Cold Link Africa May 2019 | Page 19

EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN The choice of venue for the BSA 2019 regional conference proved to be ideal. distributor agreement in July 2018 with Eurocool and Metraclark. The nine branches of Eurocool in South Africa have been added to other Bitzer distributors of long-standing: Afcon Industrial in Durban, and AC&R Components in Cape Town and Bloemfontein. The 12 branches of Metraclark in Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Tanzania, and Ghana join the network of distributors outside the borders of South Africa. In an overview of the Bitzer Group and product line, Bernard Blaeser (Bitzer SA managing director) stated that the screw compressor was the fastest-growing product in the line of compressors, heat exchangers, and condensing units manufactured in the network of 16 production plants across the globe. With 3 500 employees in 52 operations across 64 locations, Bitzer views the sharing of knowledge of utmost importance. The Schaufler training academy in Germany and the Bitzer Refrigerant Report, now in edition 20, bear testimony to the group’s commitment to training. In 2017, more than 4 200 people attended over 200 Bitzer training courses. USER-FRIENDLY SELECTION PROGRAMS Bernhard Blaeser (Bitzer) demonstrates the SPO app to authenticate genuine Bitzer spare parts and content of package. For each product line, Bitzer has a user-friendly online selection program. Torsten Steinborn demonstrated the selection of the Ecostar condensing units. With a single click, the estimator can view the impact of change in refrigerant or different ambient conditions on coefficient of performance (COP). Once selected, the program will also provide an exploded view of the compressor spare parts, which can easily be emailed to contractors or users. The international focus on low global warming refrigeration necessitated COLD LINK AFRICA • May 2019 the formulation of a wide range of refrigerants, each requiring design changes to compressors, heat transfer equipment, pressure vessels, and specific oils to match the properties and thermodynamic performance of each new refrigerant. UPDATE OF REFRIGERANT TRENDS Tobias Fuhrer, who travelled from Bitzer Germany to attend the Bitzer SA (BSA) conference, gave an update on the emergency trends in refrigerants and the www.coldlinkafrica.co.za 19