World News

UK: A new report claims European companies are knowingly breaching the F-gas regulations by exceeding quota limits, falsifying invoices, mislabelling virgin refrigerants as reclaimed gases and evading VAT.

BELGIUM: Eurovent Certification has launched a sustainability department to support the increasing market demand for environmental information for procurement, reporting, and regulatory readiness. 

CHINA: Chinese home appliance manufacturer TCL has opened a new US$290m air conditioning factory in Guangzhou, with an annual production capacity of eight million units.

USA: Sales by US HVACR distributors bounced back in February increasing by 4.6%.

SPAIN: The Spanish retailer Eroski is to benefit from a €40m framework loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for energy efficiency and digital investments throughout its facilities.

GERMANY: Hauser has produced a prototype commercial refrigerated cabinet that, based on magnetocaloric technology, dispenses with conventional refrigerants.

USA: A Texas court has sentenced a serial refrigerant smuggler to serve three-years probation and 25 hours of community service.

USA: The CEO of a Georgia-based HVAC company has pleaded guilty to illegally importing HFC refrigerants in contravention of the US AIM Act and the Clean Air Act.

SWEDEN/NETHERLANDS: Swedish HVAC manufacturer Swegon has acquired its Dutch HVAC distributor Western Airconditioning.

JAPAN/VIETNAM: Hoshizaki, the Japanese manufacturer of commercial food and beverage refrigeration equipment, is to begin shipments from its manufacturing facility in Vietnam.

USA: Leading US residential and commercial air conditioning manufacturers have been accused of price fixing and overcharging in a civil antitrust action.

ITALY: Refrigerant supplier and management company A-Gas is to attend Data Center Nation (DCN) in Milan as a gold sponsor.

JAPAN: Panasonic has combined its Air Quality & Air Conditioning Company and Cold Chain Solutions business, to establish a new company, Panasonic HVAC & CC Corporation.

BELGIUM: Eurovent has released its latest environmental product declaration (EPD) guide, providing practical guidance on assessing and communicating the environmental performance of air filtration products.

BELGIUM:  Belgian MEP Wouter Beke, a member of the European parliament’s committee on industry, research and energy (ITRE), has visited Daikin’s EMEA R&D centre in Ghent.

BELGIUM: Predictably, research by the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) has confirmed that heap pump sales increase when upfront purchase prices and running costs are reduced.

USA: Refrigerant reclaimer Hudson Technologies has signed a licensing agreement with Solstice Advanced Materials for the reclamation and resale of R448A and R449A refrigerants.

USA: Trane Technologies has announced the successful laboratory testing of its rooftop units in the US Department of Energy’s HVAC Technology Challenge in the 10-14 and 15-25 ton categories. 

JAPAN: Takeshi Ebisu, a former director of Daikin, has been appointed representative director and CEO of General Inc.

EUROPE: The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) will publish its latest draft opinion on the proposed European PFAS restrictions tomorrow, with stakeholders having the opportunity to comment.

GERMANY: Six months out from the next Chillventa exhibition in Nuremberg, the organiser reports strong sales for the enlarged event.

USA/ITALY: Critical digital infrastructure solutions provider Vertiv is to acquire Italian heat exchanger company ThermoKey SpA.

NEW ZEALAND: A new NZ$10m (€5m) refrigerant destruction plant, the first of its type in the southern hemisphere, has been officially opened in Kawerau on New Zealand’s North Island.

USA/CANADA: Canadian data centre liquid cooling company, CoolIT, has been acquired by Ecolab, a US water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions provider, for $4.75bn.

USA: Amazon and Walmart have received penalties totalling over $1.1m in the USA for illegally selling R134a to the general public.

IRELAND: Grafton Group, the Dublin-based construction product distributor, has acquired Spanish air conditioning distributor Mercaluz.

JAPAN: Daikin claims to have achieved an annual energy saving of approximately 25% in a commercial zero-energy office building using a so-called “switchless” air conditioning system.