Executive roundtable: cool solutions

Keeping food products at a controlled temperature is not only a question of making sure the ice cream doesn’t melt or that your orange juice is refreshingly chilled. Temperature control is also a vital contributing factor in the safety of our food and if not effectively controlled throughout the transit and storage of a food product can have a significant detrimental impact on the risks.

FS brought together two experts in the field to discuss the challenges in providing effective, cost-efficient, compliant and environmentally friendly solutions to the industry.

With Phil Bardsley, Business Manager DuPont Fluorochemicals, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and R. Dietmar Müller, VP Sales and Marketing DHi Europe

FS. What do you see as the main requirements and demands of your customers today and how are you seeking to address those challenges?

PB. Our customers are all companies and individuals with a demand for cooling – whether for air-conditioning, refrigeration or process cooling – and encompass all sectors of industry and commerce. These customers are increasingly striving to reduce their environmental footprint and many have laid down environmental goals and performance targets to achieve this. The focus in on the total energy consumed by the company and the sustainability of the materials used in their equipment and processes, whilst maximising system performance and minimising costs.

In response to this challenge, DuPont relies on its vision for the future of the refrigerants, which it calls The Science of Cool. It harnesses DuPont’s 75 years of leadership in the industry to guide the development of future refrigerant technologies that bring innovative and sustainable cooling solutions with a strong focus on reducing the overall environmental footprint.

The Science of Cool can be best expressed as four strategic platforms that align the focus of the DuPont Refrigerants business with the needs of the global air conditioning and refrigeration marketplace:

Science and technology – the company leverages its proud heritage of proven leadership in refrigerant science and technology to lead new developments.

Global relationships – it builds and nurtures strategic stakeholder relationships throughout the cooling industry to enable and ensure the development and delivery of new technologies which meet customer needs.

Environmental solutions – DuPont focuses on technologies, materials and solutions that enable sustainable cooling from an environmental perspective.

Sustainable cooling – it maximises its leadership in environmental solutions, global relationships, and science and technology to lead the industry in the development and delivery of innovative and environmentally sustainable cooling technology solutions for food, comfort and safety.

DM. We are seeing increasing requirements on environmentally friendly and energy saving technologies both for our industrial dehumidifiers in all kinds of production and storage facilities and for our air conditioning systems. It’s no longer good enough to supply a unit. Our customers want a solution provided or even developed with their teams; they need energy optimised systems.

Another requirement from our food customers is the hygienic execution of their air handling systems, which is something we have incorporated into the design specifications of our next generation air handler ICA.

FS. What trends have you seen in the market for refrigerants in the food and beverage industry and what do you think is driving this demand?

PB. Due to EU environmental regulation and increased demand for sustainable cooling solutions in the industry, the immediate trend is that of moving away from the continuing service and maintenance of systems with ozone depleting substances (ODSs). Such regulations stipulate that the maintenance of systems containing use of ozone depleting substances must cease by the end of 2009. In addition, the F-Gas (fluorinated-gas) directive, due to come into force in the EU from 2007, places greater onus on those owning or handling fluorinated refrigerants to reduce emissions. DuPont actively supports programs to ensure refrigerants are used responsibly, reclaimed and recycled, to minimise potential sources of refrigerant emissions, and we have noticed our customers seeking more diverse refrigerant options to help accelerate the reduction of ozone-depleting substances around the world.

Furthermore, with the growing prominence of climate change, there is also a very definite demand for refrigerants that allow systems to achieve their highest energy efficiency. While this has, to some extent, always been important in the food retailing industry, the trend is now moving towards lifecycle cost for evaluating refrigeration system options.

DM. The use of Sorption dehumidifiers allows our customers to operate their production lines and storage facilities with increased productivity while also achieving higher product quality. With our Solutions for Process freezers, customers can easily halve their production time, as the build-up of ice and frost in their systems is reduced. The need for de-icing and cleaning is becoming lower, while down-time is being reduced.

In past years, we have helped our customers primarily in optimizing their facilities. Today, our solutions are becoming the standard and we are getting involved much earlier in the design and project phase.

FS. How has refrigeration evolved over the years and what has guided these developments – for example, the greater push towards safer more environmentally-friendly solutions, etc?

PB. DuPont is responsible for launching the refrigerants industry during the 1930s, when the company first developed fluorocarbon refrigerants and began producing them in commercial quantities. Within several years, there was widespread application of refrigeration and air conditioning across all sectors of industry.

When, in the late 1980s, scientists identified CFCs as a threat to the ozone layer, DuPont made history again by becoming the first company to offer an alternative to CFC-based refrigerants. The Suva family of refrigerants, which were safe and effective, helped to accelerate the transition away from ozone-depleting substances. As a result of its leadership in this historic transition, the company received the National Medal of Technology, the highest honour awarded by the US President to leading innovators.

With further challenges facing the industry in the coming years, DuPont is well equipped to continue in its commitment to environmental leadership.

DM. Very often, energy efficiency and safety requirements actually go together hand in hand. Our ICEDry units, which are specifically adapted for use in coldstore environments are reducing the energy consumption of the cooling systems already installed, as well as reducing the ice build up in the coldstore. We have proven that our systems significantly reduce the risk of accidents; for example, they increase the transparency of stripe curtains and speed up the drying of slippery floors. In addition, mould growth is no longer an issue in coldstores with reduced humidity.

FS. Where is this field likely to go in the future, for example, in response to compliance with EU standards and the phase-out of HCFCs?

PB. In the short term, the challenge for the industry is to comply with current EU regulations relating to the phase out of ODSs. As of December 2009, ozone-depleting refrigerants will no longer be available for the many process cooling, refrigeration and air-conditioning systems currently installed in industry, in particular in food-retailing. It therefore requires them to be retrofit with sustainable refrigerant solutions – such as the safe, easy-to-use and environmentally sustainable ISCEON 9 Series range of refrigerants – by 2010. However, we urge industry to put plans in place now to convert existing HCFC systems to non-ODS to ensure a smooth transition to regulatory compliance.

Whilst we believe HFCs will continue to offer the best balance of properties in the long term for many applications, we also recognize that, for some applications, there are other alternatives. We will continue to explore all opportunities for us to provide unique value to the marketplace and to deliver superior returns to our shareholders. As the world moves forward to address the challenge of climate change, efficient, there will be a need for safe and cost-effective refrigerants across a wide variety of applications in all regions of the world. We understand that global demand for cooling will continue to expand. Even with a focus on emissions reductions, lower global warming potential GWP (GWP) alternatives may eventually be needed to reduce contributions to climate change.

DM. Our Sorption based air conditioning systems, such as Desicool, POPcool and HCU, are already avoiding the use of HCFCs. With these we are able to cool air with heat – with waste heat and water to be precise. There is no need for compressors or refrigerants of any kind, it just uses the laws of nature. Wouldn’t you feel better to be able to sit comfortably in your office and enjoy a nice climate that makes you perform better a clean conscience because you have not used a refrigerant? Don’t you think it feels much better to be able to stand up in front of your boss and say ‘Look, we want to install air conditioning that will optimize the indoor air quality, make us work better, that doesn’t cost a fortune and is absolutely in line with our environmental policy’?

FS. What are your own strategies for responding to this phase-out?

PB. DuPont’s first aim is to ensure that, throughout industry, those using systems containing HCFCs are aware of the impending environmental deadlines and also that there now is an easy retrofit solution available in the ISCEON 9 Series family of refrigerants. We have implemented a dedicated ISCEON development team equipped with marketing and technical skills to help customers manage their transition to sustainable refrigerants. DuPont’s extensive network of distributor partners can also support these activities and maximise the accessibility of the ISCEON solution, further ensuring the rapid and smooth compliance with the regulations.

DM. We are constantly improving our know how in the field of air handling and are trying hard to get even closer to our customers. We have so much to learn and we are ready to listen. In the end, it has to be a win-win situation for both sides. Our customers don’t take chances any more; they require a complete offering from design to full maintenance care. We are working closely together with our customers in the food industry to get an early indication of new trends. After the summer we will launch a new Powder Dry unit, which will be ATEX certified for use in silo and pneumatic conveying applications.

FS. More generally, do you have a strategy or any objectives in place for the next five years? How do you aim to further develop your products and services and retain your competitive edge in Europe?

PB. The introduction of the ISCEON 9 Series was an early step in the development of Science of Cool. Today, DuPont is once again poised to revolutionise the refrigerants industry with its commitment to developing cooling solutions that offer exceptional performance and environmental sustainability. To this end, the company has tripled its research spending in support of the Science of Cool. Earlier this year, DuPont announced that it identified and had begun testing the next generation of refrigerants that are expected to reduce the global warming potential of refrigerants in automotive air conditioning systems. These proprietary solutions could, in the future, also have the potential to be leveraged into more sustainable solutions for other cooling applications. This is yet more evidence of DuPont’s Science of Cool at work.

DM. Munters strategy is planned in a three-year revolving process, which allows us to quickly address actual developments inside our strategic plans. The food segment has been our primary strategic segment since 2000. All our efforts in sales, marketing and R&D are focused on the food sector. Nevertheless, the high requirements of the industry and the end customers allow us to use our results here in other high end markets, such as the pharmaceuticals or chemical industries. Within the actual strategic period, we will renew and optimise our complete product portfolio on a global level. Energy efficiency and hygienic design will go hand in hand. Our customer offering will benefit from systematic information exchange inside Europe and with our colleagues in the US and Asia.

Phil Bardsley

Since joining DuPont in 1980, Bardsley has progressed through several sales and marketing management functions within DuPont’s titanium dioxide, coatings and polymer businesses. He has spent the last 12 years in the DuPont Fluorochemicals SBU, with a focus on its refrigerants business. During this time, Bardsley has been at the forefront of the company’s efforts to move from CFCs/HCFCs to longer-term, sustainable cooling solutions, helping accelerate the reduction of ozone-depleting substances.