INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
First HPMP roadshow kicks off with a bang
By Ilana Koegelenberg
There wasn’ t an empty seat in the house on 12 June when the first-ever HPMP roadshow towards phasing out HCFCs and the management of HFCs took place at the Constantia Hotel in Midrand, Johannesburg.
This HCFC Phase-out Management Plan( HPMP) roadshow was the first of four taking place across the country to bridge the South African knowledge gap on the available ozone depleting substances( ODSs). Hosted by the Department of Environmental Affairs in association with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation( UNIDO), the remaining roadshows took place as follows:
Durban: 14 June 2018 Port Elizabeth: 19 June 2018 Cape Town: 21 June 2018
One of the main aims of the roadshow is to encourage dialogue between industry, technical experts, equipment engineers, and the Department of Environmental Affairs( DEA), something which was done very successfully at the Midrand roadshow.
The first roadshow was very well attended by a mix of stakeholders from both government and all sectors of the HVAC & R industry, including suppliers, consulting engineers, and contractors.
There was a small collocating exhibition where a few companies could distribute information relating to alternative refrigerants and products. Exhibitors varied for the four shows but included DEA, UNIDO, A-Gas, SAQCC Gas, Metraclark, Eurocool, Refrimate, Sir- Air, TecsaReco, Kovco, and MacsAuto.
SETTING THE SCENE
Once everyone had settled down after registration, the programme director for the day, Obed Baloyi( chief director: Chemicals Management at DEA), officially welcomed everyone to the momentous occasion of the country’ s first HPMP roadshow.
Baloyi kicked things off by giving some background on what they want to achieve with the roadshows, running through the programme and the topics that would be covered during the course of the day. He also gave some background to what the HPMP actually is and spoke on the progress we as a country have made so far in terms of phasing out refrigerants over the years.
A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
The first presenter of the day was Natasha Kochova of UNIDO, who came all the way from Macedonia to give a global perspective on the phase out of ozone depleting substances( ODSs). This was only her second time in South Africa and she thanked Baloyi and his team for the excellent work they have done, not only in terms of phasing out ODSs, but also the roadshow initiative.
Kochova’ s presentation was very detailed and she covered a lot of ground, starting as far back as the creation of the ozone layer. She explained ODSs scientifically, looking at the chemistry behind the problem. According to
Midrand
Speakers at the Midrand roadshow, from left: Margaret Molefe( DEA); Dr Ina Colombo( IIR); Obed Baloyi( DEA); Natasha Kochova( UNIDO); and Amalia Nangolo( Namibia NOU).
Midrand
A full house listening to Obed Baloyi( chief director: Chemicals Management at DEA) officially welcoming stakeholders.
Photos by HPMP media team
Midrand
Too many attendees at Midrand to even fit into a shot properly – the event was well attended.
COLD LINK AFRICA • September 2018 www. coldlinkafrica. co. za 11