Issue 20 July, 2021
BEST PRACTICE PADO Shoppingcenter
IMPORTNEWS
MARKETINGNEWS
A view into the import department of AIR-COND
The new TOSHIBA Communication Guide has arrived
An exciting interview with Mrs. Nadine Weigl from the import department, who has to face new challenges every day due to the difficult container situation.
In order to stand out in the flood of information, we are focusing jointly on an uniform TOSHIBA appearance and have developed the Communication Guide for better orientation.
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In an area of over 20,400 m², 17 TOSHIBA outdoor and 69 indoor units were installed to provide air conditioning and monovalent heating for the shopping center. Page 8
CONTENT EDITORIAL
TECHNICAL NEWS
TOSHI BEAR
MARKETINGNEWS
PRODUCTNEWS
NEWS FROM CROATIA
SALESNEWS
OUT OF AIRCOND
BEST PRACTICE
WELCOME
IMPORTNEWS
BABY NEWS
▪ ONLINE TOOLS ▪ Technical Trainings 2021
▪ The new TOSHIBA Communication Guide has arrived ▪ Introducing the new marketing team
▪ A VRF Intermezzo: News about SMMSu and air quality ▪ Heat Pump Reloaded: the ESTIA R32 is available!
▪ „A video call can never replace a face-to-face meeting“
▪ Pado Shoppingcenter
▪ A view into the import department of AIR-COND
▪ AIR-COND goes South
▪ Behind the scenes – HAORI shooting March 2021 ▪ Baby break ▪ New challenge ▪ Excursion southern Styria
EDITORIAL
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, dear TOSHIBA and AIR-COND partners! After a long, too long time, I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I think that through the various measures we have now got the pandemic under control!
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But, besides major challenges within the company due to Corona (keeping distance, home office, quarantine, etc.), two other major issues have arisen in the world market that have kept us very busy in recent months: The current difficult transport situation with regard to the availability of cargo partly means an extension of the delivery time by 50 % – instead of 2 months, it now takes 3 months to transport the goods from Asia to Europe, which is very problematic for the availability of some product segments. In addition to this, the cost of transportation has increased up to 8 times within one year in some cases. This is also the reason for the transport cost surcharge, which we have charged since June 1st, 2021.
Furthermore, raw material prices (copper, aluminum, steel, etc.) have risen massively – up to 190 % – in recent months. Despite all the difficult issues, we can still look back on an economically successful time during the pandemic. A big thank you goes to you, dear partners, for your loyalty, but especially to my entire team for their continuous commitment to AIR-COND and the TOSHIBA brand. I wish you a wonderful summer! All the best, yours Jürgen Unterrainer
AVAILABLE IN OCTOBER
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RT A M S ES R U T FEA
CHILLERS AND HEAT PUMPS BY TOSHIBA
A NEW DIMENSION OF REFRIGERATION & HEAT GENERATION
TOSHI BÄR All around, there is something like a mood of optimism. The longer days and rising temperatures are giving most people a summer feeling and are putting them in a good mood. In the air-conditioning industry, order books are filling up again and the long, exhausting battle against the pandemic is coming to an end. Of course, there are unfortunately many for whom the virus has taken a massive toll on the health of themselves or a loved one, or who have even had to witness the worst. Most of us, however, have to be grateful, either through our own
defense mechanisms or through internalization of hygiene measures and not least by massively reducing our social life, that we have remained healthy to this extent or that we have recovered very quickly due to a mild course of the disease. The pandemic has shown many of us to be trapped in the hamster wheel of everyday life by the pressure to perform even more or to travel to even more distant vacation destinations.
Many of us have learned (again) that walking in the forest brings inner peace and energy. Energy that we urgently need to be able to profitably use the summer months. I wish you some quiet summer evenings, cooling and energizing walks in the forest, maybe finally some vacation days and a very successful summer. Yours TOSHI Bear
How happy we were to be able to simply visit a restaurant again, meet friends in a bar, and even cross a border or two again to see the sea or the mountains.
If you raise your eyes, you see no boundaries. Japanese proverb
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PRODUCTNEWS A VRF Intermezzo: News about SMMSu and air quality Air quality and air filtration systems have received a lot of attention since Covid-19. Things are moving in the business sector here, too! SMMSu has gotten off to a great start. In the last World of TOSHIBA we reported in detail about the overall system. Here we would like to focus a bit more on the indoor units and their air filter options. Filter strips – simple, inexpensive & effective The Ultra Pure 2.5 filter concept known from HAORI and SHORAI EDGE will in the future also be available for the panels of the standard 4-way cassettes. Up to a particle size of 2.5 μm, a filtration
ENDLESS NATURAL HEATING
efficiency of up to 51.8 % is possible with only a single pass. A Replacement Index Sticker indicates when the filter should be replaced. Did you know that ... ... in principle all available TOSHIBA filter strips fit in all wallmounted units? This means that all RAV and VRF wall-mounted units can also be equipped with the highly effective Ultra Pure 2.5 filters. If you wish, you can of course also use active carbon catechol or IAQ filter strips.
The top class – the plasma filter Successfully used for years in DAISEIKAI devices, it now starts its triumphal procession in the business class: for the new panels of the standard RAV/VRF 4-way cassettes, the plasma filter will be available as an option, following a similar principle as in the new 1-way FLAT cassette. Also on board is the Air Quality Sensor with the 4-stage, color LED display.
Heat Pump Reloaded: the ESTIA R32 is available! One for all – ESTIA for heating, domestic hot water & cooling. And the whole thing in perfect interaction with photovoltaics! In Greek mythology, ESTIA is the goddess of the family oven. In fact, both implications are true here: the combination with comfortable heat and the almost mythical reliability & efficiency of the systems, which have already been in use since 11 years and in the fifth generation in all European countries. Almost all ESTIAs sold since 2009 are still in operation today. We also demonstrate our confidence in product quality with the general 5-year warranty period for compressors – the same period is offered as an option for all other components.
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spores
pollen
bacteria
viruses
smoke
ESTIA R32 – a proven system redefined Under the flag “Engineered in Japan – Made in Europe”, the brand new ESTIA R32 Series 1 is sailing on the road to success. All four outdoor units with nominal outputs of 4, 6, 8 and 11 kW are suitable for combination with either a hydrobox or an all-in-one indoor unit with integrated 210 l hot water storage tank. In early 2022, a 14 kW unit with matching hydrobox as well as 3-phase alternatives for the ESTIAs of size 8 and 11 will complete the lineup. ESTIA R32 – did you know? ▪ The Smart Grid Ready functions of the ESTIA enable the uncomplicated integration of photovoltaics. ▪ High heating & cooling capacities with lowest refrigerant quantities of 0.9 and 1.25 kg below EN378, respectively KAV bagatelle limit.
▪ Temperatures above 30 °C occur on approximately 40 days per year. Ever thought about cooling with a heat pump? Cooling with ESTIA – short & simple ▪ Ideal for new buildings with surface heating systems. ▪ Consider two limit values: surface temperatures not below 20 °C, flow temperatures not below 18 °C. ▪ Cooling capacities of approximately 30 to 40 W/m² can be achieved; depending on the kind of surface covering. ▪ ESTIAs reliably maintain the supply temperature in the abovementioned range. The optimum – the TOSHIBA hybrid solution ▪ ESTIA R32 not only enables convenient APP control or monitoring of its own functions via the WiFi adapter – TOSHIBA
Home AC Control can also integrate direct evaporation split systems across the board with the coming generation. ▪ The hybrid solution surface cooling / recirculating air cooling effectively compensates for potential losses in comfort: direct evaporation enables rapid response to user requests as well as any necessary dehumidification of the room air. Well combined A high-quality heat pump system, professionally combined with your sound expert advice – join us in the triumph of the heat pump!
Daniel Pöltl
Product Manager Water Systems
Claus Wackerbauer Product Manager DX Systems
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SALESNEWS “A video call can never replace a face-to-face meeting” AIR-COND’s sales team’s first six months in review with Sales Director Christian Fitz. Besides the challenges in the AIR-COND office to get safely through the pandemic, it was mainly the sales people in the field who had to deal with new technologies, partly home office, constantly changing entry and exit regulations in the different countries and last but not least with the lack of personal contact to long-time partners. Monday, 10:45 a.m., the weekly jour fixe, in which a large part of the AIR-COND team discusses current issues, takes place via Microsoft Teams.
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An internet problem here, a nonfunctioning microphone there, ... problems that every company knows, but for many, as well as for the AIR-COND team, MS Teams has been a new technology since last year. But a necessary measure, as meetings with 15 – 20 people have become unthinkable. The meeting room was converted into 3 additional workstations to create more spacing in the open-plan office. After initial home office days and shift work in 2 groups, everyone is back in the office at AIR-COND, masks required, hand disinfection at the table and no
Christian Fitz
Sales Director, ppa.
large meetings mandatory. “It is absolutely necessary to bring colleagues together, of course under strictly adherence to all hygiene measures. Good cooperation requires communication, and this is only really productive face-toface”, says Christian Fitz. “What is discussed in many emails can usually be clarified in a few minutes in a face-to-face conversation.” Communication with our customers is at least as important. Fortunately, more and more of our partners agreed to a personal meeting during the first half of the year.
What was possible in Austria, at least in terms of travel, proved to be very difficult in our export countries. Constantly changing entry and exit regulations, business meeting as an exception for border crossing, pretravel clearance and felt 1,000 rods in the nose cavities for PCR and later antigen tests. Step by step, we were allowed to revisit our partners in most of our export countries. Creativity was needed to be able to organize personal meetings. Sometimes the stylish company car was exchanged for a van in order to be able to cross the border in the course of the permitted collection of goods in Maria-Lanzendorf and to be able to hold an improvised meeting next to a gas station. Despite all the technology that has fortunately made it possible for us to communicate – and we will continue to use much of it – the long-standing exceptionally good relationships with AIR-COND partners can only be maintained by sitting face-toface. “A video call can never replace a face-to-face meeting”, says Christian Fitz. “My sales team handled the situation excellently; flexibility and commitment to a good customer relationship, even in these difficult times, are the outstanding features of AIR-COND’s team and service.” The result is a very good performance
in the first half of the year. Despite below-average temperatures, very good results were generated. “The RAS segment picked up massively in May. We are also seeing more activity in the project business again. Planning and investments, which had almost completely stopped at the end of last year, are now becoming disproportionately more again.” Some great new products from the TOSHIBA factories are already available and will additionally support the positive trend. The completely new design concept HAORI in the RAS range, the next generation ESTIA with the new AllIn-One indoor unit and the brand new VRF system SMMSu have arrived in these weeks. The sales team at AIR-COND will continue to be a very active supporter of our partners throughout the summer. We will compensate very well for the challenges due to exploding transport costs from Asia and related availability bottlenecks by our extremely large stock. Flexible, hard-working and solutionoriented – these are the attributes of the AIR-COND sales team, which together with our customers will be successful with TOSHIBA in the second half of the year.
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BEST PRACTICE PADO Shoppingcenter The almost horseshoe-shaped cubature of the new PADO houses has many stores on a total area of over 20,400 m² – 9 of which were equipped with TOSHIBA devices. From the outset, the concept not only provided for a feel-good air conditioning system during the hot summer months – the system was also able to provide monovalent heating for the entire area. In this project, 17 outdoor units were used to supply a total of 69 indoor units. For technical and server rooms, seven independent RAV/Light Commercial systems were used, proven over decades in literally hundred thousands of critical applications. The highly compact mini-VRF systems used for the smaller stores also consistently covered both requirements: Comfortable climate in summer and cozy warmth in winter. The control options were also individually customized for the stores. From the simplest possible local control via a convenient cable remote control to a Smart Manager with timer and energy-saving functions.
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IMPORTNEWS A view into the import department of AIR-COND The current situation with transports from Asia to Europe poses not only the logistics industry with almost insoluble Nadine Weigl challenges. Purchaser / Import Department Due to the increased production volume in China, all container ships are fully booked. Demand is so enormous that not even empty containers from the ports of Thailand or China are available. Unfortunately, due to this situation also the price for the transports from Asia to Europe multiplied which you, as our partner, have to pay through our transport surcharge. The tense situation has been aggravated by the blockade of the Suez Canal and the associated weeks-long backlogs at European ports. Therefore, a further increase in the transport surcharge is feared. In order to provide you with the goods on time we have our large AIR-COND warehouse near Vienna on the one hand and on the other hand our import department does a lot of extra work, acts very flexible and shows a lot of creativity. We asked Nadine Weigl how she sees the current situation.
Nadine, what challenges do you currently have in the import? I have been working in the import for many years and have had a lot of transport coordination even before I came to AIR-COND. But a situation like this I have never ever experienced. It’s as if 1,000 people wanted to fly to Palma and there is only one 6-seater airplane available. We are in permanent contact with the factories, book ships, get cancellations, have to rebook, look for containers, switch to 20” containers, our logistics partner informs us about delays, alternative routes are searched, etc. Additional we have to coordinate with our warehouse when containers will arrive or can be unloaded, the customs clearance and many more. It is a very challenging time.
there is not a single container that arrives with an ETA. Every one of them is delayed by up to 4 or 5 weeks. We import about 500 containers per year. Not to mention the massively increased transportation costs. Due to our large warehouse the effects on availability are hardly noticeable for our customers – with a few exceptions. How do you see the future? Personally, I don’t think that the current situation will calm down any time soon. China continues to produce and will ship goods mainly to North America, i.e. the missing empty containers and hardly available space on the container ships will remain.
We have changed our processes and order from the factories a further How do you solve these problems? 2 months earlier now, which is of You can’t solve them, only make the course a logistical challenge. The best of it, look for alternatives, be demand in half a year can only be creative. The world market sets the estimated. But estimations are, challenges, not a logistics specialist. however, the only possibility to The very good relationship with the protect our customers from delays contact persons in the TOSHIBA and to make the goods available on factories in Japan, Thailand and time as possible. China helps us a lot in this respect. Personal contact is much faster and more solution oriented. Currently
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Find the 5 differences.
EXPERIENCE THE FUTURE The next generation VRF
Technical Trainings 2021 Being “up to date” is very important in today’s world. That means for AIR-COND to keep our customers up with the latest information. As last year, personal trainings in the “Energiesparhaus 2” were not possible yet due to the pandemic. But thanks to ZOOM, e-trainings can take place. These trainings are specially tailored to our customers. Depending on the target group and individual skills, your airconditioning or office technicians,
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project managers or sales staff can participate. Compressed in a maximum of two hours, the participants get all the important information. Participation is possible via PC, tablet or cell phone. In spring, the annual special workshops took place. 570 people from 67 companies participated in 30 webinars for a total of 46,354 minutes. We would like to express you our sincere thank that the e-trainings
TECHNICAL NEWS ONLINE TOOLS As you already know, we offer our tools ONLINE now. You can use for example warranty Markus Pichler Technical Manager claims or transport damages requests at any time, 24 hours a day, from anywhere. You are not bound to opening hours or certain persons and can apply for the warranty claim directly. Take your photos, open the claim, edit it, save it and complete and submit it later. The technical team will try to process your request and release it as soon as possible. In case of queries, you will receive an email. You are always informed exactly about the current status. The following ONLINE TOOLS are at your disposal: ▪ Warranty request ▪ Warranty extension VRF
▪ Warranty extension ESTIA (4 or 5 years) ▪ Transport damage ▪ Spare parts search ▪ APP 4.0.7 ▪ Trouble Ticket ▪ Product Guide We are currently in the process of creating a statistic in which all data such as warranty claims, warranty
extensions, transport damages etc. per customer will be shown. Thus you have all important information at one click! We hope that you are satisfied with the TOOLS. If you have change requests or suggestions for improvement, please contact us. We are open to any feedback and grateful for every suggestion.
have been accepted so well. We have just completed the individual CHILLER trainings for our export partners. 24 trainings took place, which lasted a total of 9,598 minutes and 137 people took part in them. If you also have a need in this area, please contact us. We will be happy to organize a training for you!
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MARKETINGNEWS The new TOSHIBA Communication Guide has arrived In order to stand out in the flood of information, we rely on an uniform TOSHIBA appearance. The right communication opens doors. This is true for interpersonal relationships as well as in the communication of a brand and its values. TOSHIBA is a global brand of which almost everyone has heard of and which stands for Japanese quality. Communication must represent exactly this quality, reflected in the appearance and the demeanor of the brand. In the beginning is the LOGO Why is the logo and its correct use of it so important? RECOGNITION. If the branding is done right, people will recognize the logo even if it is not present fully. Branding means nothing more than setting a trademark. We experience this trademark as a logo.
In the focus of interest In the focus of interest for all customers are our products. After all, it’s these products that a customer will take with him, with which he can adapt his environment according to his individual wishes. So it goes without saying that exactly these products must be presented appealingly – regardless of the communication tool. The products are at the center of communication. In order to get the customers’ attention, an appealing presentation is crucial. Advertising is a tool to reach potential customers. In fast-paced times like these it is especially important to answer the prospective customer at first glance the following questions:
Detected?
A
▪ What product is it? ▪ What is my advantage in owning this product? ▪ Where can I find the product? To support you exactly in this communication, we have developed these guidelines. Together we can strengthen the appearance of TOSHIBA and our devices with a uniform market presence. The TOSHIBA brand and its values are to be anchored in the people’s minds in order to continue to be successful together.
B
C
Good branding causes RECOGNITION. Do you recognize these brands?
A Coca Cola
B Amazon
C Adidas
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Introducing the new marketing team Change is part of the life. Changes are inevitable and that is a good thing.
appropriate marketing activities and supports you in the decision making as well as conceptual design.
Without change there would be no innovations. Our marketing team has also changed, but above all it has evolved.
In cooperation with Mrs. Sonja Keimel, who joined our team in March and is mainly responsible for all graphic matters and their creative elaboration, she discusses your individual projects and realizes them graphically.
Under the leadership of our dear Ms. Bianca Jeller, who has been an important and indispensable part of the company for more than 14 years, the team has been reorganized and strengthened selectively. Now we would like to take the opportunity and introduce the new ladies to you: Some of you could already meet Ms. Janine Hallmann personally to get her to know. She joined us in November last year. As the interface between marketing and sales, she advises and plans specific and
Since June Mrs. Romana Möstl is supporting our team as Marketing Coordinator. She is decisively responsible for the conceptual design of all press activities, but also for the content of our website and social media channels. Mrs. Katharina Prüfling, who has also worked as part of our marketing team as Marketing Coordinator, is taking on a new professional challenge by July.
We are already working as a team diligently on new concepts and ideas for 2022 and are already looking forward to exciting marketing projects that will contribute to the further success of TOSHIBA.
Bianca Jeller
Administration Director, ppa.
Romana Möstl
Marketing Coordinator
Janine Hallmann Sales & Marketing Consultant
Sonja Keimel
Marketing Assistant
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NEWS FROM CROATIA AIR-COND goes South As already announced at our e-KickOff, AIR-COND has reached another milestone with the opening of the new office in Zagreb. Why we decided to do this: ▪ to be more visible in the marketplace and to show strength – when everyone is shrinking, we are expanding and we are investing, which is a good sign in these difficult Corona times ▪ to be closer to the market in the south and to make presentations for installers, designers, investors, etc. ▪ If someone wants to visit us, he will be able to reach us easily ▪ so that everyone can see our equipment on site such as HAORI, Daiseikai, Shorai Edge, etc. For our new office, we have chosen one of the office buildings in the center. BCI – Business Center International is a modern office building, built in 2006. The modern architecture with 13,025 m² divided on 13 floors impresses by the
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excellent office equipment and the location in the heart of the business district of Zagreb, at the intersection of Miramarska street and Vukovar street. It is located next to many Croatian companies, international corporations, state and municipal institutions, embassies, banks, insurance companies, cab stands, car rentals, hotels and restaurants. BCI is well linked to the public transportation, close to the highway and 14 km from Zagreb International Airport. The office space is shared with the Hotel International, a 4-star business hotel. So we can accommodate our visitors who stay overnight in the same building. The entrance to the public garage “Garage International” is located on the south side of the BCI building. The garage has 447 parking spaces on seven aboveground and one underground level. We look forward to welcoming you!
BRANCH OFFICE TOSHIBA AIR-COND BCI – 8th Floor Miramarska Cesta 24 HR-10000 Zagreb Robert Horvath
Key Account Manager & Project Engineer
Marko Pribanić
Technical Support
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OUT OF AIR-COND Behind the scenes – HAORI shooting March 2021 HAORI, our new design air conditioner stands for individuality, versatility and can easily be adapted to the environment with a textile cover. Previously selected with great attention to details, we received our
fabrics back from the tailor shop and on March 25th we were finally able to put them in scene. It was important for us to show the diversity and on the basis of this
decisive attribute to develop new sujets. We are also proud to inform you that HAORI has been awarded with the IF-Design Award 2021 by a jury of experts. The 98 member jury evaluated a total of 9,509 submitted products according to the five criteria – idea, form, function, differentiation and effect. HAORI scored above average in all categories. Especially the form and function, as well as the ease of individual design convinced the jury.
Design without limits.
A new look every day – design your climate yourself. 16 I
www.toshiba-aircondition.com
Baby break On April 29th the time had come and our dear colleague Tanja Cigler from the accounting department went on her baby break. For 13 years now she has been a very important part of the company AIR-COND and she is one of the
longest-serving employees. Now a new phase of life begins for her and we wish her all the best.
New challenge A well-known proverb says: “Where one door closes, another one opens.” So it has come to pass that our longtime employee in the order handling Mrs. Margrit Fuchs has taken over the tasks from Mrs. Tanja Cigler in the accounting department. Margrit has been with the company for more than 25 years and has proven herself to be a loyal and reliable soul in the company. Especially in the accounting department, where the handling with
central and above all sensitive data is the order of the day, it is of significant importance to be able to maintain an overview, a certain organizational skill and above all to be trustworthy. All these attributes and many more has our dear colleague Margrit. We are happy that Margrit has taken up this new challenge and we are convinced that she will master her new tasks with excellence, as she did the last years in the order handling!
Excursion southern Styria Social life has us again. The Corona numbers are thankfully much lower than they have been for many months. So we can meet again and go on excursions. On June 11th we immediately took the chance and made a small Buschenschank tour to the Gamlitz area. We are already looking forward to many more joint undertakings!
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WELCOME We are pleased to introduce our new employees at AIR-COND.
26 years, from Graz
Sales & Marketing Consultant +43 316 8089-18 janine.hallmann@air-cond.com
Interests
Golden Retriever Benni
Swimming
Hiking
Travelling
Painting
Culinary
33 years, from Graz
Marketing Assistant +43 316 8089-11 sonja.keimel@air-cond.com
Interests
Drawing
Photography
Baking
Gardening & Plants
Running
Crafts
44 years, from Graz
Marketing Coordinator +43 316 8089-19 romana.moestl@air-cond.com
Interests
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Dogs & Dog training
Sports
Vintage
Rockabilly
Hiking
Meeting friends
34 years, from Groß St. Florian
Sales Department +43 316 8089-20 olivia.dax@air-cond.com
Interests
Cooking
Reading
Photography
Travelling
Dancing
Sports
BABY NEWS
12.01.2021 2,980 g
51 cm
We wish the parents Beate & Eric much health and joy with their little daughter Lena Beate!
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Best wishes and a cool summer from the AIR-COND Team!
CREDITS gettyimages.at TOSHIBA Carrier Corporation AIR-COND® KlimaanlagenHandelsgesellschaft m.b.H.
IMPRESSUM
Haushamer Straße 2 A-8054 Graz-Seiersberg, Austria phone: +43 316 80 89 office@air-cond.com www.toshiba-aircondition.com
For reasons of better readability, the language forms male, female and diverse (m/f/d) are not used simultaneously. All references to persons apply equally to all genders.