Company showcases its partners at manufacturer symposium in Abu Dhabi

Leminar in May conducted a manufacturer symposium in Abu Dhabi, with the aim of showcasing its business partners to key decisionmakers in the capital city. Among those present were Rheem, IQ Air, Casals and Weicco.

Navin Valrani makes a point during his opening speech. To his left are the representatives from Casals, Weicco and Rheem

In an introductory presentation, Navin Valrani of Leminar said the company represented a number of HVAC brands and that they were leaders in their respective fields. Most of the brands, Valrani added, counted Leminar as their largest representative in the globe. For instance, Leminar is Rheem’s largest seller outside the United States. Likewise, the company is the largest Kimmco customer in the world, Valrani further added.

During his presentation, Valrani said he was proud to announce that the Abu Dhabi Civil Defence had just that day given its approval to Casals and Twin City smoke and heat fans and to Weicco’s firefighting pipe hangers.

In his presentation, Valrani also revealed Leminar’s growth plans. He said that Oman was in the cards in 2010 for a Leminar presence and that the company was looking to open into one country every year.

Following Valrani’s speech, representatives from each of the partners made a presentation. Going up first, Samer Tulimat of Rheem spoke on global warming and about how CO2 was the main culprit. “Four-fifth of the carbon dioxide is created by burning fossil fuels to generate electricity, through vehicular emissions and from running our industries,” Tulimat said. “In that context, it is important to develop more efficient power plants, focus on alternative energy and, equally important, focus on reducing power consumption.” The last can be achieved through efficient cooling technologies.

Rheem, Tulimat said in his presentation, had started manufacturing high-efficiency units, from 13 SEER to 18 SEER. “And now since R22 is being phased out, we have converted to R407A,” he added.

Rheem, Tulimat further added, was the first manufacturer to introduce 13 SEER with R410A and T3 compressor. This unit, Tulimat said, was highly durable across all temperatures and was able to work at even 52ºC.

Tulimat’s colleague, Harish Kapadia spoke after him. Kapadia, an executive director with Rheem, said that the company had successfully applied Rheem units in highrise buildings in the UAE. To date, Kapadia said, there were over 300,000 units operating in the UAE. Besides dischargecondensing units, the company’s offerings in the UAE included floor-standing AHUs and double-skin AHU, Kapadia said.

Going into specifics, Kapadia said that Rheem had successfully implemented in Sharjah the company’s oil separator technology as a solution for a challenge relating to high-rise structures. Thanks to the technology, Kapadia said, it was possible to separate the oil from the refrigerant that came out of the discharge and to send hot pure refrigerant back. Owing to this, the compressor life is enhanced, Kapadia said. “Following the success in Sharjah, we want to replicate this in Abu Dhabi,” Kapadia said. “We are in touch with contractors, and we want to install it in Abu Dhabi. We are here to serve them in all kinds of difficult installations in high-rise buildings in an economical manner.”

Following his presentation, Rajeev Mehra of Weicco gave a detailed profile of the company.

Saying that Weicco boasted of the largest range of accessories for mechanical systems in the world, Mehra added that the company has installed its products in over a 1,000 projects in the GCC alone.

Mehra said Weicco was robust, because it had completely internalised the production of the complete chain of products in its factory in northern India. Be it product design, die-making or surface finishing, Weicco was able to accomplish them in-house, Mehra said. Owing to this approach, the company had total control over quality, he added.

Further to production, Weicco carried out rigorous testing procedures. “We carry out 100% outgoing testing for many products,” Mehra said. “All products are subjected to hydrostatic pressure testing and X-Ray welding inspection.”

In his presentation, Mehra then listed out various Weicco products, like rubber support inserts, insulation protection saddles, engineered spring supports, vibration isolators and seismic restraints, cased spring mounts, open spring mounts, thrust restraints, spring hangers and inertia base frames. These, he said, incorporated design features, which enhanced the quality of installation.

A key strength of Weicco as a company, Mehra said, was the technical support it provided to its customers, which, he claimed, was beyond industry norms. Typically, Mehra added, technical support included off-site meetings with customers and interaction with product designers to offer customised solutions.

After Mehra, Santiago Hernandez of Casals made a presentation on behalf of the Spain-headquartered fan manufacturer. Saying that the company had earned ISO 9001: 2008, Hernandez added that Casals stood for systematic work, planning, documentation and innovation. The company’s manufacturing process, he added, included sheet metal laser cutting, moulding, stamping, spot welding, TIC welding, epoxy powder paintwork, final assembly and verification. Every fan, Hernandez said, was tested for operational performance in an in-site laboratory.

During his presentation, Hernandez said that Casals enjoyed a 16% market share in the UAE, with its products installed in Emirates Cement Plant in Ras Al Khaimah, Rashid hospital and at the Dubai Investments Park, among other sites.

Hernandez’s colleague, Arnau Tinto, also spoke during the symposium, choosing to focus on specific Casals products. Tinto said that Casals had been collaborating with Leminar for four years and that Leminar was responsible for new variations of fans. “Our company has delivered hundreds of special models adapted to its customers’ needs,” Tinto said. “The Direct Drive Twin Box is an example. We designed following a Leminar request in the UAE.”

During his presentation, Tinto revealed that Casals had more than 2,000 models for buildings and industrial ventilation. Among them were the company’s jet fans, Tinto said. “The jet fans are in Dubai but not yet popular in Abu Dhabi,” Tinto said. “Hopefully, we will have it here, as well.”