IDEA's 4th District Cooling Conference

Shafiq Khoori says DEWA has been one of the biggest supporters of district cooling.
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Fadi Alameddine, managing director

Why are you attending the IDEA conference this year?

We are the Middle East distributor for Warren Controls, and we also distribute Hayward flow control valves as well as Ross valves. Historically, we’ve attended this conference for four or five years, and it’s a great forum to network as most of the major players are here. So it’s great to see them and understand any relevant industry trends. It’s an important way to keep our pulse on the goings-on in the sector. We already conduct business with a lot of the companies here, and of course, we’re interested in making contact with those companies who aren’t clients. There are also some interesting sessions that detail some of the problems the industry is facing, and it’s useful for us to work out how we can become part of the solution.

What challenges is the industry facing at the moment?

There is a slowdown, which has hindered the demand for some of the products that the district cooling industry uses. But Abu Dhabi is doing better than Dubai, and in general terms, I like to think of the slowdown as more of an adjustment. Now we’re looking at the normal market size and market growth for district cooling, but everyone knows that it’s a solution that continues to make sense. Qatar is faring well, with Bahrain holding up too, and KSA is a big market. All in all, we’re learning how to adjust and become better at what we do.

Are there any particular new products that you have in the pipeline?

There is one, but it’s still very much in the pipeline at the moment! But generally speaking, there’s no doubt that the need for IT technology is kicking in for every industry and it’s important for us to understand how we can adapt to bring more intelligence into the control valve sector.

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Antoine Stephan, deputy general manager

What are hoping to achieve at this year’s event?

We’ve five or six years experience in district cooling, with more than half a million tonnes of capacity in the region. In terms of this event, it’s important to be here despite the fact that the district cooling market is not doing that well, and I am also speaking in one of the forums about saving operational expenses.

What challenges are companies facing?

Everyone in the chain is affected. The contractors are not getting the jobs, and the suppliers are finding it tough as well. So the challenge is to keep surviving until the market picks up again. So we are busy executing jobs that we booked last year, and we hope to win jobs for next year.

In which other regional countries are you active?

We have an office in Bahrain covering Saudi Arabia, and our head office is in Belgium. There are 25 other affiliates around the world, so we have a good presence everywhere.