The 18th edition of ACREX INDIA 2017

The 18th edition of ACREX INDIA 2017, organised by the Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ISHRAE), and produced by NürnbergMesse (NM) India, started with a grand inauguration ceremony on 23 February 2017.

It was the largest-ever ACREX INDIA show, with 487 exhibitors showcasing their products across 30,000 sq mts gross area at the India Exposition Mart, Greater Noida. The coming together of the five shows of the Building industry: Build Fair Alliance (BFA), created an unparalleled benchmark, with the Who’s Who of the building industry present at the event.

Overwhelming response:
The exhibition, held over three days, recorded than 41,513 visitors. The BFA initiative not only created the largest platform for networking for the construction industry but also offered stakeholders an opportunity to acquaint themselves with the latest technologies in the field.

“For more than 35 years ISHRAE has been working to boost technology development, R&D, student mentoring, and training for the HVAC&R industry,” said Sachin Maheshwari, President, ISHRAE. “ACREX INDIA, being the flagship event of ISHRAE every year, strengthens our mission and creates better networking platforms.”

Added Ashish Rakheja, Chairman, ACREX India 2017, “ACREX INDIA 2017 offered stakeholders not only networking opportunities but also the experience and convenience of seeing various industry segments such as HVAC, fire safety & security systems, building automation, plumbing, façade & fenestration, and glass under one umbrella.”

The theme of the event this year, Rising India: Enterprising and Cool, was linked both to the rapidly growing economy of India as well as the welcoming nature of its citizens. People from 25+ countries travelled to Greater Noida for the industry get-togethers and were impressed with the range of products offered by the exhibitors, 33% of whom were from the US, UK, UAE, Taiwan, Italy, France, Hong Kong, Russia, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea, Thailand, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Malaysia, Vietnam and other countries and territories.

One highlight of the show was the participation of Turkey as the guest country. This not only helped in increasing the international participation at the event but was also a small step in improving relations between India and Turkey.

“The NürnbergMesse group, with its subsidiaries in China, North America, Brazil, Italy and India, and 50 representatives working across 100 countries, gives each of our shows a global edge with our colleagues promoting ACREX INDIA worldwide,” explained Sonia Prashar, Managing Director, NürnbergMesse India. “This creates tremendous synergies, besides of course creating better business opportunities across the entire spectrum of the segment.”

Concurrent Events:
ACREX INDIA 2017 started with a panel discussion on REALONOMICS: New directions for Real Estate in a Changing Environment. The discussion was moderated by Neeraj Bansal, Partner, KPMG. Panellists included Arun Bhatia, Managing Director, UTC—Climate Controls & Security; Ishtiyaque Ahmed, Director, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Govt of India; Velan Chidambaranathan, Executive Director & CEO, Tata Realty Infoparks; Abhin Alimchandani, Chairman, Stup Consultants; Deepak Uppal, Executive Director, Vatika Hotels; Virendra Gupta, Senior Director, CBRE; and Amit Oberoi, National Director, Knowledge Systems, Colliers International India.

The curtain-raiser powered by Carrier, was attended by more than 450 professionals from the building services industry including the heads of international associations such as CIBSE, UK; REHVA, EBTC & IIF-IIR, France; ASHRAE, US; CAR, China; Slovak Association for Cooling & Air Conditioning Technology, Slovak Republic; ISIB and ISKID, Turkey; SHASE, Japan; Assofrigoristi, Italy; The Federation of Thai Industries, Thailand; and UNEP, GIZ, IGBC and USGBC.

This year, for the second time, the ACREX Hall of Fame was organised. The event was conceptualised by Danfoss to recognise iconic commercial buildings in the air conditioning and refrigeration space. The criteria for selection comprised energy efficiency, healthy environment, architecture/art, and a conducive environment for employees and visitors. As a first-time initiative, not only was the building awarded but all the companies involved in the development of the building were also recognised.

The winner of the ACREX Hall of Fame was the EC-53 Infosys Campus at Bengaluru. Shobha Ltd was inducted as its developer, ARCO Consultants as the consultants, KNND Associates as the contractor, and UPONOR India was recognised for its outstanding contribution to the masterpiece.

 
Another exciting element of ACREX INDIA was aQuest—a student quiz competition sponsored by Hitachi. The quiz was designed to introduce engineering students to the HVAC&R industry.

ACREX INDIA 2017 also presented a series of educative sessions. Workshops and seminars were conducted by eminent experts from the industry and provided an opportunity for the participants to learn about the latest trends in HVAC&R.