The Blue e+ generation of cooling units from Rittal have won two international awards. The average energy efficiency and CO2 saving of 75% and its suitability for worldwide use impressed the British panel of judges for the RAC Cooling Industry Awards 2016. The jurors awarded Blue e+ the prize for "Refrigeration Product of the Year". At the "World of Technology & Science" trade fair in the Netherlands, the cooling units also won the TechAward as "most popular innovation". These two awards were the first prizes Blue e+ has won at international level.
Rittal Blue e+ cooling units have won an award that is "cool" in the truest sense of the word. The system took first place in the "Refrigeration Product of the Year - System or Standalone" category at the RAC Cooling Industry Awards 2016 in London. In their statement, the judges, which included trade journalists, scientists and consultants said that the Rittal Blue e+ cooling units were the "clear winner". During the "World of Technology & Science" (WoTS) trade fair held in Utrecht/Netherlands, after being nominated by a five-person independent branch jury, visitors voted on the innovations nominated for the TechAwards 2016. Blue e+ cooling units came out a winner in the "World of Automation/World of Motion & Drive" category.
Both prizes are the first international awards that Rittal Blue e+ cooling units have won. The judges of the RAC Cooling Industry Awards said that, operating in a specialised area, Rittal had paved the way for greater environmental protection in industry. "We are very pleased to accept these awards," said Dr Thomas Steffen, Managing Director Research and Development at Rittal, adding that "they show Blue e+ is both an innovative product for our customers and is helping to protect the environment." In Europe alone, he explained, there are currently some two million cooling units being used in industry, which represents a huge potential for energy savings.
The cooling units were first unveiled to the public at Hannover Messe 2015. Even then, they had cut energy consumption and CO2 emissions by an average of 75% in various test applications at prestigious car manufacturing companies. The secret to the system's success is its hybrid technology. The units utilise a sophisticated combination of compressor cooling unit and a heat pipe. The compressor is only used when passive cooling is no longer sufficient. What's more, the units can be operated flexibly in all standard grids worldwide, thanks to their multi-voltage capability, while standardised communication interfaces permit connection to Industry 4.0 (Industrial Internet) structures.
Steffen Wagner, head of Climate Control Product Management at Rittal, and J"org Knetsch, Project Manager for research and development at Rittal, accepted the "Cooling Oscar" at the presentation gala in London: "The award shows that our cooling units are winning people over on an international level," said Wagner.
2016 is the twelfth year that Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Magazine has handed out the RAC Cooling Industry Awards. A panel of big-name judges singled out the best cooling and refrigeration products and innovations of the year in a range of categories. This year, Rittal took to the winners podium alongside Samsung, Toshiba, Honeywell and Mitsubishi. The WoTS fair in the Netherlands is organised by the FHI, the Federation of Technology Branches representing over 800 companies, and FEDA, the Federation of Drive and Automation representing over 160 members, and attracts approximately 25.000 visitors per fair. Visitors are professionals working in the field of industrial automation, industrial electronics, laboratory technology and motion and drives.
Only last year, experts from trade journal "Produktion" and consultants Staufen AG awarded Blue e+ the German Industry Innovation Award as the best product of 2015.
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Rittal
Rittal, headquartered in Herborn, Germany, is a leading global provider of solutions for industrial enclosures, power distribution, climate control and IT infrastructure, as well as software and services. Systems made by Rittal are deployed across a variety of industrial and IT applications, including vertical sectors such as the transport industry, power generation, mechanical and plant engineering, IT and telecommunications. Rittal is active worldwide with 10 000 employees and 58 subsidiaries.
Its broad product range includes infrastructure solutions for modular and energy-efficient data centres with innovative concepts for the security of physical data and systems. Leading software providers EPLAN and Cideon complement the value chain, providing interdisciplinary engineering solutions, while Rittal Automation Systems offer automation systems for switchgear construction.
Founded in Herborn in 1961 and still run by its owner, Rittal is the largest company in the Friedhelm Loh Group. The Friedhelm Loh Group operates worldwide with 18 production sites and 78 international subsidiaries. The entire group employs more than 11 500 people and generated revenues of around EUR2.2 billion in 2015. In 2016, it was named one of Germany's leading employers by the Top Employers Institute, for the eighth year running. Within the scope of a Germany-wide survey, Focus Money magazine identified the Friedhelm Loh Group as one of the nation's best providers of vocational training.
For more information, visit www.rittal.com and www.friedhelm-loh-group.com.
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