually.
