MECHANICAL SUPPLY NEWS

MANUFACTURERS • DISTRIBUTORS • WHOLESALERS

Ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Navien Canada distribution centre: (l-r) Adam Wills, national sales manager, Canada; Ryan Shin, CFO, Navien, Inc.; Scott Lee, CEO, Navien Canada; and Eric Moffroid vice president, Navien Inc.

INTRODUCING NAVIEN CANADA, INC. Navien has officially incorporated their business in Canada under the name Navien Canada, Inc.

The Navien business North America has been operating as Navien, Inc. since 2006. With the change, the American territories are now split among the three separate corporations, with the U.S. still operating as Navien, Inc. and Mexico operating as Navien Mexico.

“Our business in Canada has grown exponentially over the previous 16 years, making Navien the number one selling manufacturer of tankless water heaters and wall-hung boilers in the country,” said Scott Lee, CEO of Navien Canada, in a company release.

“By incorporating our business in Canada as Navien Canada, Inc., Navien is demonstrating its commitment to providing nimble, personal and more localized services, and strengthening our partnerships with our customers across Canada.”

The company celebrated the official announcement of Navien Canada on August 29 in Surrey, B.C. along with the grand opening of its first Canadian distribution centre and the launch of a new website dedicated to Canada. navieninc.ca

TRANE TECHNICIAN SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS Two Canadian were among the 28 students who will share in the US$106,000 Trane Technician of the Future Scholarship program for 2022.

Mark Jommel Santiago from Seneca College in Ontario and John Pratt from the British Columbia Institute of Technology were listed among the scholarship recipients who were rewarded based on academic performance, leadership and participation, long-term career and educational goals, financial need and other criteria. scholarsapply.org/TraneTechnician DISTRIBUTION

>> Carel and Master Group have announced a new partnership in Ontario, combining Carel’s humidifier and evaporative cooling solutions with Master’s range of HVAC/R products and services. Master Group will maintain a large inventory of Carel products and parts at their distribution centre in Vaughan, Ont. carelusa.com master.ca

>> RLS, manufacturer of the Rapid Locking System line of press-connect fittings for HVAC and refrigeration systems, has announced a new manufacturer’s representative partnership in Ontario with Toronto-based Centric Sales and Marketing. rapidlockingsystem.com centricsales.ca

>> Kerr Controls & Kerr Smart Energy opened a new Saint John, NB branch at 175 Hilyard St., ste. D100. An HVAC/R wholesaler, Kerr operates 12 locations in Atlantic Canada and three in Ontario. kerrcontrols.ca

>> Noble has opened its newest branch at 1796 16th Street E., Suite A, Owen Sound, Ont. The new branch is Noble's 7th location serving Northern Ontario and the 53rd location in its network. noble.ca

Rick Sporrer (right), president of Danfoss North America, celebrates with the Danfoss Canada team.

DANFOSS CANADA CELEBRATES 70TH ANNIVERSARY On September 14, Danfoss celebrated the 70th anniversary its Canada office. Initially located in Toronto, the office began as a one-person sales site has grown into a sales and manufacturing operation with as many as 150 employees at one time, and now serves as a sales and service organization, with the office relocating to Oakville, Ont. in late 2020. danfoss.com

FUJITSU REBRANDS VRF OFFERING Fujitsu General America has announced a shift in the branding of its VRF and mini-split heat pump product lines, moving all products to the Airstage brand.

Aside from a new teal logo, the Fujitsu J-Series and V-Series VRF products retain their Airstage branding, while the existing Halcyon mini-split line is now known as the Airstage H-Series.

Fujitsu’s unitary and Westinghouse brands are not involved with the rebrand. fujitsugeneral.com

NSI INDUSTRIES ACQUIRES SUPCO NSI Industries, a provider of electrical, HVAC, and building technology product solutions, has announced that it has acquired SUPCO. The new acquisition designs, manufactures, and distributes parts, components, test instruments, and tools.

SUPCO operates manufacturing facilities in New Jersey, the Midwest, and abroad, maintaining a worldwide network of sales representatives and distributors to serve both domestic and international industries. nsiindustries.com

DUE NORTH ADDS MTL COOL Commercial refrigeration supply company, Mtl Cool, has been acquired by Due North, a newly created operating company of QBD and Minus Forty.

Under Due North, Mtl Cool will continue to offer products which includes inline horizontal open-air coolers, horizontal sliding glass lid coolers and freezers, vertical open-air coolers and endcap solutions. duenorth.com TWO CANADIANS INVITED TO RIDGID EXPERIENCE RIDGID recently hosted its fifth annual RIDGID experience trip, a VIP event that invites members of the skilled trades to gather for fun, camaraderie and hands-on experiences.

The event also serves as a “thank you” to the trades for the role they play in building and maintaining infrastructure.

The contest, which draws entries from tradespeople across North America, concludes with RIDGID treating nine guests to a three-day, all-expenses-paid trip to the RIDGID headquarters.

This year two Canadian plumbing/HVAC tradespeople made the list: Mary-Anne Bowcott, owner of Westcom Plumbing and Gas in Sooke, B.C. and Derek Newton of Chad Plumbing in Kirkland Lake, Ont. ridgid.com

Derek Newton of Chad Plumbing (left) and Mary-Anne Bowcott of Westcom Plumbing and Gas took part in the fifth annual RIDGID experience.

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HRAI CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS INDUSTRY OPPORTUNITY The Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) held its Annual Conference in Ottawa from September 18-20, the group’s first in-person national meeting since 2019.

The role of Chair of the HRAI Board of Directors transitioned to Bill Davis, vice president/general manager with Ecco Supply, taking over the role from Scott McDonald of Johnson Controls who served as Chair for 2021-22.

This year's HRAI conference adopted a lighter educational load and encouraged greater networking than past events.

The kick-off reception on the first evening featured Chris Turner, journalist, author and regular speaker on the topics of climate change and the global energy transition, a common theme at the conference.

Turner’s latest book is How to Be a Climate Optimist, and he shared why he’s optimistic about the future, based on the rapid rate of growth in sustainable energy solutions he’s witnessed over 20 years of covering climate change issues.

The global adoption of solar and wind power has exceeded many expectations, the transition to electric vehicles is accelerating fast and re-imagined cities using distributed power solutions and less energy intensive systems— including district energy and heat pump solutions—are some of the reasons he’s optimistic.

Over the course of two days conference attendees heard repeated notes of optimism for the industry while also being faced with the real obstacles to achieving climate goal objectives.

The keynote presentation by Bruce Laurie, environmental leader and influential environmental policy expert, zeroed in on how the HVAC industry is primed to be in the “opportunity business.”

While he acknowledged that Canada’s 2030 emissions targets will be very hard to meet, HRAI members are the ones providing the solutions to help their customers navigate the complexity of taking on solutions that will benefit both society and the planet.

Laurie shared some details on a new project in which HRAI will be playing a role in collaboration with the Transition Accelerator in a new group called the Canadian Building Electrification Alliance (more details to come).

While Laurie and most every other speaker during the conference accepted the reality that Canada faces a labour shortage when it comes to the skilled workforce required to retrofit and build the green buildings of the “near” future, he is of the belief that there is a realization within the next generation that there is a long-term future in working in fields that are climate positive – and the HVAC industry must be promoting itself as one of those forward-looking industries.

“People are the solution,” said Laurie, and while the role of the technology is critical it’s the delivery of useful information and interacting with customers to support sustainability and resiliency, along with security, comfort and reliability in their homes, that will position the HVAC industry for success.

During the conference the HRAI also recognized members with some special awards. Bruce Passmore of EMCO received the HRAI Award of Merit for outstanding service; the HRAI Life Member Award went to Peter Steffes; and Jim Bolger of Waterloo Energy Products and Mechanical was presented with the Warren Heeley Environmental Award.

President’s Awards were also handed out to Francis Belle, a semi-retired HRAI instructor for residential mechanical design from Regina, and finally the City of Vancouver was recognized for its continuing efforts in pushing and promoting environmental leadership.

Following this year's success, HRAI will be hosting its 2023 annual conference September 17 – 19 in Montreal. <> hrai.ca

Bruce Passmore (EMCO) receives the HRAI Award of Merit from colleague Joanna Woo.

Bill Davis (left) takes on the role of HRAI Chair for 2022-23, succeeding past-Chair Scott McDonald (right).

The Warren Heeley Environmental Achievement Award was presented to Jim Bolger of Waterloo Energy Products & Mechanical, a strong advocate of geothermal technology. Pictured (l-r): Julie Dabrusin, MP Toronto-Danforth; Jim Bolger; and Martin Luymes, HRAI.