by ACR Latin America
Between October 15 and 17, the first version of Chillventa, the new European fair for the CVAC/R segment, was held in Nuremberg, Germany; this first edition was marked by the global interest in green technologies and energy efficiency, which will be one of the main strategies of the coming months to counteract the difficult economic moment that is being lived these days; an aspect that was also appreciated in the contest was the growing predilection of the companies of the old continent in Latin America.
In this exhibition the figures were not at all small and according to the organizers the preparations were established to house about 800 exhibitors of 43 different nationalities; the surface was 32 thousand square meters and about 30 thousand visitors entered.
In Germany, a country where around 125 million refrigeration equipment are used, this impressive meeting was held in which there were pavilions dedicated to Great Britain, the United States, Turkey and China.
Trend consolidation
In addition to the figures mentioned, there were other aspects that made Chillventa make its way onto the international cold convention stage. One of them was its approach, which leaned towards energy efficiency and energy saving, all based on the fact that 14% of the total energy consumed in Germany falls on cooling and air conditioning solutions, which means in absolute terms a consumption of 66 billion kilowatt hours.
Precisely, days before the start of the exhibition, the ASERCOMM + EPEE symposium was held, in which the new community guidelines and regulations that came into force to improve energy efficiency and environmental protection were addressed, all with the aim of reducing emissions of gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect.
The exhibition had many important elements, such as the creation of the Industrial Heat Pump Village and the special event that was held under the name Cold by absorption and solar cold. Chillventa also stood out among netizens, as he was permanently offering information 24 hours a day through his website.
A vision of Latin America
To find out what is currently held in Europe about Latin America, this media interviewed Thomas Brommer, vice president of sales of the fan division of Ziehl-Abegg AG, a company that exhibited in the last edition of Chillventa; with the official, concepts on the world economy and the outlook for the coming years were reviewed. Here are some of his comments.
AC/R: The global economy in general has been affected by the crisis of recent months. How has this situation affected the European segment of CVAC/R?
TB: Although we consider the development of recent years, we would like to talk about a great consolidation in 2009. Even if the industry were to reach the 2006 results, they would be much higher than what was seen in 2002.
AC/R: What measures could be implemented in Europe to counteract the effects of the crisis on the CVAC/R sector, which has traditionally been one of the most representative of European industry?
TB: The industry in general has performed very well in recent years. And as a result of consolidation, the big players will launch new products focused on environmental protection and energy efficiency; in combination with the publicly funded infrastructure project, this will create new demands for the sector.
AC/R: What trends are being seen in the European CVAC/R market?
TB: Our experience indicates that globalization operates not only economically but also technically. Consequently there are not many individual trends within the different areas; we see a global trend for energy efficiency and noise reduction. Additionally, we perceive that Latin America is focusing strongly on quality and reliability.
AC/R: What does Latin America currently represent for European manufacturers?
TB: Latin America represents great potential for manufacturers in the sector. This is why Ziehl-Abegg will have a subsidiary in Sao Paulo, which will start operations in the second quarter of 2009. We see Latin America as having the potential to account for 5-7% of the global CVAC market.
AC/R: What strategies will you implement to boost the sale of solutions in Latin America?
TB: Our subsidiary will provide technical services locally. Our Latin customers will be able to negotiate directly with the factory in Germany through Ziehl-Abegg do Brasil. This means that South American customers will have access to the full technical capacity of our company, a leading global manufacturer in the development of fans and fan systems. We take into account the complete air system because no matter how good a fan is, it cannot show its true characteristics in an underoptimized system.
