Cold Link Africa Jan/Feb 2017 | Page 23

by Schuurmans , who started trading under the name Heat Pump International cc

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— a company registered by him in 1986 .

“ So technically we are 30 years old , but

Les assures me that it was 21 years ago

that the company started doing what it is

doing now . Anyway , it ’ s a good reason to

celebrate — be it 30 or 21 years .”

“ Schuurmans is a true entrepreneur

and has founded more companies than

even he can remember and I admire

him for that ,” said Dave Kloot . “ When I

think of what goes into actually running a

company , I would rather herd cats than

start up a company from scratch .”

When you break

a commitment

you could very

well destroy a relationship .

He went on to reminisce , “ Until Arthur Johnson introduced us to scroll compressors , many of our packages

electronic controllers have all improved the performance efficiency of our equipment and sharpened our prices to be more

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would leave the factory with up to eight

competitive . Whatever changes we have

semi-hermetic compressors . Most or nearly

made have been in accordance with

In 1996 , Turnbull decided to go out on his own and formed his company , Aircon Sales and Engineering . He maintained strong links with HPI as he has been acting as its agent ever since . “ Turnbull ’ s input to the company over the years has been invaluable , and has in no small way helped to shape the company into what it is today . To our regret , Pete has decided to retire from the industry at the end of 2016 and we wish him well .”

“ Heat Pump International owes a debt of gratitude to both these great men , Harry and Pete ,” Dave Kloot concluded his speech .

Driven by technology “ The change to scroll compressors had a major impact on the design , manufacture and future development of our product range of packaged roof top units and air handling units ,” said Les Kloot as he addressed the guests .

all of our packages now only have two scroll compressors , have a much lower power usage , and cooling capacity is closely matched to the load . With the large capacity scrolls now available , even our largest units only need two scrolls and have standby capacity . Having only two compressors has reduced manufacturing time , the number of pipe joints , and the potential source of leaks .”

Les Kloot went on to recall how changes in product and design have evolved around changes in available technology . An ongoing drive to remain competitive has been the catalyst to tinker with technology . “ We started testing the actual performance of compressors and found it to differ from published data . We then relooked at our selections . In 2011 , the change to R410A meant that we could have smaller condensers . A swing to electronic expansion valves , the addition of variable speed drives , and compact

the recommendations of the equipment suppliers .”

Part of the philosophy of the company has been to contribute towards academic research . As a University of Cape Town ( UCT ) graduate , Les Kloot has maintained a close relation with UCT . Each year , HPI has an engineering student do their practical thesis at its factory . One such project was to develop a single piece sub-cooler / receiver / accumulator . With this device , none of the heat transfer capacity of an evaporator needs to be wasted on superheat to prevent liquid return to the compressor .

At the celebration , guests were taken on a guided tour of the factory and had a demonstration of a packaged unit to be despatched to a hospital in Mpumalanga . The working of Les Kloot ’ s test rig , which has been used by many postgraduate students , was also shown to the visitors . CLA

1 . Les Kloot proudly demonstrated his test rig .

2 . Gosain Lutta of Colcab with Harry Schuurmans .

3 . From left : Pete Turnbull with Gamiel Isaacs ( HPI ) and Craig Boswell ( Two Oceans Air Conditioning ).

4 . Scroll compressors are now a standard feature in all Heat Pump International products .