Pakistan HVACR Society wants to initiate joint ventures with Turkish HVACR Manufacturers

Mr. Azim Ashraf, President Pakistan HVACR Society talks to Engineering Post

Mr. Azim Ashraf has served the industry for more than 4 decades now. He is currently serving as the President of Pakistan HVACR Society. Under his leadership, things have taken a turn for the better as he has introduced and implemented some revolutionary ideas for streamlining the processes at the HVACR Society. Memberships have been categorized and criteria have been set for the potential officers and office bearers. All office bearers will also be provided a centralised email address by the Society for correspondence.

Under his leadership, the Executive Council of HVACR Society has approved the establishment of a Testing Laboratory and Training institute which will be established in Lahore. This was basically the brainchild of Mr. Azim Ashraf for which has had been struggling for quite some time.

The staff of HVACR Society has also been facilitated very well under the leadership of Mr. Azim Ashraf. For starters, everyone has been provided with an insurance policy of Rs. 3 million for which the premium will be paid by the Society. Provision of 1 bonus in one year has been made compulsory by the Society. The income tax of the staff will also be paid by the Society. New funds have been established for the staff and members including Welfare fund, gratuity fund, provident fund, Research and development fund, Education and awareness fund and depreciation fund.

Mr Azim Ashraf while talking to Engineering Post, has said that “To make things more systematic” we have created an Admin policy and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for every process, be it employment, benefits, finances or any other activity. The almost 100 page book has been approved and is being implemented.” In addition to this, a Code of Ethics has also been developed for all the members of the Society to delineate a positive path for all the members. “We have also standardised the logo for the HVACR Expo” he added

Some important MoUs were also inked with international HVACR Associations including ASHRAE (USA), IOR (UK), ISKID (Turkey), TTMD (Turkey) and Ministry of Climate Change, Pakistan.

Commenting on the Business potential of the Turkish industry he said “It is my observation that they are more inclined towards assembling than manufacturing. This results in escalated costs for us. If they start local manufacturing, they can provide compatible rates to us.”  This basically means that technology transfer with Turkey is also not feasible at this stage because the only technology they have to share is the assembling technology. The basic components will still have to be imported. “If they follow the model of Arcelick (Dawlance) and start joint ventures in Pakistan, only then they will be able to provide competitive rates to the Pakistani market” he observed. If Turkey starts the provision of small and delicate components related to HVACR sector, it can be potentially beneficial for both the countries.

While commenting on increasing cooperation of HVACR Society with their Turkish counterparts Mr. Azim Ashraf said that we want to ink MoUs and initiate Joint ventures with the manufacturers through Associations, currently active in Turkey besides ISKID & TTMD with whom we have signed MOUs. We feel that there is lot of potential of business promotions & opportunities of joint venture with our Turkish counterparts and it is anticipated that in next 5 ~ 10 years, Pakistan & Turkey will have very good relations & business in HVACR field. “Pakistan HVACR Society will also look for guidance from the Turkish associations in the establishment of Testing Laboratory and Training institute in Pakistan so that we can follow their example and set up a facility with international standards” he said.

In his concluding comments Mr. Azim Ashraf said that ISK-Sodex will be the perfect platform for the promotion of the upcoming Lahore expo. Previously the Turkish exhibitors have had a very good experience in Karachi and Lahore so in ISK- Sodex, we will extend invitations to them to come and participate in the Lahore HVACR Expo 2020.

HVACR INDUSTRIES IN PAKISTAN

• At the time of inception of Pakistan in August 1947, HVACR activities were at very mini scale
• In fifties, some companies started this work at small scale
• In sixties, after the shifting of capital of Pakistan from Karachi to Islamabad, big projects were initiated and many were in pipe lines. Then, it steadily progressed
• Now there are more than 5,000 companies dealing in HVACR field —– from comfort cooling to low temperature application
• Around 1 Million persons are attached with this industry today

HVACR POTENTIAL IN PAKISTAN