EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
Continued from page 15
African Institute of Refrigeration and Air
Conditioning (SAIRAC). We would still see
each other many times over the course of
the show …
3
PANASONIC PRESS CONFERENCE
I temporarily made my way out of the halls
to attend the Panasonic press conference
that morning — there was not an empty
seat in the room. The lady registering me
also recognised me, but this time from
meeting me at MCE earlier that year. I
took my seat next to Andrew Williams from
shecco as he furiously typed away at
some article or another.
This was when I finally got to meet the
man behind the name I had come across
so often. He knew who I was even before
I stretched out my hand to him in the front
row. At long last: Mark Chasserot, shecco’s
CEO. He had heard a lot about the ATMO
FRIGAIR event and it seemed that it was all
positive.
The Panasonic team spoke about their
history and their future, announcing that
they will be moving more heavily into
refrigeration in future. They now also have
a new manufacturing base in the Czech
Republic.
They spoke on retail trends, focusing
on a full CO 2 solution and introducing
their trans-critical CO 2 unit before sharing
a video on cold chain solutions that they
now offer.
After a quick view of the global and
European markets, the press conference
concluded.
place to be. We gathered up for a photo
at the Danfoss photo booth, which Tiaan
Barnard of Danfoss shared on LinkedIn,
racking up the likes. Roy Naidoo of Danfoss
offered me a coffee and I chatted to
Rodney Taylor to see how his new position as
managing director of Eurocool was going.
Although it was early on Day 1, I knew
by now how these shows went: you always
lost steam towards the end. So, I decided
to do all the big stands first. And when I
think ‘big’, I always think ‘GEA’. GEA knows
how to do a massive stand and although
somewhat smaller than their 2014 version,
it still offered a myriad of new and exciting
equipment.
I checked in with Steven Long
and finally met Tom Eelen of GEA in
Amsterdam, who would be my ‘tour
guide’ later on for my trip to their piston
compressor factory in Den Bosch,
Amsterdam. (More about this next time.)
You cannot list big stands and not
include Bitzer, though. I got the full
experience as South African managing
director, Bernhard Blaeser, took me
through the stand as he had done every
single other time I had visited them at
Chillventa. We looked at each of the
new products as he explained what had
changed. His usual excitement ensured
that it was impossible to get bored despite
the overwhelming amount of technical
info he was conveying.
Here I also met up with Marius La
Grange of EP | Refrigeration Solutions
and current president of the South
4
1
5
2
1. So many South Africans at the Bitzer event! From left: Marius Davel (Refaircon); Ken
Sullivan (Refaircon); Graham Conway (SCM Ref Africa); and Jurie Benade (Beijer Ref /
Metraclark).
2. Enjoying the Bitzer evening, from left: Olaf Angloher, Juan-Pierre van Zyl (both from San
Group), and Phillip Grant (Refaircon).
3. Meeting Miss Chillventa!
4. The ‘ASHRAE Steves’ selfie with Steve Comstock (left) and Steve Gill (right).
5. At the Carel stand: Fred Penhall (Carel SA managing director) on right with Edevaldo
Bomfin (MD of Carel Brazil).
COLD LINK AFRICA • January/February 2019
www.coldlinkafrica.co.za
17