8 News Export drives growth for ISD
A balancing act T
by Dr Stuart Corr, techno commercial director, Mexichem Fluor.
his month I wanted to touch on an important consideration
in the development and implementation of
refrigerants that will enable industry to comply with the F-Gas Regulation – namely the acceptability of ASHRAE 2L fluids. Selecting the right refrigerant for a particular task has always been a matter of balancing a number of demands, particularly efficiency, capacity and flammability. However, F-Gas has put increasing emphasis on global warming potential (GWP) as an additional factor to be considered. One consequence of achieving a low refrigerant GWP is an increase in the flammability of many candidate fluids that have an appropriate set of physical properties for use in HVAC applications. So much so that the drivers towards ever-lower GWP result in a situation where the only available options open to the industry will have some degree of flammability. Many of the most promising low GWP fluids, including R32, R1234yf and R1234ze fall into the ASHRAE 2L flammability rating. While many automotive manufacturers already accept R1234yf as a replacement for R134a in automotive air conditioning systems, this was on the basis of an extensive analysis of the risks associated with MAC. However, stationary HVAC sector uses are subject to a rather different safety regulatory environment where building codes and standards largely dictate how flammable refrigerants may be employed. Unfortunately, many of these codes have not yet been amended to recognise the relatively recent 2L classification. There is a lot of work taking place across the globe to review and revise these codes and standards, but this process is justifiably conservative and takes time to reach consensus. It may be some time before the true range of applicability of 2L fluids becomes clear.
ACR News May 2015
ISD SOLUTIONS, A leading specialist contractor in the design and construction of composite panel cold store warehouses, firewalls, data centres and clean rooms, announces a second record- breaking year. Turnover is up 10% to £30m for the year ending January 2015, with growth of 24%, 40% and 70% for the past five, six and seven years respectively.
The company, which has ongoing contracts with leading grocery groups including Aldi, Waitrose, Morrisons and Ocado to provide both warehouse and in store cold storage facilities, has recently won new orders in its traditional UK business sectors. A key contract completed this year for the Firewall & Data division was a £7m project in the Nordics incorporating a massive 30km of mineral wall panels. ISD was chosen because of the highly specialised needs of the end user and ISD’s specialist LPS1500 fire- accreditation.
Exports this year from ISD include specialist control rooms for science and research applications worth some £300,000 manufactured in the UK and shipped to 20 sites across North America and Central Europe. There are also new distribution agreements
with local partners in the growing India and East African markets to spearhead ISD’s growth in the sub-continent. ISD will be consulting and project managing the setting up of large cold store supply chain project infrastructures as well as its successful modular solutions.
Overseas orders are also driving production in the company’s three bespoke manufacturing facilities, which now show a 24% increase in manufacturing for doors, panels, metal works and stowaway shelving over the previous two years, an 8% increase from last year. Andy Moon, chief executive of ISD Solutions, commented: “We entered 2015 on the back of an extremely strong period and are confident of at least 10%-15% growth in most markets this year, fuelled by strong demand, both home and abroad.
“Our strategic focus on quality, customer service and robust financial control continue to generate significant interest, with 90% of our projects representing repeat business from leading contractors, satisfied customers and partners. This is testament to our focus on building relationships and the quality and dedication of our staff.”
HEVAC launches Air Distribution Guide
HEVAC’s Air Distribution Manufacturers Group has thoroughly revised its Guide to Air Distribution Technology for the Internal Environment. This guide is intended to be used by designers or contractors who install air diffusion equipment. HEVAC says that using the
manual early in the design stage will assist both designers and contractors in obtaining a satisfactory air distribution system. First published in 2000, the guide has been out of print for many years. The new format is a freely downloadable pdf from the HEVAC website.
Visit ACR News online at
www.acr-news.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48