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April 24 - HARFKO 2003 Expo Seoul, Korea; May 23~26, 2003

The Heating, Air-Conditioning, Refrigeration and Fluid Exhibition-Korea Expo, will be held May 23~26, 2003.at Convention & Exhibition Center (COEX) in Seoul.
As the famous refrigeration exhibition in Asia and the most authoritative refrigeration in Korea, Heating, Air-Conditioning, Refrigeration and Fluid Exhibition-Korea expo is a grand regular biennial event in the international HVACR industry. Successfully held 4 sessions, Heating, Air-Conditioning, Refrigeration and Fluid Exhibition-Korea Expo has grown significantly from its inception.
To accommodate this growth, Heating, Air-Conditioning, Refrigeration and Fluid Exhibition-Korea Expo moves into a larger facility for 2003: Convention & Exhibition Center (COEX ; Samsung-dong, Gangnam-nam, Seoul) 10,000 m²
Many technology and trade events will be held during Heating, Air-Conditioning,
Refrigeration and Fluid Exhibition-Korea exhibition. The organizers will try the best to provide perfect services to the exhibitors and visitors to enable every participant to get successful and fruitful results in the exhibition.
For the purposes of internationalization, standardization and systematization, Heating, Air-Conditioning, Refrigeration and Fluid Exhibition-Korea has been applying for participating UFI (Union of International Fairs).

April 21 - Honeywell Commences Additional Production for R-22 Replacement

The Chemicals business of Honeywell announced recently that it has initiated production of HFC-125 at its new facility located in Geismar, Louisiana. Mr. Richard Preziotti, Vice President and General Manager of Honeywell Chemicals, stated "We are committed to being the premier manufacturer of non-ozone depleting refrigerants for equipment manufacturers and service channels around the world, and this new facility clearly demonstrates our commitment to our customers. The recent restrictions on R-22 production put in place this year by the United States Environmental Protection Agency are just the latest indication of the global trend away from HCFCs and toward refrigerants such as R-410A that use HFC-125." Honeywell broke ground on the facility in May of 2001, and subsequently invested over $100 million to design and construct the plant in time for the 2003 North American cooling season. The plant is dedicated to producing HFC-125, the core ingredient in five widely used refrigerant blends: R-404A, R-410A, R-407C, R-507, and R-402A, also known as HP80. Honeywell markets these refrigerants under the GENETRON brand in North and South America and Asia, and under the HONEYWELL brand in Europe and the Middle East. Jeremy Steinfink, Global Business Director for Refrigerants at Honeywell added "Because of the sustained growth in demand for non-ozone depleting refrigerants, we are adding sales, marketing, and technical expertise globally to provide our customers with the support they expect from the industry's refrigerant leader.
Honeywell is the world's largest producer of non-ozone depleting refrigerants." According to Mr. Prezziotti, "Geismar was the best place to locate this new facility for several reasons. First, we already had our multi-products plant on the site where we manufacture a variety of HFC and HCFC refrigerants, giving us both an experienced workforce and a proven supply chain. Second, the new HFC-125 plant was constructed in tandem with our new HFC-245fa facility which produces ENOVATE 3000, the leading HFC replacement for HCFC-141b in insulating foam. By constructing both plants at one time we reduced our overall plant construction costs, although together they represent an investment in excess of $200 million in new HFC capacity.

April 18 - High-Efficiency Gas-Fired Absorption Chiller-Heaters Developed

Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas and Toho Gas have recently developed a "High-Efficiency Gas-Fired Absorption Chiller-Heater" whose cooling efficiency is 1.35 (based on higher calorific value of gas), jointly with Hitachi Industries and Sanyo Electric Air Conditioning Co., beginning to sell 7 models from Hitachi and 14 models from Sanyo.
Gas-fired absorption chiller-heaters have been utilized for building air conditioning, district cooling/heating, etc., since they are very friendly to the environment, can save more energy, excel in economic performance, and require no special qualification for operation. The cooling efficiency of new units is higher by 35% than that of standard units. It is one of the world’s highest levels of efficiency, capable of contributing to drastic reductions of CO₂ emissions and running cost. While enhancing the efficiency, the physical size has been curbed so that they are nearly equal in installation space and volume to the predecessors.
For example, when using a unit with 1,758 kW of cooling capacity for air conditioning of a building about 15,000 m2 in floor area, CO₂ emissions can be curtailed by about 900 tons for 5 years (4,000 hours/year of cooling operation; load factor 50%).
Although technologies adopted differ between manufacturers, the main technologies are as follows: (1) "Two-stage evaporation-absorption cycle" in which the evaporator and absorber are divided in two according to the pressure level; (2) Effective recovery of energy by adoption of "exhaust gas heat collector" and "low temperature regenerator drain heat collector" which utilize heat of waste gas for preheating air for combustion and absorbent; (3) The size of high temperature generator has been reduced to 1/3 compared to the predecessor, by adoption of "plane combustion technology" with a horizontally installed burner.

April 17 - Fujitsu General Launches New VRF for Overseas Markets

Fujitsu General newly developed 4 models of 8 hp outdoor unit and 14 models (3 types) of indoor unit as a new series of commercial VRF system "Airstage" for overseas markets, releasing them from February. To begin with, the company intends to expand sales outlets mainly in European and Middle East markets and then in Asian markets including China.
In September 2001 the company launched 10 hp heat recovery type "Airstage" commercial VRF system, expanding the business in Asian/Oceanian markets. At the same time, they established London VRF Support Center.
As 8 hp outdoor unit has been newly added, it has become possible not only to independently install 10 or 8 hp unit, but also configure a system with required capacity by combining an adequate number of 10 and 8 hp units.
8 hp outdoor unit realizes the industry's highest efficiency operation due to the company's own "3-compressor system" which was favorably accepted by being mounted on 10 hp outdoor unit and "target balance control system" capable of always providing the required capacity in the indoor unit side without waste.
Furthermore, they feature excellent economic advantages and whisper-quietness due to "operation mode selecting function" which allows the user to choose either capacity preference or energy saving preference operation, and "silent mode function" which realizes lower noise level at night according to the specific installation or other conditions. Available in 41 models (11 types), the indoor units including new models can meet various needs according to specific installation conditions.
"3-compressor system" realizes efficient operation by combining 3 compressors according to the load in the indoor units. The system as a whole is designed not to stop even when one or two compressors break down, since the remaining one performs recovery operation. "Target pressure balance control system" controls the compressor operation under optimum pressure by detecting information on capacity (refrigerant requirements) in the indoor unit side and pressure of refrigerant gas fed into the compressor. The compressor can thereby operate efficiently without bypassing surplus refrigerant. High efficiency operation has been realized thanks to these two systems.
The outdoor units include R22 models and R407C models operating as cooling-only and heat pump units respectively.

April 16 - Mobile Air Conditioning Issues at Earth Tech Forum

Mobile Air Conditioning will be a "hot" topic at the Earth Technologies Forum to be held from April 22 to 24 in Washington, DC.
Two sessions and 10 speakers from the U.S. and Europe will address the multitude of issues creating controversy in regard to HFC-134a refrigerant.
Topics include some European car manufacturers advocacy of CO₂ as a replacement refrigerant, European proposals to reduce HFC emissions from mobile air conditioning systems, and the European Commission's negotiated voluntary 25% improvement in vehicle fuel efficiency (including AC).
California's law to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles will also be addressed by an official from the California Air Resources Board.

Currently German manufacturers advocate CO₂ for vehicle heating and cooling pumps, U.S. and Japanese manufacturers are testing other refrigerant systems including the use of HFC-152a, and vehicle manufacturers and suppliers worldwide support commercialization of "Enhanced HFC-134a Systems" that can immediately reduce refrigerant direct emissions and improve vehicle fuel efficiency.
The U.S. EPA's Steve Andersen's speech is titled, "Enhanced HFC-134a: Immediate Relief to Greenhouse Gas Emissions."

The Earth Technologies Forum (ETF) is co-sponsored by the US Environmental Protection Agency, US Department of Energy, US Agency for International Development, Australian Greenhouse Office, Environment Canada, Industry Canada, Netherlands Reduction Plan for the Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases, International Climate Change Partnership, Alliance for Responsible Atmospheric Policy, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, United Nations Environment Program, and United Nations Development Program.

The Forum will take place April 22-24 at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, DC. For further details, visit its web site.

April 15 - Sanyo to Sell Danfoss ADAP-KOOL Control Systems

Sanyo Electric Co. announced that, before launching its "ECO-StoresS" system from October, it will sell Danfoss "ADAP-KOOL" refrigeration control systems from April, in order to meet the energy saving needs required by supermarkets, convenience stores, etc. ADAP-KOOL systems, according to Danfoss, are widely adopted in major supermarkets or hypermarkets in the world such as Walmart and Carrefour.

Features of ADAP-KOOL:
Danfoss ADAP-KOOL refrigeration control systems enable total energy saving of up to 30%, according to the company. Conventional systems run the refrigeration system at an almost constant load regardless of the season.
ADAP-KOOL, however, is able to adapt the ambient temperature to the required load, thus resulting in potential savings.
In general, two main factors affect compressors' power consumption:
The level of the condensing pressure: each 1deg.C reduction of this value brings about 2-3 % energy savings.
The level of the suction pressure: each 1 deg.C increase of this value brings about 2-3% energy savings.
Consequently, an important means of saving energy is to reduce the condensing pressure and increase the suction pressure while maintaining the required level of refrigeration, says a Danfoss marketing manager.
ADAP-KOOL control systems offer a range of functions for this purpose, according to the manager. With power pack controllers, type AKC25H5, floating condensing pressure control is performed, constantly adapting the pressure to ambient temperature. In addition, the power pack controllers make enthalpy-dependent Po control possible. This function optimizes the suction pressure by adapting it to the load in the store.

April 14 - Hitachi to Strengthen Its Operations in China

Hitachi, Ltd. recently announced a restructuring of its operating framework in China, effective April 1, 2003. This move is being taken as part of Hitachi's globalization drive and in light of the importance the company attaches to China as one of the world's key markets. With the accession of China to the World Trade Organization (WTO), more foreign companies are gradually being granted access to the country. In this new environment, a vital issue for Hitachi, as it seeks to expand business in China, is enhancing sales capabilities. Up to now, Hitachi has conducted operations in China through Beijing-based Hitachi (China), Ltd. As the regional headquarters, this company has been responsible for investment and business development, as well as regional sales support for the Power & Industrial Systems Group and other Hitachi divisions. Meanwhile, Singapore-headquartered Hitachi Asia Ltd., through subsidiary Hitachi Asia (Hong Kong) Ltd., has handled the sale of semiconductors and other electronic devices, information and telecommunication systems, air-conditioning equipment and other Hitachi product lines.
To create a framework more in tune with the local market, certain operations currently handled by Hitachi (China) will be transferred to Hitachi Asia (Hong Kong), thereby unifying sales capabilities. Operations to be transferred include business development and power, industrial, and information systems businesses. Furthermore, to provide improved support for the entire Greater China economic area, Hitachi plans to foster deeper cooperation between the Hitachi Taipei and Kaohsiung branches, and Hitachi Asia (Hong Kong), with a view to integrating management in the future. Both Taiwan branches are currently overseen by Hitachi Asia. Although there are plans to bolster Hitachi's presence in Shanghai, the company's principal business area in the country, and currently showing marked growth, Hong Kong will remain Hitachi's main base in Southern China and Beijing the center for social infrastructure systems-related operations.
Hitachi (China) will continue to function as a holding company, with corporate representative and regional administrative functions, and supporting the expansion of Hitachi Group business in China.

April 11 - Sanyo to Provide Consolidated Energy Saving Systems

Sanyo Electric Co. has announced the release of "Consolidated Energy Saving System for Stores" which contribute to energy savings of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment installed at stores such as super markets and convenience stores. The company undertaking the sale is Sanyo Denki Commercial Equipment Co. having the top share in showcases for supermarkets or convenience stores.
Called "ECO-StoreS" (Eco-Store System), the new system is a consolidated energy saving system for stores which comprehensively manages refrigeration and air conditioning equipment at a supermarket. It will be released from October.
Features of ECO-StoreS: About 30% cutdown on store's power consumption can be attained by concerted operation of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment.
Cutdown on each units power consumption is attained by centrally managing the operational conditions of showcases, chillers and air conditioners with a master controller having energy saving control software, and efficiently performing concerted operation. Concretely, the following energy saving operation is performed.

April 10 - More Inverter Drive and R410A PACs in Japan

In recent years, inverter drive and R410A have been increasingly adopted in packaged air conditioners (PACs) in Japanese market. There are even manufacturers whose PACs for store/office use are almost entirely occupied by the inverter type.
In the room air conditioner (RAC) segment, the share of inverter type is currently higher than 95%, and the share is also rising gradually in the PAC segment. At present, nearly half of PACs seem to be sold as the inverter type.
"In the case of our PACs, the share of inverter type was 50% or less as of the end of September 2002. At present, however, it has reached some 60%.
We would like to raise it to some 70% within 2003" says a manufacturer.
There are even manufacturers selling almost all of PACs in 2~6 hp classes as the inverter type.
Currently, Japanese industries are required to take urgent energy-saving steps. In the "New Energy Saving Law" enacted in 1999, the top-runner system was adopted, making it obligatory to attain the reference COP value at 5.0~8.0 kW (2~3 hp) by 2007. This has put spurs to the increase of inverter type.

Shifts to R410A
One of Japanese manufacturers' product strategies is adoption of R410A in the field of PACs for store/office use (1.5 ~ 10 hp zone) and commercial VRF systems.
Already they have ceased to develop models using old refrigerant (R22) whose production must be totally abolished by 2020, by the Montreal Protocol and so are shifting to the new refrigerant (R407C). In the past year, however, development of models using R410A has become active, since the refrigerant helps ensure high efficiency and energy saving..
Affected by the initiative taken by Toshiba Carrier and Sanyo Electric towards total shifts to R410A, the industry leader Daikin Industries is also planning to carry out total shifts to R410A. Mitsubishi Electric Corp. (Melco) and Hitachi AC System have also launched a number of R410A models.
Since the leading maker Daikin has taken steps for shifting to R410A, adoption of R410A is likely to become the industry standard concerning new refrigerants.
Air conditioners are required to attain further energy savings and reduction of maintenance cost, and as in the case of RACs, the share of inverter type using R410A will very likely to rise in the case of PACs, too.

April 8 - Little Swan Develops VRF System

Chinese major washing machine manufacturer, Wuxi Little Swan Group, has been positively proceeding with R&D of multi AC systems since it embarked on RAC production.
By investing 31 million yuan, the company introduced the inverter VRF technology from Matsushita, Japan, in February 2001, and then introduced the VRF performance test room from Japan by investing 10 million yuan in June 2002. The latest system can control up to 256 indoor units by means of one controller, allowing either single unit or multiple units to freely control the flow rate of refrigerant.
By giving full play to these advanced equipment and knowhow, the company has developed a wide range of models including 4, 5 and 8 hp units for residential to commercial uses. The company is engaged in research on core technologies such as variable refrigerant flow (VRF), system optimization, oil returning, oil balancing, remote control, inverter and microcomputer control. Being recognized as a priority project for technological innovations at the national level, these R&D activities were granted a research fund from Chinese Government's State Economic and Trade Commission.

April 7 - Kelon Takes Offensives in AC Market with Secret Weapon

Kelon ACs were found to have 9.1% share in Chinese AC market, ranking 3rd largest, as a result of survey of 103 major AC sellers in 22 provinces and cities. This survey is included in the "Research Report on China's AC Sales in 2002" which was announced jointly by the Marketing Research Center which is directly attached to China National Development Center, and Ministry of Information Industry at the end of 2002. Kelon's "Shuang Xiac Wang" ACs particularly sold well, numbering 100,000 units.
After being purchased by Green Cool, Kelon has adhered to "Let's weave technological breakthrough into our corporate policy" as its slogan. Mr. Gu Chujun, chairman of the company, declared in his address on the occasion of China's New Year that the company will strictly carry out the cost decreases and subdivision of management as the company's policy. He said confidently enough that in 2003 the company will take the market offensive with its new product "Kang Bei En" which may be said to be the secret weapon and strategical product for the company.
With its high quality and low price, this new strategical product appeared in Guo Mei and other major home appliance sales stores in China. Mr. Yan Yousong, vice-president of Kelon, was interviewed. Developed by fully adopting the company's advanced technology to ensure high quality and attentive service, the new product is intended to secure outlets in the low-end AC market and thereby regain its market share by coping with price decreases by Shinco, Aux, Rowa, etc. in the 2nd and 3rd groups of AC makers.

April 4 - Haier Develops Variable Screw Chiller

Haier has announced recently that they have succeeded in developing a variable screw chiller after three years of R&D efforts. The new unit is drawing attention as an energy-saving model which dramatically reduces the high running cost which has long been a problem with central air conditioning. With the advent of the new unit, Haier now adds the strong line-up for commercial applications.
The variable screw chiller developed this time by Haier features excellent stability, compactness, large cooling capacity, self-diagnosing function, remote monitoring function, etc. due to adoption of state-of-the-art electronic controlling technologies such as screw compressor from overseas, electronic expansion valve, sophisticated heat exchanger. Its COP has improved as the unit can automatically adjust the cooling capacity according to the number of rooms being served.
By adopting a module integrated with the new unit, Haier has overcome the difficulty in maintenance of central air conditioning, making it possible to meet user needs for customized products and realizing easy installation.
With centralized computer control, the state of system operation can be checked on the display from time to time.

April 3 - DENSO to Start Sales and Production Company in Turkey

DENSO Corp. recently announced details of a new investment in a new sales and manufacturing company in Istanbul, Turkey. Sales of starters and alternator products will begin in January 2003 and production of thermal products will begin in February 2004.
Established in July 2002, the new company - DENSO Automotive Parts Industry Inc. - began with an initial capital investment of approximately 900 million yen (8.3 million euro). Eighty employees and sales of approximately 5 billion yen (45 million euros) are projected for fiscal year 2005.
"Construction of DENSO's first Turkey facility enable us to further meet the needs of our customer's in Europe." said Satoshi Watanabe, DENSO managing director in charge of Thermal Systems. Watanabe continued, "We anticipate rapid rise in car air-conditioning installation in Europe from today's 50 percent to 65 percent by 2005."

Company Profile
Name : DENSO AUTOMOTIVE PARTS INDUSTRY INC. DENSO OTOMOTIV PARCALARI SANAYI ANONIM SIRKET (Turkish name)
Established : July 11, 2002 Location : Istanbul, Turkey (about 30 kilometers from they city-center)
Capital : 900 million yen (8.3 million euro)
Ownership : 100 percent-owned by DENSO Corporation Investment : 300 million yen (2.7 million euro).

April 1 - Embraco China Factory to Move

At the beginning of 2004, Embraco Snowflake will move to a new location.
The need for the change arose after the confirmation of Beijing as host city for the 2008 Olympics, leading to the Chinese government’s decision to invest in the revitalization of downtown Beijing. Thus, companies located in this part of the city, as is the case with Embraco, must relocate to industrial areas on the city outskirts.
"Ernbraco's choice of a place near the international airport was based on such factors as cost and logistics, essential if the company is to have a good performance", explains Mr. Johni Richter, chief operating officer. The land has an area of 100,000 m² and the new facilities will occupy an area of around 25,000 m², leaving sufficient space for future expansion if required.
Mr. Cheng Liu, chief operating manager in China, points out: Our productive capacity will go from the current production of 1.7 million to 3.7 million in just one step".
According to Mr. Carlos Kielwagen, responsible for conducting the process, this has provided an opportunity for making improvements.
Embraco Snowflake is the result of a joint venture in 1995 with the Beijing Snowflake Electric Appliance group. Embraco's headquarters and main factory are in Joinville, Santa Catarina, in the southern region of Brazil. Embraco also has factories In Italy, Slovakia and China, as well as a business office in the United States. Embraco produces hermetic compressors, condensing units and sealed units, for domestic and commercial use.

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