SPOTLIGHT
Ingersoll Rand supports ICS growth
Global manufacturing giant Ingersoll Rand recently acquired ICS Cool Energy in a move to strengthen its position in the European market. Jose La Loggia, general manager of IR brand Trane Europe spoke to ACR News about the acquisition.
Why did Ingersoll Rand acquire ICS?
ICS is a business which is very strong in process cooling in terms of both renting and selling equipment. We therefore saw it as a way to continue to strengthen the way we serve our customers in Europe.
The plan is to continue to grow ICS within the Ingersoll Rand family of brands, both in sales and in rental. Where I would like to see some very strong accelerated growth is in the service space. I think we can develop this area by bringing a lot of the expertise that Trane possesses in terms of service to enhance the value to the ICS customer base more than they currently have.
Will ICS keep its branding?
ICS will be keeping its ICS branding. Within our European suite of brands, collectively HVAC Europe, we have Trane, Thermocold and now ICS, which go to market through different channels. The Thermocold brand is more of an independent channel and the Trane and ICS brands are more direct channels with sales offices, sales people and service technicians which are employed by Ingersoll Rand. We will be keeping the brand because it has a lot of value, well-known and well-respected, which is why we purchased it. Ultimately, we want to enhance that brand and continue to drive value through it.
What affect will changes in Britain’s relationship with Europe have?
Whatever happens regarding the future of Britain’s relationship with Europe, it won’t make a difference. Brexit is a political subject, not an economic one and Britain has a very big economy which will continue to be so. We have a very large business in the UK - not just with Trane and ICS but with Ingersoll Rand in general, and that business will continue - I don’t see any impact at all. There will be recessions and boom periods of course, but those are normal business cycles to deal with as and when.
How hands-on will Ingersoll Rand be with ICS? In terms of direct involvement in ICS, it is now part of Ingersoll Rand’s HVAC Europe division so Ingersoll Rand will have as much to do with ICS as we do the Trane Thermocold businesses – there is a general manager who is in charge of the business, which for ICS is Simon West – we are not changing anything in that regard.
We do, however, have plans to improve all three of the HVAC Europe businesses which are aimed at developing the way we go to market. We want to increase the speed and reliability of service to our customers overall and develop that around customers’ touchpoints with ICS. With the acquisition, we inherited the ICS distribution network which means that we have a bigger footprint, particularly in the UK where we now have a very strong sales and service offering.
What does the future hold?
The important thing is to continue to innovate, be it equipment or services and Ingersoll Rand is quite adept at innovation, constantly endeavouring to launch products with improved efficiency. We want to continue moving away from simple ‘break-fix’ service contracts to a more advanced energy service which is based around going out and looking at the customer’s installed base and offering suggestions based on ROI and how we can enhance their chiller plan. How customers manage their cash is where rentals can really be of help to them – rental is sometimes a much better alternative than buying, and we see that area between buying and renting to be creeping towards renting. By offering all three options – for service, rental and equipment fails we can provide the very best options for customers’ sites.
I’m very impressed with what ICS has achieved in Europe to date, and proud of its inclusion into Ingersoll Rand. I think that being a part of Ingersoll Rand will enable us all to become better at providing excellent services for our customers.
24 May 2018
www.acr-news.com
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