ACR Journal

February 2022 | March 2022 NEWS 04 Volume 8 No.2 Production starts at newHubbard factory Daikin Europe has announced that construction is complete on a new factory for Hubbard Products in Ipswich, and that manufacturing has begun on-site. Since being acquired by Daikin Group in 2017, and following the integration of Daikin’s UK commercial refrigeration o ering into its portfolio, Hubbard has enjoyed growth in the commercial refrigeration market in the UK and northern Europe. The new 7,500m2 factory will give Hubbard almost 60% per cent more production space – a significant increase in capacity that will increase volumes and reduce lead times for customers, while maintaining product quality and reliable delivery. A new research and development facility, adjacent to the new factory, is due for completion early next year. Across the new factory and the research and development facility, there are plans to recruit 60 additional highly skilled operators. Junji Umamoto, vice-president of Daikin Europe, general manager refrigeration business, said: “Among the Daikin Group of companies and the sectors and markets we serve, Hubbard has a well-earned reputation for innovation and design skill in the field of refrigeration and heat recovery. “We are confident of Hubbard’s continued growth next year and beyond, amid sustained demand from the pharmaceutical sector, and as the food retail and hospitality sectors continue to recover from the initial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. “Hubbard o ers market-leading stationary and transport refrigeration solutions to suit every part of the cold chain, minimising the impact on global warming. Specifically for the food cold chain, Daikin refrigeration solutions support the execution of the EU’s Farm to Fork strategy by enabling sustainable food processing and distribution, and by limiting food waste along the way. “The UK has real potential to lead the way in sustainable cooling, and that’s why we are so committed to investing in our capabilities here.” Innovation at Hubbard – in partnership with academia – is centred on the development of energy-e cient solutions, using low GPW refrigerants. Hubbard’s ambition is to minimise the Total Equivalent Warming Impact of its entire range, which includes everything from brewery applications, vehicle refrigeration and small commercial refrigeration, to multi-packs and semi-industrial application for the retail, food processing, cold storage and pharmaceutical sectors. Ilias Katsoulis, managing director of Hubbard Products, said: “As a total cold chain solution provider with strong customer relationships in industries from food retail to pharmaceuticals – and one of the widest product portfolios in the industry – we can have a huge impact in making cooling cleaner and more sustainable. “Our new site, and the new teammembers we look forward to welcoming to Hubbard, will be our vehicle for expansion and driving positive change, in the UK and overseas.” The new factory gives Hubbard almost 60%more production space VERT RAISES £1.9M FOR COMPRESSOR EXPANSION UK-based Vert Technologies has received £1.9 million of investment to expand the presence of its conical rotary compressor (CRC) technology in the refrigeration and heat pump sectors. Vert recently completed a £775,000 investment funding round, through existing investors Par Equity, Equity Gap, Aeroden and Scottish Enterprise, and this will be used primarily to accelerate volume production for the refrigeration, heat pump and liquid pump sectors. Vert has also received £650,000 grant funding from Scottish Enterprise to develop a compressor for the refrigeration market. Alongside this, the company has been awarded £490,000 from the UK Government’s Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy’s (BEIS) Energy Entrepreneurs Fund. The 15-month BEIS project will help the company further refine its CRC technology for use in domestic heat pump systems, which are crucial to the Government’s planned UK-wide rollout of the technology to meet ambitious net zero carbon emissions targets. Dr Phil Harris, CEO at Vert Technologies, said: “In the wake of the United Nations’ recent, sobering report on the impact of climate change, the need to accelerate the adoption of green technologies is crucial. The Vert Conical Rotary Compressor will play a key role in the world’s climate ambitions and we welcome the support for both the technology and the drive of the team, to accelerate a swift transition in the use of low-global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants in world-wide domestic heat pumps and refrigeration systems.” In comparison to traditional twin screw air compressor technology that uses rotating screws placed side by side to generate compressed air, the Vert CRC technology uniquely places one conical rotor inside another. The rotors turn in the same direction at di erent speeds compressing the air or gas as it travels down the conical screw to deliver a low noise, low vibration compressed air solution that is still capable of producing exceptionally high pressures in a single stage. Crucially for heat pumps and refrigeration solutions, these pressure ratios are ideal for use with low-GWP refrigerant mediums soon to be required by law, which traditional technologies may struggle to e ciently compress without compromising user requirements. CEO Dr Phil Harris and COO Nicol Low at Vert Technologies Vert's high pressure conical rotary compressor technology