Nidec/Secop roadshow in China signals accelerating HC market

Highlighting the growing potential for hydrocarbons in China’s light commercial refrigeration market, from 18-22 September the ‘2017 Nidec/Secop Technology Roadshow’ was held in three Chinese cities: Qingdao (18 Sept.), Shanghai (20 Sept.) and Shunde (22 Sept.).

The tour is the fourth annual roadshow organised by the recently acquired Secop Compressors (Tianjin) Co. Ltd. (now Nidec Compressors (Tianjin) Co. Ltd.), which sees a quickly growing market for hydrocarbon-based refrigeration systems in China.

“The purpose here is to help light commercial customers in China get a better understanding about global trends and regulations, propane product advantages and also technical solutions,” said Lily Li, senior director of Global Business Development & Marketing for Secop GmbH.

Hydrocarbons21 spoke to Bob Shen, sales director for Secop Compressors Tianjin, about the outlook for hydrocarbons in the light commercial refrigeration market in China.

Overseas demand driving Chinese market

On the last stop of the roadshow, in the city of Shunde, China, Shen explained how interest in hydrocarbons from Chinese OEMs was driven by the high demand seen from their European customers, especially since the emergence of the EU’s F-Gas Regulation.

“As you know, after the European F-Gas Regulation, more and more Chinese manufacturers […] get their demand from European customers about propane solutions,” said Shen.

“We are happy to see that in China, the big OEMs are considering, from the social responsibility and also from the efficiency and cost point of view, moving to propane solutions. This will give a good example for other OEMs in China.”

This has also influenced the domestic market, Shen explained, as manufacturers have also begun to move more of their production to hydrocarbon-based systems.

“We have seen that, in bottle cooler applications, in the last two years, more and more players have moved to propane,” he said. “I assume that in the coming two years, the bottle cooler manufacturers in China will have more and more propane cabinets.”

Though Shen admits that it may still take more time before propane systems are adopted more widely, he remains certain that it is the best solution.

“In China, many of the OEMs are still small, but due to the efficiency and also [from] a cost point of view, I believe propane will be the best solution for Chinese manufacturers,” he said.