The curtain closed on the X Ibero-American Congress of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (CIAR) and two things were evident: the general concern for environmental issues and the union of industry members in the region.
By: Héctor Gómez Pérez
Eduardo Donoso Pérez, president of CIAR, ATEAAR (Ecuadorian Technical Association of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration) and FAIAR (Federation of Ibero-American Associations of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration), had mentioned it before: "The CIAR is a meeting of friends", and that was precisely what could be seen during the three days that the event lasted (June 3 to June 5).
From the very moment of registration you could see the great friendship that during these 10 versions has been brewing between the different members of the Spanish-speaking industry, and that has also led them to share the same concerns. At the congress, held at the Guayaquil Convention Center, Ecuador, these shared concerns were highlighted in the theme in which the issue of energy saving, energy production and environmental impact were protagonists.
Numbers and the Cold Fair
Although 200 participants were expected to the X version of the CIAR, the 170 who finally took part in this congress account for the reception that this meeting has in the region, this without counting the appearance of the AH1N1 flu that has definitely had a negative impact on both tourism and corporate travel, as is the case with the congress in question.
Continuing with the numbers, it is important to highlight the participation of 30 firms to the Salón del Frío, a parallel event to the academic program, which sought that the manufacturers of air conditioning and refrigeration show their new products and technologies for these industries that constantly show changes. Precisely Gustavo Tofalo, sales manager for the southern cone and the Andean pact of Armacell, was touring the aisles and said that "it is a very interesting fair because it is a good way to meet all the market players in South America. It is important to maintain an active relationship with the market and meet the new companies that can be potential suppliers or distributors of ours."
In the same sense, Andrés Proaño, president of Integ S.A.C and who was in charge of the Mitsubishi Electronic stand , referred to. "It is the second time we have participated in a Salón del Frío and we had very good approaches with builders of buildings, restaurants and entertainment sites that are very interested in our brand and with whom we hope to close business between June and July," proaño said.
Academic programming
As for the academic part, it is important to note that there were a total of 47 conferences (6 of them masterful); the latter dictated by international guests of the stature of William Harrison, president of ASHRAE; Victor Goldschmid, professor emeritus of mechanical engineering at Purdue; Ramón Ponds, industrial technical engineer and one of the founders of CIAR; Ronald Vallort, Chairman of Ron Valort and Associates, Ltd; Juan Gallostra, CEO of the JG Consulting Engineers Group, and Thomas McNamara partner of ASHRAE and former president of the Association in the Illinois Chapter.
On the other hand, and as a novelty, three round tables were held that dealt with Hospital Solutions; Refrigeration, quality of life and development of countries, and sustainable buildings. Each one had three participants and a moderator who served as a bridge between the attendees and the exhibitors.
In addition, 23 trade conferences were held, in which manufacturers talked about various technologies and application in the industry.
Guayaquil met the challenge
A few hours before the curtain closed on the X version of the CIAR, ACR LATINOAMÉRICA spoke with Eduardo Donoso, who was the person who led the congress, and stressed that the main balance thrown by this meeting is that professionals in the region are eager for knowledge and spaces in which the meeting and exchange of industry actors is possible.
He also added that "we thought that more people would come from other countries, I do not know if it was the influenza virus or the global economic crisis, but in general terms I have heard very good opinions about our congress. We also wanted to proudly show Guayaquil which is a city that has had a radical change in the last 18 years. People leave happy above all for the degree of technique, the academic and scientific level that the congress has exhibited".
In the same way, Donoso emphasized the importance of education, not only in the development of the industry, but of countries in general. "That is why I applaud countries and rulers who think that the future lies in educating their people," he added.
On the theme that was developed during the congress, he mentioned that the current challenges facing the industry are summarized in building well, in which the environment should not be affected, energy should be saved and things should be sought by spending less.
On the other hand, for the three best works of the congress, a recognition in money was allocated: US$ 1500, for the first; $1000 for the second, and $500 for the third. The winning works, respectively, were: Dynamic modeling for multivariate control of refrigeration systems by macanic understanding of steam by Leonardo C Schurt, Christian Hermes, Alexandre Trofino Neto and Cláudio Melo; Optimization of a cooling system by absorption assisted by solar energy using TRNSYS by Humberto Vidal, and Design and modeling of parabolic trough solar concentrator system for food dehydration process by Jorge Orlando Bazán.
The next CIAR is already being planned, and Mexico City will host the event in 2011. Carlos Mendoza, president of the refrigeration and air conditioning sector of Americ, AC (Mexican Association of Companies in the Field of Construction Facilities), was the standard-bearer to lead the spokesperson of the headquarters in the Aztec country. "Hosting the event will be a great challenge for Mexico because year after year we see how the quality of the exhibitors and the works presented grows, but I think we have the experience to do it well, and why not, overcome the previous congresses."
Box 1
Golf, another novelty
Another novelty of the X version of the CIAR was the realization of a golf tournament to integrate the attendees. This sporting event was held on June 2 at the guayaquil country club facilities with the participation of 18 golfers and the sponsorship of Olman Sauceda, greenheck's director for Latin America. There were two categories that were divided according to the handicap of the players 0-25 and 26-36. In the first category the winner was Juan Alberto Larrain (Chile) and in the second, Byron Laureano (USA).
"When ASHRAE does an event of this type, it inaugurates it with a golf tournament and a fishing tournament, and we in Argentina did an industry congress and also inaugurated it with a golf tournament. The engineer Marco Castillo of ATEAAR realized the success we had and proposed me to organize one for the CIAR and thus the idea was born. With this what matters is not the level of the participants, but to integrate people. It was so successful that the people of Mexico already told me to organize the tournament for the CIAR of 2011," said Florentino Rosón Rodriguez, vice president of the Argentine Cold Association and manager of the golf tournament at the CIAR.
Another event that served for the integration of the attendees of the X CIAR was the tour through the Guayas River aboard the famous Pirate Ship Morgan. This was a musical and entertainment evening offered by the folks at Johnson Controls.
Box 2
What was the balance of the CIAR?
Carlos González, technical director of Indoor Enviromental Consultants (Puerto Rico): "The quality of all the speakers and the topics was very good, so I would tell anyone that the event was a success. It's my first time in Congress and it won't be my last because it was very well mounted and has nothing to envy to one of the United States."
Camilo Botero, president of ACAIRE (Colombia): "It seems to me that the balance is supremely positive and I see that the central issues in which we are committed in Colombia, which are those of sustainability, energy efficiency, the certification of buildings and the certification of technicians were considered here."
Carlos Mendoza, president of the air conditioning and refrigeration sector of Americ (Mexico):"I think very good international exhibitors were brought, Tom McNamara's participation was masterful. The exhibitors were very experienced people who definitely enjoy their work inside the air conditioning."
Klaus Peter Schmid, president of the Chilean Chamber of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning: "It has been a tremendous effort by the Ecuadorian people to organize a good event and in a good location and for that we must congratulate them. The topics were entertaining and current, the only weak point was that we are in economic crisis and also with an outbreak of flu that has reduced attendance, and that I find regrettable for the high effort that the organization has made. "
Luis Lagomarcino, president of Luis Lagomarcino y Asociados (Uruguay): "I found it an interesting and well-organized event. It was a good CIAR that helped that idea that has been consolidated over the years. The theme was good and I think the idea of the round tables was also good, but to which some things have to be adjusted so that they are more effective and there is more discussion."
Oswaldo Ávila, partner and technical supervisor of Refritécnica (Venezuela): "The topics were of great interest to Latin America and there was a lot of technology from which we have to learn. What we can take away is the fact of working as a team between installers, designers and architects to deliver quality work."
