AHR Expo 2024: Recap & Reflections

Well, that’s a wrap. Another AHR Expo is in the books, and we thought we’d check in with some SRC employees who attended the event to hear what they thought of the show, how it compared to previous years, and some market dynamics and ‘hot topics’ that they heard discussed during their time in Chicago.

Daren Carlson, Sales Application Engineer, SRC Virginia

From an attendance standpoint, the show was impressive. I think we’re officially back to pre-COVID attendance levels – if not a little higher. As far as my goals for the show are concerned, I wanted to have as many face-to-face customer conversations as I could – both at the show and at events and meals, and I think we were successful in doing so this year. I always enjoy when the show is Chicago. There’s just so much to do and see and you can’t beat the restaurants and things like that – it’s a perfect place to meet with customers and take the lay of the land on our relationships at the start of the year.

Some of the ‘hot topics’ I heard being discussed were in line with what I anticipated – lots of talks about R-454B and the HFC switch generally - especially  SRC's plan to be ready for them with things like our full line of UL listed copper tube for high pressure CO2 applications and our R-454B selection capabilities, which is scheduled to be on-line this month. I also heard lots of good conversations (and confusion) on the topic of heat pumps.

Ken Allen, Sales Representative for SRC Virginia

The biggest thing that stood out to me at this year’s show was the traffic! It was so busy it was difficult to walk at times, especially on Monday and Tuesday.

My main goal for this AHR this year was to meet with customers – especially those that I haven’t seen in a while. This was the first post-COVID Chicago show and it was great to see the turnout and to check in with some of those folks who we may not have seen at the show over the last two or three years.

Some topics I heard referenced most often were what we expected for the most part. I had lots of conversations about R-454B, CO2, and refrigerants/GWP in general.

Harrison Waneck, Sales & Engineering Manager, SRC Arizona

This was my first year attending the AHR show, and I was impressed by the size of the show and all of the vendors that were presenting new technology. We had lots of good engagement and interest in the products we had on display – especially our 5mm coil.

My main goal for the show was to meet some of the people from our large accounts that I have not had a chance to meet yet. Nothing beats getting to see your customers face to face. Also, another goal was to meet new and potential customers and get a feel for what products customers were looking for in the marketplace and to get a chance to describe what distinguishes SRC from our competitors.

There were a few conversation topics I found to be interesting. There seemed to be interest in our 5 mm coil that was displayed. I also had some good conversations around applications using R-290 (propane). I also received a several questions about high pressure UL rated coils. Customers were also stating they would like to see lead times start trending back down to what they were pre-COVID.

Al Nord, Sr. Sales Application Engineer, SRC Minnesota

This year’s show really did have a lot of activity – more than I’ve seen at other shows I’ve attended.

My main goal was to meet with several of my customers at the booth to discuss business and let them know how appreciated they are. Another goal was to connect with engineers and managers from our other plants to chat, on a range of topics, get on the same page on refrigerants, coil design, those sorts of things. I noticed that conversations around new refrigerants – especially CO2 – dominated much of the discourse I was a part of.

A big thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth. The AHR Expo is a highlight of our annual calendar and is an unofficial kickoff of the new business year for us. We enjoyed getting to see all our current customers as well as those with whom we don’t currently do business. There’s a lot going on in our industry and we’re looking forward to finding new ways to unleash the power of thermodynamics to improve our world as the markets we support continue evolving. Thanks again and see you all next year!

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