Imbera launches R290 foodservice products in U.S.

By Andrew Williams, Mar 20, 2019, 16:00 1 minute reading

Leveraging its European experience, company has converted most of its equipment to R290.

Detail of Imbera's booth at NAFEM.

Kennesaw, Ga.-based OEM Imbera, a division of Mexico-based Femsa, is now “launching our U.S.-spec [propane] products on the foodservice side,” said Brent Parkinson, foodservice commercial director, Imbera, at last month’s NAFEM Show.

The company has already converted its entire commercial refrigeration portfolio to propane except for three models, one of which is a reach-in freezer. “Almost all our equipment is R290-based,” he said. “We’re 99% there.”

Imbera, which operates all over the world, is not new to hydrocarbons. “We’ve been supplying hydrocarbon-based models in Europe for over 15 years already,” said Parkinson at the trade show, held in Orlando, Fla., February 7-9.

He suggested that this experience could give Imbera competitive advantages in terms of energy efficiency and performance over U.S.-based OEMs that may be using hydrocarbons for the first time.

Outside the United States, Imbera is a major supplier of hydrocarbon-based bottle coolers, counting Heineken among its customers. In 2017, the company announced it was tweaking its cooler design to ensure that its hydrocarbon models met ENERGY STAR 4.0 and Department of Energy efficiency standards.

It also supplies hydrocarbon-based bottle coolers to the Coca-Cola Company. “Coca Cola challenged us to get the charge down below 150g,” said Parkinson, alluding to Imbera’s double-door model whose charge is 105g.

“With our engineering efficiency, we don’t need to go above 150g except in a few scenarios, such as walk-ins,” he stated.

By Andrew Williams

Mar 20, 2019, 16:00




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