Stephen Yurek

ARLINGTON, Virginia, United States 22 July 2020: The Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) has opened an office in Dubai, to further the interests of its members and certification programme participants by enhancing relationships with manufacturers and with governmental and non-governmental organisations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the organisation said through a Press release. “Our Dubai office further expands AHRI’s global reach and provides us with a unique opportunity to develop and nurture relationships with manufacturers, regulators, and other stakeholders in the region,” said Stephen Yurek, AHRI President and CEO.

François Boueri

Headed by François Boueri, a strategic management expert with extensive experience in HVACR and energy efficiency, the office will be staffed with professionals familiar with important local and regional issues, and who speak the language of this very important region to our industry, AHRI said through the release. “I look forward  to engaging our stakeholders, as we work to ensure the applicability of AHRI technical solutions, standards, and certification to regional needs and regulations,” Boueri said. “Given the respect for AHRI’s offerings by engineers, specifiers, building owners, and many others across the globe, this is an opportune time for our industry to come together to deploy time-tested solutions to the region’s challenges.” A founding partner of Sustainable Environmental Engineering Solutions and a former President and Director of Daikin McQuay Middle East, Boueri will serve as Vice President of AHRI’s Dubai office, the organisation said.

Khalil Issa, a well-known energy and construction professional in the Gulf region, who also is a founding partner and former managing director of ECOFAST Construction, previous Managing Director of ADC Energy Systems and CEO of Energy Central Company, will be the office’s General Manager, the organisation said. “Initiatives underway by most countries in the region signal a clear commitment to improving the environment and increasing energy efficiency,” Issa said. “The AHRI MENA team looks forward to shaping the best paths forward for implementing minimum energy performance standards that are critical in the current regulatory environment.”

The establishment of the AHRI Dubai office, the organisation said, follows the successful introduction of operations

Khalil Issa

in China, which began in 2012, and in Canada, which were put in place in 2018, and is in keeping with its focus on establishing AHRI as the source of globally relevant standards, certification programmes, and technical information in key markets. The new office will help the industry address increasing regulatory requirements and demand for AHRI standards and certification programmes in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and other Levant and North African countries, the organisation said. It will also allow AHRI to better monitor activities and identify opportunities to serve adjacent markets in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, it added.

The Dubai office opening, the organisation said, is a notable accomplishment for AHRI, as it works to ensure global adaptation and use of its standards and certification programmes – sought by industry and governments – to prevent costly duplicative testing and certification requirements for its 330-plus member companies.