RefriAméricas 2012 left all the players in the refrigeration industry very satisfied; of course, the organization is working for the 2013 edition that will be held on June 13 and 14 at the Plaza Mayor Convention Center in the city of Medellín.
by Duván Chaverra Agudelo and Víctor Alejandro Galvis
Again RefriAméricas demonstrated why it is the benchmark of the refrigeration industry in the region, after the success of its ninth version in which topics on the replacement of refrigerants, energy saving, low environmental impact, new technologies, among others, predominated.
In addition, the commercial exhibition had the most recognized companies from Colombia and other multinationals that through their representatives or with their own presence found in the city of Medellín the right space to present their most recent developments.
Interest in training
Overall, feedback from attendees, visitors, speakers and exhibitors was very positive; many agreed that the professional in the region cares about training and knowing the new proposals that the industry has for them. But they also know that this is a process that must continue to gain followers in order to improve the skills of those who are immersed in the sector.
This is expressed by Rodnei Peres, representative of the Brazilian company Full Gauge Controls, who was an exhibitor and also presented the conference "Energy saving from the use of electronic controls and management software". The guest highlights the interest he saw in the attendees for the proposed themes.
"RefriAméricas is a very important space for manufacturers and for guests looking for more channels of technical information, and to know news and launches, because Colombia is a country that needs to have a lot of technical information; for that the fair is very important, since the general public approaches the manufacturers and we are very happy that this space is the intermediary in this entire chain, "said the professional.
That same feeling is shared by Peruvian engineer Willian Morales, manager of Reter EIRL, who commented, "I see that people greatly appreciate the quality and seriousness of RefriAméricas. The event has a good venue and important exhibitors of products from Colombia and other countries come; in addition, I think that the attendees show a growing interest in learning and are willing to listen to many new topics."
For her part, the speaker Ana Garrido, from Dupont, who gave the talk "Refrigerants with low environmental impact", said that she was struck by the public's interest in having more knowledge, but that there are still fears when professionals think about changes. "There is still some resistance in people about products that have another technology and that offer differentiated value in the market; people are left with many doubts about how to use them, and how to charge a system with that refrigerant; the important thing is that they come looking for information, which is a great first step in executing changes."
The trend towards saving
The talk that opened RefriAméricas 2012 gave way to an academic program focused on efficient trends and energy saving, and that caught the attention among those who were present is the conferences.
Xiomara Stavro, from the Ozone Technical Unit (UTO) - Ministry of Environment of Colombia, presented the paper on the elimination of HCFC refrigerants in this country. "During the years that we have visited the fair, we always see that the influx of cold increases, it may be due to the need to replace substances that are harmful to the environment and evaluate new alternatives in refrigeration issues where there is much to explore."
The engineer highlighted within her presentation that for this semester professionals in Colombia will have five refrigerant gas regeneration centers available. "In Cali, Barranquilla and Bogotá, the National Learning Service (Sena) will support this proposal as its headquarters, as will the Technological University of the city of Pereira and the Pontifical Bolivarian University (UPB) in the city of Medellín, where users will be able to take their substances and be regenerated and reincorporated into the production chain without the need to use virgin refrigerant."
For his part, Marío García, from Flexelec – Projectcol, who presented the conference "Cost reduction through low-power electric heating cables in refrigeration equipment", indicated that RefriAméricas is a space that allows to publicize the latest trends in technology so that users can select their best purchase option compared to the available alternatives.
"Whenever there is a presentation that proposes different things, people's reaction is to be skeptical of the novelty, but what we have noticed is that after these talks we receive more inquiries to check what they have heard and convince themselves that the things we discuss are applicable and that the concepts can represent savings and solutions within the industry."
Meanwhile, Willian Morales recognizes that although the industry is contributing to offer efficient systems, there are still machines that only have the purpose of cooling. "If equipment is manufactured that also contributes to energy consumption, an improvement in the industry will be noticed and that is achieved only by using adaptations that are possible, such as changing an expansion valve or with the movement of the pressure switch regulation; so that energy savings of 10 to 15% can be achieved, without touching types of compressors or exchangers. But we need to encourage people to be trained and understand the importance of this knowledge."
Attendees and exhibitors, satisfied
The professionals present in the academic program recognized RefriAméricas as an update space where the new trends of the refrigeration industry are discussed.
Sergio Piedrahíta, manager of Reintex, commented that "for us who are dedicated to the refrigeration industry, I see RefriAméricas very well, I think these fairs are very important and we must participate in them. I think they are on the right track in trying to encourage people to do good refrigeration practices."
For his part, Luder Villegas, from the maintenance area of the Universidad del Valle (south Pacific zone of Colombia), said that "These spaces are very important because they bring us up to date with everything new in laws and regulations for the industry and for us technicians it is very helpful. Every day you learn something new."
For their part, the exhibitors showed their satisfaction for participating in the ninth edition of RefriAméricas and agreed on the good quality of the customers who visited the fair. "We had interesting visits, people arrived with very specific needs and with business options that really interest us. Even the customers we can have are the same exhibitors related to the issue of cold rooms, "said Juan David Herrera, product and quality manager of Plexatec.
While Hernán López, director of Thermo-coil, took advantage of his participation in the fair to analyze several commercial aspects: "We found people with different interests, some wanted to know the products and with others we already had appointments to do business, since they come from other countries and take advantage of this place to visit other exhibitors. We also analyze companies that manufacture the same as us and thus study the competition, and we also receive customers who have bought from us and who had some concerns. In short, we are satisfied with what was presented."
The space falls short to include all the companies and sponsorships that made it possible for the 2012 version of RefriAméricas to cover all expectations. In the same way, we hope that next year they will join us again, since we will have a current program and new speakers and exhibitors who will present the latest developments in the refrigeration sector.
