Lithuanian HVAC&R manufacturer Refra is seeing light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel, expecting to more than double its turnover (in Euros) in CO2 (R744) products in 2021, compared to 2020.
Despite sales falling significantly in 2020, the downturn didn’t last for long, and half way through 2021 Refra has already surpassed its 2020 figures. Refra is expecting to beat 2019 sales by 20% in 2021.
Refra makes a wide range of products, including refrigeration (condensing units, racks, chillers and ice banks), air conditioning and heat exchangers (gas coolers, condensers, evaporators and dry coolers).
With 2020 the anomaly due to the global pandemic, Refra’s 2021 sales are much more in line with those the company has come to expect in the last five years. From 2016 to 2019 the company’s turnover from R744 products grew more than 400%, and that trend is not expected to slow down any time soon.
“I believe that the need for natural energy, as well as natural refrigerants, is getting more attention each year and it will only increase,” said Refra’s Marketing Manager Ilona Pavšukova. “We see that many businesses and ordinary people are already gaining a greater sense of responsibility and positively changing their actions for the good of the planet.”
“The pandemic has seen favorable climate change due to reduced vehicle emissions and closed factories,” Pavšukova added.. “This has shown that certain actions have positive results. I think it will only encourage people to take further action to improve our climate. Natural refrigerants are one of them,”
To keep up with the growing sales, Refra started moving into a new production facility earlier this year. When completed, the move will more than double the company’s production capacity.
Production in the new 12,000m2 (129,167ft2) facility started in March this year, and Refra expects the facility to be fully operational in two years. “We will be expanding little by little, depending on how fast we get new production equipment,” Pavšukova explained at the time.
“I believe that the need for natural energy, as well as natural refrigerants, is getting more attention each year and it will only increase,
Ilona Pavšukova, Refra
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