Feature
as we enter uncertain economic times.
In South Africa, Rothenberger reports
that, statistically, the market activity
indicates HVAC as a ‘summer product’.
The company shows that historically
the HVAC division takes a dive in winter
months with purchases, so particular
buying patterns are as expected with no
major changes in demand for particular
products at the moment.
With many suppliers the current
environment in South Africa has been
skewed as businesses have mostly been
on lockdown and are only starting up
again. Some suppliers on the other hand
have indicated large demand for certain
products directly related to coronavirus
as customers take a proactive approach
to management and maintenance of
their equipment.
Cordless or battery-operated sitetools
have been popular for some years
already and searching for an electricity
point or being limited by the restrictions
cabled-tools have is generally a thing of
the past. Tooling companies do continue
to develop battery technology and
battery systems that are compatible with
a wide range of tools.
“Most tool manufacturers today focus
their ranges towards making the user’s
life easier and simpler with ergonomic and
aesthetic adjustments, producing tools that
are more compact, lighter and easier to
handle. With specific tools like a flaring tool
or a swaging tool, there is not much more
that can be done to improve these types
of tools. It becomes increasingly difficult
to come up with more innovation on hand
tooling, but with electric tooling such as
pumps there is continual development
in these areas. Any digitally-controlled
product will naturally undergo many
improvements as manufacturers come up
with ways to increase efficiency,” says Adler
Teubes, managing director at Rothenberger
Tools South Africa.
Steenkamp also mentions that no
technician wants to have to buy tools twice,
so buying right the first time is important.
“Various offerings in the digital arena
are becoming available that connect to
a phone, tablet or other instrument via
Bluetooth. This allows wireless technology
Testo
More and more technology is moving towards testing tool connectivity with devices such as
smartphones, tablets and other devices enabled with Bluetooth.
Continued on page 33
www.hvacronline.co.za RACA Journal I September 2020 31