EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
I then headed off to the Forum in Hall 9
where the natural refrigerants programme
was taking place. I had also promised some
Cold Link Africa copies to Natasha Kochovo
of the United Nations Industrial Development
Organisation (UNIDO). This time, of the
edition featuring the HCFC Phase-out
Management Plan (HPMP) roadshow she
had been involved with earlier the year.
I went with Natasha to the eurammon
stand for the Friends of Natural Refrigerants
brunch, where I met many interesting
people from countries around the world.
I couldn’t stay long though, as the
official press lunch was soon to start
and Hall 9 was probably as far away
from the press lounge as I could get. I
missioned through the stands, cutting
through services entrances where I could
to make it in time for the gathering of
international press.
Team Danfoss at one of the forum talks: Roy Naidoo
(left) and Tiaan Barnard.
Meeting the icon, Neil Everitt, who is the editor of the popular Cooling Post website and
newsletter.
I spent some time in Hall 8, doing the
rounds as I followed the floor plan on
the now already crumbled booklet that
had become my guide for the show. As
I crossed off the stands on my to-visit list,
I slowly made my way through the halls
packed with people on the stands and
aisles.
I then headed to Hall 4 to meet up with
Cyril Macquet-Maurel, SAIRAC KwaZulu-
Natal chairman, who was at the show for
the day.
Then it was time to tackle Hall 9 where
I paused to check out the ongoing skills
competition. The teams at the Federal Skills
Competition of German Refrigeration Plant
Assemblers (BIV) were hard at work and
it was really cool to see. Alan Brown from
TecsaReco caught me in passing here.
It was great to see so many of the local
industry role players at the show.
I kept bumping into the Eurocool guys — Johann van Breda
(left) and Rodney Taylor (new managing director).
Natasha Kochovo of the United Nations Industrial
Development Organisation (UNIDO) was incredibly happy
to receive her hard copies of Cold Link Africa featuring the
HPMP roadshow article.
Continued from page 19
Trying out the Danfoss photo booth. From left: Johann Jooste (Metraclark); Tiaan Barnard (Danfoss); Kobus Hattingh (Metraclark); Roy Naidoo
(Danfoss); and Ilana Koegelenberg.
COLD LINK AFRICA • January/February 2019
The organisers gave us all the facts and
stats — the visitors, the exhibitors, the
floor space — translated from German
into our headsets. It truly did sound like
a record 10th edition after all. They
announced the Chillventa Award
winners and elaborated on the extensive
supporting technical programme running
alongside the exhibition this year. They
declared that the biggest topic all round
this year is refrigerants.
There was a call to action for the media
in attendance, urging us to help improve
the image of the HVAC&R industry to help
attract more people into this field.
I finally met Miss Chillventa — a face
I had seen on every piece of Chillventa
marketing material over the past four
years. I got to take a picture with her and
we had a brief chat. She’s lovely and
apparently used to live in Cape Town for
a year when she was modelling that side.
Bucket list — check.
After the press event, I headed to
Hall 8 to catch up with Dave Mitchell of
Consultaire, who showed me around
his supplier stands — Eckerle and Blue
Diamond in Hall 5. He shared with me the
www.coldlinkafrica.co.za
21