Associations
SAIRAC CPT
REFLECTS ON YESTERYEAR
By Ntsako Khosa
Gathered at the Kelvin Grove Country Club in Cape Town, the SAIRAC
region and its members took time out to reflect and share the year’s plan.
S
AIRAC Cape Town centre committee chairman, Louis
Vermeulen, set things in motion by welcoming attendees
and thanking members for their support and contributions
throughout 2019.
He went on to thank the individuals that played a role in
ensuring the technical talks and courses happen. Each year
the region awards a member for Best Attendance for Technical
The Cape Town SAIRAC Lunch was held at Kelvin Grove Country
Club in November.
Neville Scholtz (left) and Louis Vermeulen.
18
RACA Journal I February 2020
Louis Vermeulen and Marius la
Grange (right).
Talks and refresher courses – the member that attends most of
the events. Neville Scholtz from Air Movement Supplies (AMS)
walked away with the award.
David la Grange, winner of the national WorldSkills
competition, who went on to represent South Africa at the 2019
competition in Russia in the refrigeration and air conditioning
category was awarded Student of the Year. In his acceptance
speech, he thanked those who had helped him in his
preparation journey for WorldSkills. “The entire WorldSkills
experience has broadened my knowledge base and I have
grown as a person. It has been a great experience to be able to
compete with so many different countries. The opportunity to
connect with local and international experts would never have
happened if I didn’t taken part in the regional competition. I
encourage young candidates and industry members to invest
in the WorldSkills campaign. The next competition will be held
in Shanghai in 2021,” he said.
Archie Steyn, treasurer, then gave an update on the
balance, investment feedback, funding and financial updates
related to training. Steven Palvi, technical meeting/speaker
programme coordinator gave a general overview of the topics
covered in Cape Town. He further thanked speakers who ran
the Talks as well as recommendations received from members.
“The meetings and courses were well-attended, thank you for
that and keep it up,” he said. He also shared the agenda for
the region, mentioning some of the talks members can look
forward to are : water corrosion in HVAC equipment, remote
monitoring and configuration, and lubrication testing by weir
will be covered by plant supervisors, and a water specialist.
Marius la Grange, president of SAIRAC Cape Town, gave
an Association update stating that 25 Technical Talks and 12
training courses were held in 2019. “A few of our members
passed away, and it is unfortunate. We do value the feedback
we get from you for the talks. It helps us to improve. We also
entered into an Agreement with ASHRAE, opening their
talks to SAIRAC members at their fee. The opposite also
applies for ASHRAE members. We are also affiliated with the
Institute of Refrigeration (IOR) e-platform. Research articles
published online are available to members at a fee. In July,
they will be hosting a conference and you are welcome to
submit research projects to present. More information will
be shared in due course,” he said. La Grange handed Louis
Vermeulen an appreciation gift for his hard work in organising
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