EDITORIAL COMMENT
In putting this Platinum Jubilee issue together , we reflect on those that served SAIRAC who , during this decade have gone to their eternal life , but never will be forgotten and always remembered .
Decade highlights The decade saw VRF coming into its own as well as the Green / Climate Change / Clean Air take their rightful place in the world of HEVAC & R .
The HFC phase-down also received attention with SAIRAC being an integral part of the Dept of Environmental Affairs ( DEA ) working group , which continues . The JBCC issued a few revisions to the contracts with the sub-contractor agreement finalised .
The natural refrigerants discussion meant that many in the industry were attending several lectures on this particular topic .
Chillers are a talking point as they are making a comeback ; incorporating technology that the industry has seen develop in all areas .
Our main source of historical reference were the RACA journals as all the records at Witwatersrand University , donated by SAIRAC many years ago , were inaccessible due to a certain virus that brought disruption and devastation to everyone ’ s lives – socially and workwise . And more recently , and at the time of writing , the student protests did not help .
Whilst most of the historical side will be pictorial and / or extracts from RACA Journal we list some of the constants that continually showed the dedication and commitment to SAIRAC and the industry .
A big thank you We refer to the regular contributors to the Journal who give up much of their time in providing thought-provoking articles regularly .
• Andrew Perks
• Barney Richardson
• Geoff Alder ( until March 2013 , when he passed away ).
Thanks to his ever-gracious wife , Glenda , who allowed us to continue with his writings for the remainder of that year .
• Grant Laidlaw
• Charles Nicolson
• Selele Masilo
• Michael Young
• Olivier Barbeau
• Bruce Kinnear
• Ron Burns
• Charel Marias
• The late Alan Nurrik
And the many guest writers who shared of their knowledge .
The Consulting Engineers and Contractors who provided valuable input in terms of design and installation techniques for each monthly project .
To the manufacturers / suppliers that present at SAIRAC regions , providing knowledge to the members and updating them on the fast-changing technology that this last decade has experienced .
I was particularly drawn to the ‘ recalling the past ’ series where we repeated papers presented at the inaugural FRIGAIR in 1980 as well as papers that were a regular feature of SAIRAC meeting around South Africa .
For the younger folk , technical papers that were presented at SAIRAC monthly meetings , as well as being peer reviewed before publication . These papers were presented by the cream of the HVAC & R crop and members hung on every word .
The series , which ran for six issues , was sponsored by Mitsubishi , and covered the best part of four to five pages . The presenters were :
• R Ramsden
• G Alder
• J M S Laubscher
• A Johannsen
• H F A Matthysen
• S J Bluhm
38 SAIRAC 70TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE | 1951 - 2021