Danish group Danfoss inaugurates $10 mn lab

Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems global major Danfoss on Wednesday inaugurated a psychrometric laboratory, set up at a cost of $10 million, a top official of the Danish company's Indian subsidiary said.

"Not many labs like this are available for our customers to test their products. We co-created this lab in consultation with our customers. We will also be doing product design and development jointly with our customers," Danfoss India president Ravichandran Purushothaman told reporters here on Wednesday.

Purushothaman said the lab has already been booked for testing services for a couple of months.

The laboratory, offering product testing services, hopes to recover its investment in around three years' time, he added.

The lab was inaugurated by Ajay Mathur, director general of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency at Danfoss India's plant, located at Oragadam, around 50 km from here.

The psychrometric lab would test air-conditioners, chillers and other refrigeration equipment for energy efficiency standards for a fee.

The lab can also test the functionality of customers' products/ applications with Danfoss products and customise the products if needed.

While product testing would be done by Danfoss India, certification would be done by the New Delhi-based company Intertek.

"With energy demand on the rise, it is important to view energy efficiency as an alternate fuel," Purushothaman said.

He said Danfoss saw the trend of energy efficiency gaining importance several years back and has been working towards that.

At Danfoss India's research and development centre, reverse engineering of the Danish parent company's products are done to suit the Indian conditions so as to bring the Indian company closer to its customers.