USA/SERBIA: US manufacturer Modine has officially opened a second facility in Sremska, Serbia, to manufacture coils for commercial and residential heat pump applications.  Serbian Prime Minister-designate Milos Vučević and US Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill were among the dignitaries who attended the grand opening ceremony. “The new production facility underscores Modine’s commitment to investing in technologies that reduce energy consumption and lower harmful emissions, like heat pumps,” said Modine president and CEO Neil D Brinker.  Colleague Eric McGinnis, Modine’s preside ..read more

USA: Refrigerant supply and management company A-Gas has completed the construction of another set of separation towers at its facility in Rhome, Texas.  These new separation towers will significantly increase A-Gas’ capability to supply the US with reclaimed refrigerant gases, a key essential for implementing the production and consumption phase down of HFCs under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act. A-Gas has now nearly quadrupled the separation capacity at the Texas facility since 2017.  The separation technology, combined with the Texas facility’s AHRI-certified ..read more

SWEDEN: Beijer Ref recorded sales of SEK7,680m (€633m) in Q1 of 2024, a 4% increase on last year. EBITA saw a similar percentage increase to SEK733m (€63m).  With the quarter affected by high comparative figures, organic sales were down -4.1%, mainly related to negative growth in HVAC of 7%. Despite the high comparative figures, OEM reported good organic growth of 9%. Commercial and industrial refrigeration had a slight negative organic growth of 3%.  EMEA reported negative sales growth of 5%, while the APAC region reported strong growth of 17%, excluding currency effects, in ..read more

UK: The Institute of Refrigeration will mark this year’s World Refrigeration Day with a celebration of the achievements and contributions of mechanical refrigeration pioneer Lord Kelvin. World Refrigeration Day on June 26 this year also marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of William Thomson, better known as Lord Kelvin, the Scottish-born father of thermodynamics and creator of the Kelvin scale. To celebrate the occasion, the Institute of Refrigeration has planned a special webinar discussion led by broadcasters Helen Czerski and Alok Jha to celebrate Lord Kelvin’s achievements and contr ..read more

The Boiler Shop’s MD, Wayne Carr, with the merchant’s latest product introduction UK: Mitsubishi Electric’s Ecodan heat pumps and hot water cylinders are to be stocked by The Boiler Shop, a Derbyshire-based independent heating and plumbing merchants. The family-owned business was established in 2000. Based in Staveley, Chesterfield, its trade counter is open six days a week selling boilers and boiler spares, plumbing materials including rainwater and underground to the professional plumbing and DIY markets. “Our Ecodan products will now be readily available to The Boiler Shop and their c ..read more

DENMARK/SPAIN: The Tefcold Group has acquired Barcelona-based Horeca Global Solutions, a distributor of refrigeration, cooking and ice cream making equipment for the hospitality sector in Spain and Portugal. Horeca Global Solutions was established as a subsidiary of the Eurofred Group in 2022. Eurofred maintains that the sale enables it to focus its efforts on its air conditioning, refrigeration and services business units. “It is clear to us that the business models in the air-condition market and the commercial cooling industry are so different, that it will be better for Horeca Globa ..read more

UK: Ideal Heating has opened a new £1m heat pump installation training centre in Bedfordshire to serve the south of England. The new 1500m2 facility in Insignia Park, Dunstable, is the latest training centre dedicated to low carbon technologies to be opened by the company. Itwill be used by Ideal Heating’s Expert Academy training arm to equip installers with the skills to fit, maintain and service domestic and commercial heat pumps. In addition to the live heat pump training suite and thermodynamic fault-finding simulators, the centre also houses a large conference facility, product displ ..read more

UAE: The United Arab Emirates has become the latest country to ratify the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. Under the agreement, the UAE pledges to cut the production and consumption of HFCs by more than 80% over the next 30 years. The countries to have announced ratification, accession, acceptance, approval or succession to the Kigali Amendment in date order are: Mali 31/3/17 Micronesia 12/5/17 Marshall Islands 15/5/17 Rwanda 23/5/17 Palau 29/8/17 Norway 6/9/17 Comoros 16/9/17 Chile 19/9/17 Tuvalu 21/9/17 North Korea 21/9/17 Australia 27/10/17 Canada 3/11/17 Maldives 13/11/17 ..read more

USA: Swedish wholesaler Beijer Ref has signed an agreement to acquire Young Supply, a North American distributor of commercial refrigeration and HVAC with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan.  The company serves contractors in the Midwest United States, including Michigan and Ohio – territories adjacent to Beijer Ref’s current holdings in the United States. Young Supply has annual sales of approximately SEK1.4bn ($128m) with 18 branches. This latest acquisition will be the Swedish wholesalers fourth in the US, since entering the US market in 2022. Founded in 1935, Young Supply is a family ..read more

USA: Swedish wholesaler Beijer Ref has signed an agreement to acquire Young Supply, a North American distributor of commercial refrigeration and HVAC with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan.  The company serves contractors in the Midwest United States, including Michigan and Ohio – territories adjacent to Beijer Ref’s current holdings in the United States. Young Supply has annual sales of approximately SEK1.4bn ($128m) with 18 branches. This latest acquisition will be the Swedish wholesalers fourth in the US, since entering the US market in 2022. Founded in 1935, Young Supply is a family ..read more