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HVAC

Markets Partners

AHR Expo México

Jamie Smalling, our inside sales representative at punker LLC in Hickory, NC, visited AHR Expo México in early October. At the largest trade show of the air conditioning and ventilation industry in Latin America our representative MG Asociados exhibited the fan wheels of the punker D-Series individually and as a component in their own air handling units and box fans of the brand KLIMA.

Here Jamie shares her impressions of a unique trip to Mexico City and a whole new exhibition experience:

I was wonderfully impressed with the extent of hospitality from the group at MG Asociados from the moment I arrived, until I departed back to the States.  Although  my trip started out with a 3 hr delay due to  a faulty plane in Dallas, TX,  Adolfo patiently waited on me at the airport in Mexico as he was aware of my concerns traveling there alone as an American woman arriving late at night. Coming in for the landing in Mexico City, I was overwhelmed with the sheer size of the city and can fully understand why in Mexico they say Mexico City is it’s own country within the country.  At night as the city was lit up all around as far as you could see to the mountain tops, it was a beautiful and unforgettable sight.  I could not have asked for a better group to escort me in this city, as they made sure I was taken care of traveling, as well as eating dinner in the evenings as we discussed the optimism from the potential of the show each day.

The AHR Show there is a little different from what we are used too in the US, as it does not begin until 2:00 pm and last until 8:00 pm. This could help explain how very busy both days that I attended were as it had been projected to have over 350 exhibitors, and over 10,000 attendees.  I would say this was a good estimate with the steady traffic through the show on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Throughout the entire 6 hours, the MG booth had a steady stream of people interested in punker wheels, along with MG’s new Klima Air handling units and Box fans being show cased as new products.  On Tuesday, the first day, at least 50% of the inquiries at the booth were in reference to our D-Series wheels as they not only had our wheels in their air handling unit and box fans, but also displayed over the whole booth including on their own displays.

I feel as though this trip was well worth the time, and I left there knowing there is a definite market for our wheels in Mexico and the MG group has capacity and capability to reach the market to make these sales happen for punker LLC.

I appreciate this eye opening experience, to see the market in another culture and am grateful for the partnership that MG has requested with us to reach this South American market.

Related Resources:

AHR Expo México

MG Asociados

punker LLC

punker D-Series

Facts & Figures Markets

2018 AHR Expo

In 2018, energy efficiency was again one of the topics exhibitors and visitors were concerned with at the 2018 AHR Expo, which was held from January 22 -24 in Chicago. Thus, the punker exhibition team was thrilled about the great interest with which the high-efficiency D-Series fan wheels were met once again. Presented for the first time was an extremely lightweight fan impeller in a welded execution: the Dlight – welded.

New Product: Dlight – welded

With the Dlight – welded, punker adds to the existing D-Series, a product range of energy-efficient diffusor fan wheels unhoused applications such as plug fans, plenum fans,  and air handling. The welded aluminum impeller offers a high ventilation system performance paired with low weight and pleasant acoustics. It is suited for applications that require a static pressure increase of 4 – 5.5″ WG (AMCA Class I) and compatible with various AC or EC drives.

AHR Expo – International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition

AHR Expo is the most important exhibition for Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigerating on the American continents. With an estimated 70,000 visitors and 2,100 exhibiting companies, this year’s show is the largest event since it’s start in 1930. In the good company of industry giants like ebm-papst, Ziehl-Abegg, Rosenberg and Comefri, punker exhibited fan wheels “Engineered in Germany – Made in the USA” for the seventh year in a row.

HVAC Manufacturers confident About Economic Outlook

The record-breaking visitor count is congruent with HVAC manufacturers’ extremely positive outlook for the fiscal year of 2018. According to the latest AHR Expo and ASHRAE Journal Annual Economic Outlook Survey, 89% of responders expect excellent or good growth, up 15% from the already positive outlook in 2017. The development of sales indicates that this is not just a snapshot: 69% of respondents reported higher sales in 2017 versus 57% in 2016. The percentage of businesses with a significantly higher  sales growth (more than 10% year-on-year) increased as well, from Und  23% in 2016 to 34% in 2017.

punker meets Market Requirements of Reliability and Energy Efficiency

With such a positive outlook for the new fiscal year, many manufacturers are looking for the latest and best technologies and products. With regard to customer expectations, respondents continue to consider reliability and energy efficiency as the most influential factors in their 2018 buying decisions. With the D-Series, punker offers the right solution for these market requirements. This was also reflected in an even higher number of visitors on our booth, compared to the previous year.

Solutions

New Product Portfolio

punker Produkt-Portfolio

The punker product portfolio is fit for the energy-efficient future of ventilation system solutions

The punker product development and strategy team, made up of sales and R&D employees, is very close to the market and can therefore respond to the changing needs of our customers at an early stage and continuously optimize our product portfolio. Within a short time, four new blower wheel series have been introduced with the D-Series(Dlight, Dclassic and Dprime) and the Slight.

The D-Series provides the answer to any challenge of unhoused HVAC applications, making it the best solution for your applications in which you have used our R63D1, R63D2 and R63D-HVAC series in the past. The Slight for use in spiral housings, as well as free-blowing, is ideally suited for certified F400 / C4 applications such as smoke extraction and heat exhaust. In addition, smaller sizes of the Slight can be used as a surrogate for less energy-efficient forward-curved wheels. With the Slight, punker provides a sustainable alternative for the HLR70, R67 / 75, R69L1 and R63B1 series.

Over the course of the coming months, the punker product portfolio will be further optimized and consolidated so that our customers will always receive the best possible solution for their standard and high-tech ventilation applications.

To speed up your search for the best suited fan wheel series for your application, we have structured our fan wheel series – the well-established and the newly developed – and their most important technical features in an easy to navigate, interactive series-industry matrix.

The punker World of Ventilation at a click of the mouse:

Clicking a product name opens the fan wheel series’ technical features.

Markets

AHR Expo Las Vegas – Energy efficiency in the desert

End of January 2017, the AHR participation (largest trade show for Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration in the US) was on punker’s agenda, already for the 6th time in a row. The presentation of the new, highly efficient punker D-Series was a home run – this year’s show in Las Vegas was all about energy efficiency.

The exposition took place in the Las Vegas Convention Center (Jan. 30 to Feb. 1, 2017). Honestly, we had some doubts if Las Vegas was the right place for an industry trade show. But only 30 minutes after the opening these doubts proved wrong: The enormous appeal of ‘fabulous Las Vegas’ brought a visitors record already on day one. Obviously, many visitors combined a visit of Las Vegas and the trade show by arriving already the weekend before.

Our booth in the Central Hall was crowded by visitors on Monday morning: Frank Mueller (Area Sales Manager North, Central and South America), Juergen Beinke (Director Global Sales) and myself had many opportunities to spread the enthusiasm for our new energy efficient D-Series. While the interest in energy efficient solutions was still low during the 2016 AHR Expo in Orlando, it had sparked very strong interest by this year.

Energy Efficiency Everywhere

The yearly survey amongst the trade show visitors by the ASHRAE Journal (monthly journal published by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) confirmed the increased awareness of energy efficient solutions: 60,5% of the 700 respondents indicated that energy efficiency is the most important aspect for their customers (ahead: 74,2% Reliability, 70,4% Cost). Only 4% indicated that customers are not willing to pay more for energy efficiency, almost 80% confirmed the increased willingness to pay more, another 80% is actively on the lookout for ‘green’ or sustainable products on the trade show. However, only 25% of the respondents notice a support or even incentives by the state to change to energy efficient products or technologies.

By presenting ‚Increasing Energy Efficiency with the new punker Diffuser Technology’ in the New Product & Technology Theater of the AHR Expo, Frank Mueller and Juergen Beinke succeeded in demonstrating to even more trade show visitors, how the punker D-Series fan wheels increase the energy efficiency of free blowing HVAC systems and reduce the operating costs at the same time.

“Made in USA” and “America first”

Apart from energy efficiency, another aspect was a hot topic in many business discussions: The question if our products are made in USA. Already in 2016, we put a strong focus on showing that we are producing in the US. The significance of ‘made in USA’, however, has even more increased, mainly due to the ‘America first’ attitude of the Trump administration and their announcement to impose punitive tariff duties on certain imports from Germany. Whatever the reason for this question was – the fact, that punker produces in the USA for the US market is key to our successful business relations in this market.

Next AHR Expo is from Jan. 22-24, 2018, in Chicago. Already looking forward to your visit on our booth No. 3337!
Solutions

The new D-Series

Endurance and efficiency – these are not only the unique features of our punker fan wheels but this is characteristic for the whole punker team. Our key objective is to continuously optimize each product, no matter how good it is. Based on the former R63D wheels, we developed a new, highly efficient fan wheel series with integrated diffuser technology – in short: The “D-Series“.

The unique characteristics of this series, specifically designed for unhoused fan wheels, is more than ‘state of the art’. The mechanical efficiency static of up to 75% is perfect to meet or exceed our industrial and ventilation customers’ energy efficiency requirements. We also focus on our customers’ cost effectiveness. This is why our R&D Team designed each of the 3 varieties of the D-Series not only with highest durability but also with optimal material input in mind.

  • punk-2016-015_d-serie_online-banner_203x230px_160928_v02The Dlight made of aluminum is available in tapped version for a diameter range of 225-630 mm (9″ – 25″). It is preferably used in pressure ranges from 1000 – 1500 Pa (4 – 6 in. WG – AMCA Class I) with a tip speed of up to 55 m/s (180 fps). This fan wheel stands up successfully against the already available competitors’ products.
  • The Dclassic works best in a pressure range from 1.500-2.500 Pa (6 – 10 in. WG – AMCA Class II) and is available in a diameter range of 225 – 1000 mm (9″ to 39 3/8″). This welded steel design with a maximum tip speed 75 m/s (246 fps) is powder coated by default and comes with the well proven taperlock system.
  • The diffuser series would not be complete without the Dprime made of aluminum for a performance range of 2500-4000 Pa (10 – 16 in. WG – AMCA Class III), additionally optimized with regards to acoustics by airfoiled blades. This fan wheel is currently still in test stage and will be presented to the public in spring 2017.

Being Sales Director of the punker group, I am firmly convinced that this new series with all its features provides an attractive product range that enables our customers to meet the current requirements for energy efficiency but also the costs resulting from these new requirements. With its three different types  light, classic and prime the D-Series offers a big variety of applications and combines a lot of benefits in one single product family: super silent, absolutely efficient, extremely robust, surprisingly small and exceedingly lightweight.

I am very much looking forward to show you all these benefits of our new wheel series in a face-to-face conversation. Meeting opportunities will be for example at the AHR Expo in Las Vegas or during the ISH in Frankfurt, Germany. Or feel free to contact our Sales Team at your earliest convenience.

I would like to take the opportunity to express my sincere thanks to the whole punker team as well as for demonstrating amazing team spirit by developing these fantastic new products.

Discover the new D-Series at the following trade shows:

c1832_emailAHR Expo Las Vegas
International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition
Jan. 30 – Feb. 01, 2017
Booth No. C1832

Please join our presentation in the New Product & Technology Theatre:
“Increasing Fan Wheel Efficiency with New Diffuser Technology”
Date/Time: Monday, 1/30/2017 – 3:15 pm
Location: Theater B

ish_2017_r2ISH Frankfurt, Germany
The world’s leading trade fair for the Bathroom Experience, Building, Energy, Air-conditioning Technology, Renewable Energies
March 14-18, 2017
Hall 11.1, Booth No. C28

 

 

Markets Together

From the Idea to the Booth – 2016 AHR Show Orlando

When exhibiting at trade shows, companies always present their best side. Exhibition stands are supposed to appear effortlessly inviting, professional and innovative. In the months leading up to AHR Expo in Orlando, Florida, I came to find out just how much strategic thought and hard work goes into actualizing a successful presentation.

Coming up with a concept

The 2016 AHR Show in Orlando had the target to relaunch our HVAC wheel series to the market. The decision was made early on that there was a need for a new marketing concept, especially for the American market.

In the end of November 2015, the punker LLC team had the first brain storm meeting to discuss new ideas for the show. Members of the team included Ryan Kilkelly (Managing Director), Michael Greene (Quality Management), Jessica Owens (Inside Sales) and myself, Frank Mueller.

An abundance of ideas were laid out on the table but only two made it out of the meeting. It was decided that we need one display stand to proudly announce that Hickory manufactures in the USA and another to showcase the R63D-HVAC wheel and include technical information.

The display stands we had used in the past weren’t useful for this goal. It was decided to redesign the booth and purchase new display stands.

The different ideas of the “Made in the USA” campaign ranged from an American flag made using backward curved and cross flow wheels to powder coated wheels in the traditional US colors; red, white and blue. Ultimately, it was decided that three R63D-HVAC wheels were to be coated in these colors, which also happen to be punker’s standard corporate colors.

The concept for the HVAC display was simple, the R63D-HVAC and the new D light wheel were positioned in the center of the display while side panels included technical information from our brochure.

The Sales team at punker LLC then began the search for a company to create our vision. We found a local company nearby and began the process.

In previous years, punker has rented all equipment for the booth. This year, the decision was made to purchase all of the items. This move is sure to save punker from costly rental fees in the future.

In addition to support from the entire punker LLC team, we also received a tremendous amount of support and assistance from Frederike Walter from the Marketing Department in Eckernforde. Ms. Walter assisted in everything from the space rental, booth design, literature, wheels – you name it and she helped with it.

Planning the idea to the booth consumed a minimum of three months. A lot of planning went into turning our vision into reality and finally seeing our material waiting at our booth. There were plenty of days leading up to the show that “show planning” turned into a full time job for Jessica.

The AHR Expo 2016

The Expo took place from January 25th – January 27th. It is the largest show for the HVAC industry in the US. Exhibitors included many of our competitors and also many customers, too. This was truly a great opportunity to meet with our customers and especially for me to be able to introduce myself as the “New Area Sales Manager” of the Americas.

In my opinion, out of 42,396 visitors and 17,978 exhibitors, it was clear that the following three topics stood out amongst the rest:

  1. Energy Efficiency
  2. American Made Products “Made in the USA”
  3. Plastic Wheels

To our surprise, many of our competitors presented plastic wheels and expect to see a great market for them in the future. However, this is not our opinion. We will watch this closely as only time will tell.

In general, the show was well attended from potential customers around the world. Not only did we have visits from many US customers, but other countries as well, such as: Israel, Egypt, Saudi-Arabia, India, Mexico, Brazil, Canada and China were also represented.

Many visitors to our booth were interested in our HVAC product line, focused on the potential for energy efficiency. Energy efficiency will begin to make a strong impact on the sale decision following the continued efforts of the DOE’s bill for efficiency.

 

To see more pictures from 2016 AHR Expo in Orlando, visit the SmugMug gallery.

Markets

Climate World Moscow

Click  the white arrows on each side of the picture to see more images.

Every year in March, the exhibition center in Moscow hosts the Mir Klimata trade show, also known as Climate World Moscow. From March 1-4 2016, 249 companies were represented on this international trade show for heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Due to the ongoing economic crisis, this year only 3 exhibition halls were booked, whereas in 2015 a total number of 348 exhibitors were represented in 6 halls.

Being the regional manager for North East Europe, this trade show is a must see for me – and this year I was accompanied by our Director of Global Jürgen Beinke. The impact of the economic crisis became very obvious in our meetings and conversations – the construction and air conditioning industry is heavily affected. Although current construction projects will be finished, no new major projects are initiated. To counteract this trend, many smaller manufacturers in the HVAC industry are looking for alternative business opportunities like swimming pools or air conditioning or they concentrate their activities on the retrofit business.

However, key players of this industry like IZTT, Teplomash, Normalvent, VEZA or Korf  were represented on the Mir Klimata as ever. Apart from the Russian manufacturers, several important European companies like Systemair, Swegon, Nicotra-Gebhardt and ebm-papst participated as exhibitors at the show, some of them by their Russian representatives.

Due to the economic crisis, the show organizers put a lot of emphasis on international cooperation this year: for the first time, Turkey was the official partner country of the Mir Klimata and with EUROVENT another official partner was represented on the show. The Chinese exhibitors, however, usually having one full exhibition hall all for themselves, cancelled their attendance due to the negative economic situation, so that the remaining Chinese exhibitors, for example Sanmu Motors, were placed amongst the other exhibitors.

We were happy to meet our big Russian customers again this year on the show, moreover we managed to establish new, promising contacts, so that we remain confident on the future prospects for our business in North East Europe, despite the uncertain economic situation.

Facts & Figures Markets

New Energy Efficiency Standards in the USA

In my blog post “ENERGY EFFICIENCY- THE HVAC-INDUSTRY IS ENTERING NEW TERRITORY” from October 2015, I talked about developments regarding energy efficiency in the USA.
In December 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) finalized new energy conservation standards for commercial air conditioners, heat pumps and commercial warm-air furnaces.

According to Ernest Moniz, U.S. Energy Secretary, this “marks the largest energy saving standard in history and demonstrates that America is leading the effort to reduce energy costs and cut carbon emissions.”
The DOE estimates the new program will save businesses up to $167 billion in energy costs over the lifetime of the equipment. Additionally, carbon monoxide discharge will be reduced by as much as 885 million metric tons over a period of thirty years.

The new directive was finalized with cooperation between the DOE and 17 stakeholder groups including industry organization, manufacturers, efficiency organizations and institutes. The new standard will be implemented in two phases:

  1. Beginning January 1, 2018 commercial air conditioners and commercial warm air furnaces must achieve thirteen percent improvement in efficiency.
  2. In 2023, an additional fifteen percent increase will be required.

How can punker help manufacturers of commercial air conditioning systems?

The DOE’s final ruling delivers a clear regulatory roadmap to manufacturers of commercial air conditioning systems. This will force manufacturers to rise to the challenge of optimizing their products accordingly.
As a leading developer and manufacturer of radial fan wheels, punker has been focusing its product development on energy efficiency since the European Union’s Eco-design Directive “ErP” (Energy related Products) extended its scope to air conditioning and ventilation systems in a 2009 revision.

The ErP defines minimum efficiency requirements for fans with an output range of 0.125 kw to 500 kw and took effect in two phases in 2013 and 2015. The assessment takes into account the efficiency of the entire systems, consisting of the motor, the transmission (belt drive, for example) and the fan wheel.

The fan wheel has a large impact on the overall efficiency of the fan system. This is where manufacturers of unhoused fan applications can rely on punker’s extensive knowledge and expertise. Our product portfolio offers suitable fan wheels for plug fans and plenum fans to meet the DOE’s new efficiency requirements. Our fan wheel series R63D HVAC and D light, are constructed to achieve the highest static efficiencies at optimal working points worldwide.

Here at punker, we look forward to assisting manufacturers in turning these challenges into opportunities.

 

 

 

 

Markets R&D

Energy Efficiency – The HVAC-Industry is entering New Territory

As punker’s new Area Sales Manager North, Central and South America, I travel to punker LLC on a regular basis to support my colleagues in further establishing the North American market. On my last stay at punker LLC in October, punker LLC’s Managing Director, Ryan Kilkelly, and I visited the Annual AMCA Meeting in California.

The Air Movement and Control Association (AMCA) is an international, not-for-profit association of the world’s manufacturers of fans, louvers, dampers, air curtains, air flow measurement devices, ducts, acoustic attenuators and other air system components. AMCA invites its members regularly to discuss innovations and developments concerning the HVAC industry. This year’s Annual Meeting focused on the topic of energy conservation and energy efficiency. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is preparing a new program for energy efficiency in commercial air conditioners, heat pumps and commercial warm-air furnaces which is expected to be finalized within the next couple of month. For most of the manufacturers within the HVAC sector, this programm will mean venturing into uncharted terrain.

Even though Washington has not defined any standards or regulations yet, AMCA expects that by 2019, energy effiency in the HVAC sector will have to be increased by 20%. The U.S. administration has, however, already enacted a subsidy program of 9 billion US$ for energy conserving industry applications. Manufacutrers seeking to submit products for funding will first have to get these products certified by the DOE. Standards have not been finalized for this programm, however. AMCA will represent the industry’s interests during the process of finalizing these standards.

Energy efficiency has defined product development at punker since the European Union’s Ecodesign Directive extended its scope to air conditioning and ventilation systems in a 2009 revision. With our extensive know-how and energy-efficient fan wheel series like R63D-HVAC, the DOE’s future program poses an excellent opportunity for establishing the punker brand in the US.