Monday, 01 December 2008 15:06
Trane Polska Sp. z o.o.
PRESIDENT: Paweł Markiton, Pierre Cazal
OPERATIONS: HVAC
ESTABLISHED: 1993
EMPLOYEES: 65
www.trane.pl
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Trane, a member of the Ingersoll Rand capital group, is a global provider of comfort systems and integrated heating, ventilation, air-conditioning (HVAC) solutions. Apart from manufacturing spare parts for efficient air conditioning and ventilation systems, the company offers a wide array of services related to HVAC solutions, including, but not limited to, professional customer service, air-conditioning control systems for buildings and tailor-made technical solutions meeting specific requirements and demands of institutional, industrial and corporate customers. An extensive experience and professional approach earned the business a good reputation worldwide as a reliable and unrivalled market player in the trade. Today, the brand enjoys international acclaim and is highly valued by investors, developers, building owners as well as office managers and directors.
Fifteen years in retrospect
Established in 1993, Trane celebrated its 15th anniversary in Poland last year. As Paweł Markiton, who is Trane’s general manager for Poland, Belarus, Ukraine and the Baltic States, reveals, the company started business employing only two people and nowadays it can boast a considerable number of highly trained engineers, experts and technicians. In the 1990s the firm saw a rapid growth that was in parallel with the development of Polish economic market. Nowadays, Trane is regarded as the domestic leader in HVAC solutions. “Our systems are installed in the most popular buildings around the world,” says Paweł Markiton. “Burj Tower in Dubai, Petronas Tower in Malaysia, the Moscow Kremlin and Milan’s LaScala – these are only a few examples. We’re proud to say that we have similar situation here, in Poland…,” he adds. The popularity of Trane solutions in Poland have arguably added luster to functionality and comfort of many Poland-based landmarks. The systems were implemented in such well known buildings as the Warsaw Blue Tower, Golden Terraces – one of the most modern shopping centres in Europe, Warsaw Marriott Hotel and many other office and hotel buildings. For example, the system has been working for over ten years in Warsaw Financial Center, the second building outside the US which has been awarded with Energy Efficiency Award. Thanks to effective management and regular maintenance, the system helped to save nearly six million kilowatt-hours of electrical energy during the period of ten years. That quantity is enough to supply the electricity for the city of 11 thousand inhabitants for one year. “Today everyone speaks about saving the energy. In practice, however, only some people save it. The Warsaw Financial Center is the best example showing that the use of new technologies not only lets us obtain rational savings in time, but also contributes to the environmental protection,” says Mr Markiton. Last year in June the firm became a subsidiary of Ingersoll Rand, a global industrial business providing products, services and solutions geared to enhance the quality and control of air in buildings, protect and transport food and perishables, indemnify homes and commercial buildings and enhance productivity and efficiency. Being part of the Ingersoll Rand group gives Trane a unique opportunity to offer new products and services which will diversify the present offer. Today, with its thirty-five manufacturing plants in ten countries, Trane employs more than 29,000 people worldwide. Warsaw Office serves as headquarters of Trane for Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic States. Regional showrooms are located in Poznań, Kraków, Gdynia and Wrocław. As Mr Markiton admits, “it was very successful 15 years in Poland. We earned the status of a reliable partner for many businesses across the country. But we do not look back in time too often. Now it is time to build Trane’s future. And the future seems to be very challenging for all of us.”
Go green!
Trane Polska has a comprehensive offer for industrial buildings too. Many well-known brands, including Philip Morris Polska, Wrigley de Ferrero, plumped for the company’s state-of-the-art systems which were installed at myriad manufacturing plants across the country. Since the enterprise frequently provides services to demanding customers, the quality of each service has to be impeccable. What is more, according to Mr Markiton, with more than a hundred years of worldwide experience, top-quality products and highly trained technicians, Trane is prepared to accept even the most challenging tasks. Since green issues have been close to Trane’s business policy as well, the installations, besides being of the best quality, are specially designed to lower energy consumption and reduce the effects of global warming. In May 2007 Trane became a partner of the Clinton Climate Initiative – an organization committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in forty of the world’s largest and most progressive cities, including Warsaw. It has become commonplace in the company to promote the environment protection by showing people how to use HVAC systems in the most effective and environmentally-friendly way. Willing to share cost-cutting and energy-saving knowledge with others, the enterprise launched a series of lectures addressed to building owners, managers and investors during which various HVAC-related issues are discussed. To take the initiative further, Trane is soon going to bring a similar training programme to students of the Warsaw University of Technology.
Strengths
International experience is definitely an asset. If, for instance, a system must be fitted in a concert hall, Trane draws upon technical solutions developed for a similar purpose in other cities or countries. The concert hall is a specific type of building where standard solutions cannot be applied. A similar case is with mines, printing houses, tobacco plants etc. Therefore, each of such undertakings requires a customized approach that was developed by Trane, thus helping it to put in competitive tenders for contracts. For instance, in several years Poland and Ukraine will host Euro 2012, so hundreds of new hotels need to be built. The buildings will require installation of air-conditioning systems. As Trane reveals, such investments, in order to provide comfort and efficiency, will also require joint efforts from designers and developers. Installation of air-conditioning systems in hotels is one of the company’s strongest points. And the offer is not limited to big top-of-the-range hotels, but two- or three-star hotels benefit equally from power-saving and cost-cutting HVAC solutions. Air-conditioning in offices is yet another strong point. For office spaces Trane provides standard solutions which are distinctive because of their reliability and power-saving properties. Nowadays most offices are located in large buildings and this makes Trane especially privileged owing to extensive experience in fitting systems in such places. In large buildings an engine room is an essential component (e.g. in the building of Warsaw Financial Center or TP SA in Warsaw). It consumes 50 percent of energy, but if the engine room is built using energy-saving methods, the maintenance costs are lowered.
A predictive maintenance manifesto
Many companies were taken by surprise in the fourth quarter of 2008 when fuel prices actually fell below projections, and they were left with extra money in their energy budgets. The old adage regarding budgets still seems to stand at many organizations – if you don’t spend it, you lose it in next year’s budget. Now, it is not to advocate unwise or fruitless expenditures just to sustain future budget levels, but it is certainly appropriate and within the fiduciary responsibilities of a building owner or manager to invest in a building’s increasing energy effectiveness and value going forward. That windfall of energy money you save and reinvest in your systems now can help you deliver greater energy savings to your organization in the coming years. Purchasing and operating modern, energy efficient and properly maintained HVAC system represents a significant investment over the life of a facility. Deferring maintenance always results in reduced system performance and shortened life cycle. Predictive maintenance means not only improved energy and operating efficiency, but also lower energy bills, which, in many cases may be reduced by 20%. Well-designed predictive maintenance programme will save energy and money as well as it will enhance the operating efficiency and extend the usable life of HVAC systems. Predictive maintenance uses diagnostic testing and technology to anticipate potential problems and apply proactive remedial measures to avert failure or diminished performance. Facility managers should work with skilled technicians to assess equipment health, maintain spare parts inventories and perform routine inspections so they know when to replace or repair worn parts before trouble might occur. Scheduled system analysis and maintenance can also help identify and reduce typical seasonal strains on HVAC systems. Indoor air quality is affected by constantly shifting factors, including outdoor temperatures. As a result, HVAC systems are forced to accommodate fluctuating seasonal demands on a building. Predictive maintenance on an HVAC system can identify any areas of a system that are being strained by constant use or any inconsistent factors, while saving both time and money and extending the life of a system. Many companies view Predictive Maintenance as a pivotal element of safe, efficient and uninterrupted work of the HVAC systems installed at their facilities, e.g. Gilette manufacturing plant in Łódź (the largest worldwide manufacturer of disposable razors), Wrigley plant in Wroclaw, Philip Morris manufacturing plant in Czyżyny near Kraków, 3M facility in Wrocław, Warsaw Financial Center and many others. When planning new projects or preparing for renovations, it is important to consider more than just the cost of purchase or installation. The blueprint should go beyond recommendations of products and services. What is essential is to find a partner who offers a comprehensive approach, including developing products, software tools and services supporting a building project. There is no such thing as one ideal system that is the best for all buildings and projects. There are a lot of ways to save energy on the HVAC of a building. At incipient stages of the design, the questions to be addressed are those about the purpose of and needs of the building. Only then can the right people start thinking about a tailored made system suitable for a given purpose. Everyone can step onto the path of Energy Efficiency – the Right Way to Save.
