Beijer Ref to open UK training centres
18th November 2021
UK: Wholesaler Beijer Ref is set to open its first training academy in the UK.
The 300m2 facility in Wetherby, West Yorkshire, opens next year and promises to be one of the UK’s largest refrigeration training centres with one of the most comprehensive ranges of products and systems.
It is the first of a number of dedicated Beijer Ref Academies planned by the refrigeration wholesaler across the UK. Further centres are scheduled to open in Edinburgh, Belfast and London next year.
The Wetherby facility includes systems featuring all the major brands currently stocked by Beijer Ref in the UK as well as its own OEM products. All manner of systems are represented including CO2 and A2L.
Just five minutes off the A64 on the Thorp Arch Trading Estate, the new site offers ample parking for visitors.
The Beijer Ref Academies will offer bespoke, hands-on training, as well as F-gas certification training. C&G approval has also been applied for.
“This isn’t just about apprentice training, this is about engineer training. For us hands-on training is the way to go,” said John Billson, Beijer Ref UK and Ireland MD.
“There’s a lot of scaremongering around CO2, A2L, mildly flammable, high pressures. Taking away the mystique is what we want to do,” he added.
Since the purchase of Italian manufacturer SCM Frigo in 2011, Beijer Ref has been expanding its interest as an OEM manufacturer. As a manufacturer, the company has embraced its training responsibilities. In 2018, Beijer Ref opened a CO2 academy at its facility in Padua, Italy. In 2019, more academies opened in Lyon, France, Wuxi, China and Bangkok, Thailand.
The new UK facilities will be managed by Lee Downham, who joins Beijer Ref in January as technical and sustainability director. He joins from DNM Engineering, the Yorkshire-based contracting business he founded in 2009.
