That’s a wrap! The 2023 AHR Expo has come and gone. Super Radiator had a very busy show and we enjoyed seeing all the innovation and excitement on display in Atlanta this week. For this post, we thought we’d share our perspective on our show – the hot topics and near-term industry outlook, the show itself, and some perspective from SRC’s attendees.
Each year, there are a handful of prevalent topics that tend to dominate the show landscape. This year, we heard tons of chatter about refrigerants, and refrigerant-focused sessions that we attended were very popular.
The change driving this interest, which we’ve covered extensively, is the EPA’s recently granted authority to regulate the production and consumption of HFC refrigerants, among which is R-410A, a longtime go-to for the HVAC-R sector.
These HFC refrigerants will be gradually phased down in the coming years, and the quick timeline for that phasedown means that companies in the industry must choose alternatives. We saw lots of interest at the Expo on topics related to some alternatives, namely A2L refrigerants and other replacement options.
Another prevalent topic at this year’s show was decarbonization. The refrigerant regulations we touched on above are part of a larger industry push to engineer a more environmentally sustainable future by achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. In sessions we attended, there were two primary areas of carbon reduction being discussed:
The tone of many of these conversations was optimistic and viewed the climate change crisis as a motivator of innovation in the HVAC-R industry, stressing the mutual responsibility that we are tasked with, a sentiment that was reflected in many of the new product showcases and booth features throughout the event.
Held at the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta, the 2023 AHR Expo was packed with attendees. Nearly 1,800 exhibitors registered for the event, promoting everything from tools and apparel to massive industrial boilers and everything in between.
The Expo also rolled out some new features and continued some popular recent additions at 2023’s show, including the “Podcast Pavilion,” with live podcast recordings and their popular panel discussion series. AHR also presented their yearly innovation awards, recognizing contributions in a litany of HVAC disciplines, plumbing, sustainability measures, tools & equipment, and more.
Mark Schuch, Corporate Director of Materials, based at SRC’s Phoenix Division“Overall, the show was busy and there was a ton of great traffic. As far as hot topics that I observed, refrigerant regulation was a big one on the materials and supply chain side of things, too. Will that lead to an industry need for “more” metal due to potential efficiency losses? As far as a high-level perspective on the purchasing side of the industry, this was the first show in three years where we had the understanding that vendors were caught up, building inventory, and positioning themselves to better support customer growth. It was nice to be able to meet up with existing vendors and identify and meet with potential new suppliers.”
Ken Allen, Southeast Regional Sales Manager, SRC Richmond“I thought the tone of the show was very upbeat. It was well attended, and we were able to touch base with some high-quality contacts. Overall, I’d say it was similarly busy to last year’s Expo, but I felt like this year we had some better discussions.
Refrigerants were one of the big talking points I saw, too, especially around R-454B as well as CO2 heat pump-related topics. I was able to attend some good sessions and seminars that were focused on those topics, too.”
Daren Carlson, Sales Application Engineer, SRC Richmond“The attendance level at the show was very high and it was good to see folks that we with and for every day. Just about everyone I talked to had a positive outlook in general. One question we heard pretty often related to order volumes. Do we have any insight into when volumes will slow down? Why have levels been so high for this long? Things like that.”
Robert Morales, Sales & Engineering Manager, SRC Phoenix“This year’s Expo was definitely one of the most active shows I’ve personally been a part of so far. We saw a steady stream of customers for most of the show, especially Monday. As far as hot topics, people were curious about the new refrigerants and appreciated that we had empirical data on some of these blends. I had about 4 different people ask if they can have this loaded in our software for them to use. Overall, I’d say there were a lot more customers from the west coast at this show than previous shows. I would estimate at least 2-3X the amount that I’ve seen in the last few shows in the eastern part of the country, which was great to see.”
Hunter Pfaff, Sales Application Engineer, SRC PhoenixThis was my second AHR Expo and this year the interest in heat exchangers seemed higher for sure. Foot traffic through our booth seemed higher as well, as did the overall number of exhibitors. It seems like there are a lot of companies out there looking for a trusted coil supplier.
And there it is. Another successful AHR Expo. We’ll see everyone in Chicago next year! And if you’re one of those companies looking for a trusted coil supplier, drop us a line. We’d love the opportunity to hear more about your application.
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