This call to action follows the European Union’s (EU) decision to phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons by 2050. However, with the UK expected to revise existing EU legislation and adopt its own stance from 2025 onwards, manufacturers now face an uncertain legislative landscape.
With this in mind, Ruth Martin, sector development manager for manufacturing at Aggreko, is advocating for the use of flexible hire models as a means to achieve compliance. “With global temperatures on the rise, chillers and similar temperature control equipment have become more vital than ever to the sustained operation of manufacturing processes. However, with the UK looking to move away from existing EU F-gas legislation, investing in new equipment at this time invites the risk of it becoming non-compliant in a matter of months should new laws be put in place.
“That said, manufacturers still need to integrate new temperature control equipment in order to deal with rising temperatures and maintain uptime on processes. Outsourcing chillers and cooling equipment from a specialist can help manufacturers do just that without need for a risky capex investment.”
Flexible hire contracts, such as those offered by Aggreko, allow operators to scale solutions up or down in accordance with demand.
According to Aggreko, this allows businesses to effectively meet seasonal peaks, alongside substitute solutions in or out in order to maintain compliance with legislation.
This approach is said to afford a number of additional benefits to the operator, such as increased energy efficiency through equipment being correctly matched to its application and specialist support to help integrate and maintain new equipment.
Martin concluded: “In uncertain times, flexibility is the greatest asset that a business can have. Outsourcing temperature control can help manufacturers meet demand and maintain uptime while the legislative landscape settles. It’s long past time that businesses re-evaluated their approach to temperature control, and the impending shift in F-gas legislation provides the perfect impetus to do so.”