RACA Journal September 2023 | Page 10

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News
The official handover .
equipment . ACRA appreciates the support from the company and aims to continue providing high-quality training to aspiring HVAC & R professionals .
Meyer explained that Eckerle is a family business that has been around for around 60 years and is currently owned and run by some of the founders . Their main business is in hydraulic
pumps , which is unrelated to the machine donated , but the company has always considered the air conditioning business to be important . It has had a partnership agreement with Southern Africa for the past 15 years , supplying a significant range of their global products to South Africa . Meyer ' s role is to help the company grow not only in South Africa but also in the rest of Africa , which is seen as a region with considerable potential .
Africa is one of the last developing markets , and the company recognises both the opportunities and challenges there . With a population of 1.4 billion people , there is a significant potential for air conditioning units .
Laidlaw says : “ Up until now , our focus in the air conditioning industry has been on installation courses , and we haven ' t placed much emphasis on condensate pumps . However , having your pump here will require us to give it more importance . The new qualifications we are introducing will include a module dedicated to condensate pumps .”
The new course will include training videos donated by Eckerle to be shown in the classroom during the installation course . Providing relevant material like videos helps to set the standard and ensure consistency . Laidlaw noted that students retain more information through videos and demonstrations compared to traditional classroom teaching . RACA

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RACA Journal I September 2023 www . refrigerationandaircon . co . za