Nidec Global Appliance, holder of the Embraco brand of refrigeration solutions, initiated its new fiscal year, disclosed the investment of $70 million to leverage and set up new production lines of best-selling refrigeration compressors and condensing units in various parts of the world.
The new lines will increase the yearly production capacity by over 10 million units, which will be included to the present capacity of 45 million compressors and condensing units per year. The investment goes to manufacturing plants that manufacture Embraco solutions in Austria, China, Brazil and Mexico.
Valter Taranzano, CEO, Nidec Global Appliance stated- “This investment is motivated by a composition of factors, being one of them a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic: as people all around the world are spending more time at home, it has become increasingly important to re-evaluate the level of quality and energy efficiency of residential appliances. In parallel, more people at home mean more consumption of fresh food, increasing the demand for refrigeration in the food retail sector, such as supermarkets and convenience stores. Cooling is also a key factor in the health and scientific industries, two sectors that had a demand increase for refrigeration due to Covid-19.”
With three business units – one dedicated to solutions for commercial refrigeration equipment, other to compressors and motors for residential appliances and another to components for HVAC systems, the company, has a strong plan to carry on expanding its portfolio as well as operations, which presently involves 15,000 employees in 16 manufacturing plants.
As per the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR), the requirements of refrigeration and air conditioning jointly respond for 17% of the electricity consumption in the world. After reliability, the most robust wave of evolution in compressors and market demand has been energy efficiency. Variable speed compressors, also called as inverter technology or VCCs, are a more environmentally responsible option that offers significant energy savings compared to traditional on-off compressors.
“That’s why Nidec Global Appliance has been increasing the production of this kind of technology in its manufacturing sites around the world,” added Taranzano.
In Fürstenfeld, Austria, the investment of 5 million dollars in the manufacturing plant is allowing it to begin the creation of two variable speed models, FMX and VES. These highly energy efficient compressors will be destined to the European market, enhancing speed on service level and bolstering associations due to proximity with customers.
In China, the manufacturing site in Beijing is acquiring an investment of 3 million dollars, to increase the yearly production capacity of VES, VEM and FMX. The target market for the products is Asia, primarily China and Japan, Europe and the United States.
The three compressors families mentioned (VES, VEM and FMX) are technologies utilized by refrigeration equipment manufacturers (OEMs) globally, but particularly in those nations that have stringent energy consumption regulations for appliances, and those where technology is a core buying criteria. These products, for using variable speed technology, have another appeal: adapting to varied levels of voltage fluctuation, a condition that is present in several regions around the globe. All three can be utilized in residential and some small light commercial applications, in segments like merchandisers, food service and food retail.
Guilherme Almeida, strategic planning vice president, Nidec Global Appliance, informed- “For being variable speed compressors, with the option of running on natural refrigerants, these solutions optimise energy consumption and give OEMs the flexibility to customise their product according to each market need. From the end users perspective, whether they are food retailers or homeowners, these compressors mean efficiency, reliability, sustainability and energy savings.”
Investments in Americas are emphasized on cooling systems and customary compressors.
In Brazil, the manufacturing plant situated in Joinville will acquire $21 million in investments to add a third production line of EM compressors and supply extra 2.5 million units annually, on top of $4 million investment already on going to increase productivity. The EM family is one of the brand’s best sellers, being used in residential and light commercial applications across the globe. The new production line will offer the most advanced generations of the family (EM2 and EM3), amalgamating high cooling capacity, energy efficiency and competitiveness, and will respond majorly to high demand levels in Brazil and Latin America. It is a fixed speed compressor running on natural refrigerants R600a and R290, pertinent for a variety of applications, like home refrigerators, supermarket’s refrigeration equipment, professional kitchens and merchandisers.
In Mexico, the production site in the city of Apodaca is gaining investments of $35 million to build a new production line of ES compressors, raising by 60% the site’s production capacity. It will be targeted on responding to the North American market demand, assisting the transition to natural refrigerants in this region, with the inclusion of an increased cooling capacity as compared to previous families. Overall, the company is investing around $70 million in its plants in Mexico, aimed on the earlier mentioned capacity increase and processes automation.
Another investment is being done in condensing unit’s production capacity expansion. The offer of these cooling systems is a strategy that the company desires to augment. So it will invest approx. $2 million in its Itaiópolis’ manufacturing, in Brazil. The investment will lead to an increment in production capacity by 25%, serving especially the Brazilian, Latin American and North American markets, with a smaller portion destined to Europe and Asia. The plant in Itaiópolis generates condensing units of all sizes, from the ones used in water purifiers to the ones with 6HP of capacity, used in cold rooms.
“In addition to responding to our customers’ demand, this investment package also puts us ahead of the game to support the transition to natural refrigerants and to variable speed (more energy efficient) compressors, which are two movements that are ongoing in different stages in many parts of the world. And, of course, we need to have the production capacity required to support our future growth plans,” Taranzano said at the end.