What is Petra’s direction after Kigali?

We are offering 1234ze- and 452B-based systems, and we are waiting on other refrigerants. We are working on these refrigerants, but the markets also will be dictating to us which markets will be moving to such refrigerants sooner and later. In Middle East, there is no urgency. In Europe, we see the urgency, as we do in the United States.

Broadly, we are also looking at what refrigerant manufacturers are coming up with, in terms of compatibility, right efficiency and right price range, because some of them are expensive. So, we have to see how the market balances out. Refrigerants are still up there, not settled.

Omar Ali, Director of Operations at Petra Engineering Industries Company

How is the Middle East market shaping up for the HVAC industry?

In general, I think it is okay, We have good projects in the pipeline, but I don’t know how the coming years will be. Will they be a period of stagnation or have a boost?

What are your areas of focus?

We have the UAE, Iraq, Oman and Egypt in our radar. We see products such as chillers and AHUs moving in the GCC region. We also see prospects for special applications, like equipment for data centres, where you need special controls and where there is really high engineering required.

What is your R&D profile at Petra?

One area we are focusing on is a new refrigerant. Another is higher efficiency. And also, we are planning on expanding our R&D capability with new facilities to be able to further develop our products and do more testing.

Climate Control Middle East would like to acknowledge the support of the organisers of AHR Expo in facilitating the interview.

Surendar Balakrishnan is the Editor of Climate Control Middle East magazine, and Co-Founder and Editorial Director of CPI Industry. He may be contacted at surendar@cpi-industry.com