ASHRAE Journal - June 2009 - 6

ACR With a Chinese Flair The Technology Is Familiar In China’s Premier Event GUANGZHOU, China—A visitor to the China Refrigeration Exposition (CR Expo) will find some of the exhibitor names, well, unusual. 9 Life Enterprise; Feng Hua City Electrical Nearly 28,000 Chinese engineers, developers and project Machine Manufacturer; Foshan Depends on Earnestly the managers were joined by more than 4,000 attendees from Abundant Electromechanical Device, Ltd.; Fresh Company; other nations at CR Expo in Guangzhou. As is the AHR and Last One Air Conditioning provide a sampling. Perhaps it Expo in the United States, the expo is an annual event on is only a matter of being lost in translation. the Chinese engineer’s calendar. Otherwise, all is familiar. Chillers, compressors, fans, filters, measuring devices, ductwork, valves, air treatment equipment, among Chinese companies. And, China’s banks have lent more controllers, and display cases were all exhibited along with vari- money in the last three months than they had in the previous ous other air conditioning and refrigeration components. While 12 to further invigorate the economy. The federal government the 2009 edition of the annual show was estimated to be about subsidizes the purchase of freezers and other consumer goods. 20% smaller than the 2008 event, 859 companies exhibited “The government has stated that expanding domestic demand from 33 nations and some 31,000 persons attended. The show will become the basic economic development policy,” the coincided with the Chinese holiday for Tomb Sweeping which show organizer said. “China Refrigeration Expo has made impacted attendance on at least one day of the April 5 – 7 event. great efforts to transform this policy into more real business No question, the global economic crisis is felt by the Chi- opportunities for our exhibitors.” nese economy as much as those of other One growth area for China is clearly the nations. China’s exports have fallen by refrigeration sector. 25%. Yet rushing headlong to establish “The market for refrigeration equipment a middle class, surpassing Japan as the remains strong,” said Gary Economides of world’s second-largest economy, China CAREL China, manufacturer of humidifiers, remains fairly optimistic because of the controllers and other components for airpotential of its domestic market. conditioning and refrigeration applications. While not matching 2007’s economic “The large supermarket chains, such as Walgrowth rate of 11%, China’s 2008 fourth Mart, Tesco, Carrefour, are all expanding quarter rate of nearly 6% was not bad. their Chinese presence.” CAREL displayed “Firm confidence by being with you all its “CO2 Ready” valves for supermarket by facing crisis” was CR Expo’s published While the global economic slowdown applications. Company representatives said theme, promoted by the organizer to has impacted the Chinese market, com- that while R-744 is not now widely used in show “strong determination to take social panies doing business in China are still China, the market will grow with China’s responsibility to face the difficulty with seeing gains, just not at the double digit concern for environmental impact and as the whole industry.” Said one organiz- growth rates of the past several years. sales volume exerts pressure to lower prices. ing official, “The exhibition industry is Aimed at the supermarket sector, always like the mirror reflecting the development of economy. CAREL promoted the CAREL Retail Sistema. The use of E2V It cannot avoid being influenced by the economic crisis. It is proportional electronic expansion valves exploits the maximum a threat, but also a challenge to the show organizers’ research advantages of the energy-saving functions in the compressor competency and creativity. After deliberate analysis of the rack controller. The company says the possibility of operation surrounding environment, we aimed at improving the essential with floating condensing and evaporation pressure control is quality of the exposition rather than to extend the scale.” The perhaps the most outstanding feature in terms of energy savChinese government’s announcement that it was using a nearly ings deriving from the use of the E2V expansion valve. “Such $600 billion stimulus package to support research, develop- optimization is possible as a result of the constant and real-time ment and manufacturing helped to brighten the mood at least aim to find the best possible operating conditions for the entire 6 ASHRAE Journal ashrae.org June 2009

ASHRAE Journal - June 2009

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