World News

USA: Leading brewer Anheuser-Busch has agreed to pay a $537,000 penalty to resolve violations of US safety laws relating to its use of ammonia in its refrigeration systems.

CHINA/DENMARK: Danfoss has expanded its R290 compressor portfolio following the signing of a global agreement with Shanghai-based rotary compressor manufacturer Highly.

ITALY: The revision of the F-gas regulation will take centre stage amongst more than forty presentations by leading experts in the HVACR industry at a major conference this week.

JAPAN: Daikin is targeting sales of JPY4,550bn ($32.5bn) in 2025 as a result of increasing demand for heat pumps in Europe and a burgeoning air conditioning market in India.

FRANCE: Beijer Ref has signed an agreement to acquire French HVAC equipment distributor  Chaud Froid Distribution.

USA: The Emerson Climate Technologies business is to be rebranded Copeland following the completion of the acquisition of a majority stake in the business by private equity company Blackstone.

UK: Refrigerant supplier and lifecycle management company A-Gas has appointed Hans Craen as head of government affairs Europe. 

EUROPE: Mitsubishi Electric R&D Centre Europe BV has started a demonstration project to evaluate the effectiveness of heat pumps in providing energy independence for remote islands.

BAHAMAS: The Commonwealth of The Bahamas has become the latest country to ratify the Kigali Amendment to phase down HFC refrigerants.

GERMANY:  Efficient Energy, the German company developing the use of water as a refrigerant, has appointed Matthias Adler as its new chief sales officer.

INDIA: Air conditioning manufacturer Voltas has broken ground on a new US$60m factory in Tamil Nadu.

ROMANIA: Border police from the Vicovu de Sus have intercepted more illegal refrigerant being smuggled across the border from Ukraine.

NORWAY: Swedish refrigeration contractor Francks Kylindustri and its Norwegian subsidiary Therma Industri have further strengthened their position in central Norway through the acquisition of Trøndelag Kuldeteknikk.

SWEDEN: ClimaCheck, the Stockholm-based air conditioning, refrigeration and heat pump energy optimisation company, has appointed Carl Johan Håkansson as its new CEO.

HONG KONG: Johnson Controls is to face a competition tribunal in relation to suspected cartel conduct involving the supply of over HK$3bn (US$383m) worth of air conditioning works in Hong Kong.

GERMANY: The environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) has called for a ban on installing gas and oil heating systems after claiming that heat pumps are cheaper even in existing buildings.

GERMANY: Bitzer is set to acquire OJ Electronics A/S, a Danish manufacturer of HVAC controls and drives manufacturer.

GERMANY: A leading European refrigeration research council claims that the safe, efficient and trouble-free operation of RACHP systems is not possible without the use of PFAS-containing materials.

UK: This year’s World Refrigeration Day on June 26 will focus on the future of cooling technology, the industry, the people working within it, and those that benefit from cooling. 

GERMANY: The German Federal Environment Ministry (BMUV) is providing €200,000 in funding for an environmentally-friendlier innovative cooling process for steel hardening that promises substantial energy savings.

AUSTRALIA: Johnson Controls is to acquire Gordon Brothers Industries (GBI), Australia’s long-established industrial refrigeration company.

USA: Abstract submissions are now invited for the 2024 ASHRAE Winter Conference which will focus on how IEQ/IAQ, decarbonisation and energy efficiency can benefit people and the environment.

BELGIUM: Registration is now open for the European Heat Pump Association’s annual Heat Pump Forum & Awards in Brussels. 

USA: Johnson Controls has broken ground on a new 105,000ft2 engineering centre and laboratory facility in Wisconsin for the design and testing of smart and sustainable building…

USA: Joe Martinko, senior business director, Americas for Chemours Thermal & Specialized Solutions (TSS) business has stepped in as interim leader following today’s resignation of division president Alisha Bellezza.

EUROPE: EU greenhouse gas emissions decreased 4% in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared with the same quarter of 2021, according to latest figures from Eurostat.

SWEDEN: Beijer Ref executive vice president and CFO Ulf Berghult is to transition out of the company by mutual agreement in the next six months, the Swedish wholesaler has announced.