By Eamonn Ryan
Marking a significant return to in-person gatherings, the SAIRAC Johannesburg Centre recently hosted its first face-to-face technical talk in some considerable time – rather than online.
Gregory Grobelaar, SAIRAC Johannesburg Centre chairman. All images by ©RACA Journal
The event provided members with valuable industry insights and exciting updates on upcoming activities, including the highly anticipated FRIGAIR 2025 expo.
Gregory Grobelaar, SAIRAC Johannesburg Center chairman, opened the evening, expressing his pleasure at seeing members in person rather than on screens. He provided a concise overview of the committee’s current endeavours. Grobelaar noted the near completion of a current fans course and announced upcoming training opportunities. These include an equipment selection for refrigeration course via Zoom on 8, 15 and 22 July, and a ducting course, both via Zoom, scheduled for the 5, 12 and 19 of August. Both future courses are set to be presented by Robert Fox.
The highlight of the introductory remarks was the update on the FRIGAIR 2025 expo, scheduled for 4-6 June. Grobelaar revealed that floor space for the event is already 99.5% sold out, with only a couple of stands remaining. He projected a significant attendance, expecting over 4 000 people to visit the expo. Complementing the main exhibition, 18 technical workshops are planned for the first, second and third days, featuring 45-minute sessions each hour covering a range of topics from new designs to legal matters within the industry.
Following the updates, Grobelaar introduced the evening’s guest speaker, Andre van der Merwe, the managing director of Evapco who holds past titles as both SAIRAC president and chairman of the SAIRAC Johannesburg Center.
Andre van der Merwe, the managing director of Evapco who holds past titles as both SAIRAC president and chairman of the SAIRAC Johannesburg Centre.
Van der Merwe delivered a technical discussion (the content of which will be published at a later date) focusing on the benefits of subcritical CO2 condensers. He highlighted their significant advantages, particularly concerning efficiency and environmental friendliness – crucial considerations in today’s climate. His talk also expanded to cover the broader evolution of refrigerants over the years, the notable success of the Montreal Protocol in phasing out ozone- depleting substances, and the ongoing challenges posed by global warming to the HVAC&R sector.
After thanking Grobelaar for the introduction, Van der Merwe introduced Evapco, starting with the company’s strong local presence.
He detailed Evapco’s South African operations, located in Alrode, Johannesburg. Established in 1993, it covers 6 000m2 having been established in South Africa since 1981, enabling them to manufacture the full range of Evapco products locally.
Providing context on the global scale of the organisation, Van der Merwe explained that Evapco is a global group founded in 1976. The company has grown significantly, now boasting a global footprint and having surpassed the billion- dollar turnover threshold two years prior. While the South African operation is an increasingly small part of this large, privately-owned entity, he expressed pride in the immense resources of the business and its commitment to research and development (R&D).
Part of the crowded room.
He highlighted that Evapco’s global headquarters houses some of the largest laboratory facilities of their kind in the industry worldwide, underscoring a massive drive and the necessary financial means to continuously push R&D forward. This commitment to innovation, he stated, is considered Evapco’s “greatest weapon”.
He shared a quote from Evapco CEO, Bill Bartley, which he felt deeply resonated with the industry’s current challenges and the evening’s technical focus: “The world’s environmental health is directly linked to energy… The solution to the energy crisis will be a combination of many factors, the biggest of which will be human ingenuity and desire.” He stressed the critical need for both these qualities.
Setting the stage for his technical presentation, he informed the audience that his talk would investigate, at a high level, the potential benefits of utilising a subcritical CO2 condenser, focusing specifically on CO2 applications within the refrigeration and HVAC&R space.
The event served as a welcome re-establishment of in-person technical engagement for SAIRAC Johannesburg, providing members with expert knowledge and generating palpable excitement for the rapidly approaching, nearly sold-out FRIGAIR 2025 expo.
Register for free to gain access the digital library for RACA Journal publications
