by Héctor Gómez Pérez
If you look back, you could say that ciar was born after a meeting of friends, at the 1990 ASHRAE congress held in Atlanta. "We were having dinner with Ibero-Americans in a hotel in Atlanta: there were people from Colombia, Spain, Uruguay, Peru and Ecuador, and we started talking about the need for an exchange of information in our language, for works to be presented in Spanish, for conferences to be held and above all for a crossing of information to be promoted because there are things that are done in Brazil and that are not done in Colombia, others that are made in Ecuador, but that do not apply to Chile," said engineer Eduardo Donoso, president of Eduardo Donoso e hijos C Ltda, in turn president of the Ecuadorian Technical Association of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (ATEAR) and future president of the Federation of Ibero-American Associations of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (FAIAR)
By 1991 this dream crystallized with the realization of the first CIAR in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. The appointment this year will be in Guayaquil, Ecuador, from June 3 to 5 and in advance the next president of FAIAR anticipates that the participants of the event will find "a very good congress of air conditioning and refrigeration in which we have strived to bring people of very high capacity and very tested in all issues of the industry".
There are already 10
In its tenth version, the CIAR will count among its staff of speakers William Harrison, president of ASHRAE; Thomas Mcnamara, designer of large buildings; Ronald Vallort, refrigeration expert; Ramón Pons, one of the founders of CIAR and an expert in absorption equipment; Victor Goldschmidt, professor emeritus at Purdue and Juan Gallostra, a well-known Spanish consultant.
The X CIAR will be held at the Simón Bolívar Convention Center in Guayaquil and will be sponsored by the American Society of Heating, Refregerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASRAE), the M.I Municipality of Guayaquil, the Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL) and FAIAR. Basically it will be divided into two modalities: Academic days in which the works of the different participating countries will be presented and the Technology Fair in which companies from the air conditioning, refrigeration, ventilation and heating sectors will show the latest advances in products and services.
Regarding the Academic Days, it is important to highlight that in total 48 works will be presented, of which the three best will be selected and prizes will be obtained in their order for 1,500, 1,000 and 500 dollars. As expressed by Donoso, the issue on which these works have focused the most is energy conservation and adds that "I would have liked more refrigeration work on food issues because Ibero-America and the world require a lot of the cold for the conservation of food; there are jobs, but they are very few, which reflects that of 10 engineers in industry 8 are dedicated to air conditioning and only 2 to refrigeration".
The organizing committee expects approximately 200 participants and currently efforts are being made to make the air conditioning and refrigeration associations of Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Panama that have never been part of the contest.
The Cold Room
The Salón del Frío is the name of the technology fair in which until the end of February there were already 25 confirmed exhibitors. "This space helps international manufacturers to publicize their products, this aspect is very relevant because not all people can go to first world countries to know the new technologies of the industry. These spaces are still important because despite the fact that one attends many international fairs, one always finds something new that serves to apply it in different projects, "said Donoso.
Three themes will serve as the central axis of ciar 2009: the sustainable building, refrigeration in Latin America and the hospital issue on which Donoso said that "we must agree all the consultants in the region to offer solutions for hospitals and operating rooms because in this matter there are great shortcomings for the simple fact that in the region there is poverty. The designs that are made in the region have to be done well, because it does not operate on a rich or a poor, but on a person who must be offered the best conditions of asepsis, climate control and ventilation. "
Precisely on these three topics, round tables are already planned in which specialists from the region, supported by others from the United States and Europe, will delve into the conjunctural aspects of them.
The novelty
During this version of the CIAR, and for the first time in the contest, the Open CIAR golf tournament will be held. This is an initiative brought by one of the Argentine members, which seeks to strengthen the bonds of friendship and union between the attendees.
The tournament will be held on June 2 at the Guayaquil Country Club and as Donoso explained "it is a good opportunity to increase Ibero-American camaraderie, cross ideas, meet friends and be united, especially now when we are in times of crisis."
Finally, Eduardo Donoso said that in Latin America the air conditioning and refrigeration industry is still incipient with the exception of Spain and Brazil, and other countries that are making their way such as Mexico. As for the challenges ahead, this professional said that they are summarized in "being more efficient, doing things better and without wasting. Projects must be done well and spending less because today there are no second chances."
Guayaquil, a prepared hostess
"Guayaquil is ready to receive all visitors; it is a fraternal, cheerful city in which the administrations have made remarkable efforts. It is a modern city in which there is much to know and not only here but in other places in Ecuador where there are mountains, moors, desert or tropical coast and the amazing Galapagos Islands. Guayaquil will welcome them with open arms and the CIAR will be a reason for Ibero-American union," Donoso concluded.
