PAST PRESIDENTS
Immediate past president
MARIUS LA GRANGE 2018 – 2020
Firstly , I would like to thank all the volunteers that served in leading roles with me – with some still offering of their time . I believe these constant efforts from them makes SAIRAC one of very few industry organisations globally that offers so much to both support in terms of information , and continued training to new and existing individuals working in the HVAC & R industries .
This was a huge help to myself many years ago and I trust that what SAIRAC ’ s founders set out to achieve will remain for many years to come .
The primary goal we set ourselves was to further the cause of switching to environmentally friendly alternatives as refrigerants . Aligning with some of the organisational theories from Geoffrey Vickers , an alternative to setting elaborate goals in favour of relationship management with global leading organisations and individuals would serve this cause in whatever way possible . Valued relations are a form of wealth to any individual or organisation .
I believe a great deal of credit is due to those who have served in positions with SAIRAC historically . Systemically there was much to use as guidance in almost any process that we were faced with . Much of this is thanks to John Ackerman ’ s efforts in years prior .
The growing need to reduce the impact of synthetic refrigerants that leak into the atmosphere – a major contributing factor towards direct global warming – during the lifespan of a HVAC & R system , is a major focus . The growing trends and policy applications require much education to ensure safe and correct application to serve as long term solutions . Most systems designed to use natural refrigerants also offer improvements in energy consumed to operate across a wide range of applications and environments . This indirect global warming effect in South Africa is of great significance since the bulk of electricity is generated from burning carbon fuels resulting in a significant global warming effect for every kW hour consumed to operate a system . Making use of SAIRAC ’ s traditional programmes we brought all the variables together as a value-add to our members and industry .
One favourable outcome was ASHRAE deciding to open a chapter office in South Africa . With SAIRAC having much in common , a memorandum of understanding was agreed upon and signed . SAIRAC will help promote any of ASHRAE ’ s events in future . We trust ASHRAE ’ s offering within South Africa will be to the benefit of any SAIRAC member as well . Many SAIRAC members are of course ASHRAE members as well .
A crucial component of any organisation is their website . The historic platform used was limited and challenging to maintain . The national council made the decision to develop a newer and more adaptable platform . With much research into the options on hand , and weighing the benefits and the cost associated with them , a suitable service provider and platform was selected for a new SAIRAC website . One of the goals was to have a platform that would offer more and easier access to information and past events with room to grow in future . I trust the resulting outcomes offer easy access to scheduled events with related info .
4 SAIRAC 70TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE | 1951 - 2021