The chiller market: the market share of the top five US brands continues to decline

As one of the products widely used in public buildings, chillers have attracted the attention of the construction industry. The quality of this "heart" not only determines the normal operation of the air-conditioning system, but also directly relates to the final energy-saving performance and economic benefits of the building. my country's urbanization continues to advance, large-scale construction projects continue to be launched, and urban complexes are blooming everywhere. Various reasons continue to boost the market enthusiasm of chiller equipment manufacturers. In the air-conditioning industry, chillers have long been regarded as the core battlefield for technical competition, hard power display and even the right to speak among manufacturers. After more than 20 years of development, this market is no longer dominated by the five major American brands, Carrier, Trane, York, McQuay and Dunham Bush. Statistics show that although the above-mentioned brands still occupy a certain advantage with a market share of 45%, it is difficult to avoid a "less obvious but continuous" decline. Obviously, domestic enterprises have brought a lot of pressure to the above-mentioned brands in recent years. The rhythm of this pressure is slow but powerful. It is very easy to recall the domestic air conditioner market in my country many years ago, where Chinese and foreign brands fought fiercely, leading each other, but they were almost defeated by domestic giants such as Gree. Unify the world. Whether the central air-conditioning, especially the chiller market will repeat the same mistakes in the future, is intriguing and there are different opinions. American brands are calm about this, and most top managers are not pessimistic. The more common view is that chillers are not the same as household air conditioners. The former has a technical level that is more difficult to reach, and a century of historical accumulation will play a role. In their view, the projects currently involved in domestic enterprises are at the "basic level", and most government projects and fields are still firmly controlled by American brands. This pattern will be maintained for a long time to ensure that the existing share will not shrink. . Huang Bairong, President of Trane China, said that in addition to government and commercial projects, they are committed to digging deeper and establishing advantages in professional fields. For example, in the electronics industry, they have cultivated a large number of top corporate customers, including Lenovo. "This industry requires a high degree of Stable working environment, so the quality requirements for chillers are higher, which can only be achieved by a few companies such as Trane.” However, this view is difficult to obtain domestic enterprises to agree. The relevant person in charge of Gree Electric Appliances Marketing Department told the author that although central air-conditioning currently accounts for only 10% of its overall share, when leaders put forward new growth goals, the development of central air-conditioning business, especially chillers, has become a better choice. , confident to grab more market.” Haier's move is also worth recalling. Since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Haier has been in a state of disappearance for a long time. Until last year, the maglev chiller acted as the leading force. Haier has invested considerable human and financial resources to publicize it with great fanfare both inside and outside the industry, and its ambition is evident. Expert voices with high expectations Outside the market, many experts in my country's academic field place high hopes on domestic enterprises. "Teaching the barbarian's long skills" is the prescription they prescribed for the latter to win the counterattack. Xu Wei, chairman of the HVAC branch of the Architectural Society of China, said that although there are undeniable gaps in technology, market and human resources, but through cooperation and other methods for reference and learning, it can solve many weaknesses and bottlenecks in its own development process. At present, in addition to doing a good job of "tracking and running", the practical problem that domestic enterprises need to solve is how to gradually gain market recognition, that is, to change the current situation of lack of understanding and distrust of domestic brands in the construction field, and to create more model projects to win the owners. Recognition of quality and value for money. Zong Wenbo, deputy director of the Beijing Satellite Manufacturing Plant, which has recently been promoting integrated refrigeration stations in the industry, said that he often encounters the situation that the construction party, especially large-scale projects, designates the purchase of the five major American brands. There are still doubts about sex. "To break through this vicious circle, of course, you must first harden yourself." He said that building word-of-mouth is a big challenge for brands including Gree and Haier. "Domestic companies must innovate if they want to surpass, but there are thresholds and obstacles in the way. We should create more conditions and find ways to innovate in terms of mechanism and reform." Wu Desheng, consultant chief engineer of Beijing Architectural Design and Research Institute, insisted that, Domestic companies have every opportunity to catch up and surpass, but the process is relatively long. He also emphasized that although some foreign products are advanced, whether they can adapt to the Chinese market depends on the results of "incubation". "It is wrong to simply superstitute foreign products." In the face of some people and the media calling for more protection of domestic brands, Fan Long, deputy chief engineer of Wanda Business Planning and Research Institute, who was the head of HVAC at the National Stadium of the Beijing Olympic Games, hopes to treat it calmly, not to overdo it, and let domestic and foreign brands Fully clean up in the market competition, "in a sense, blindly emphasizing national brands is tantamount to protecting backwardness".