The International Council of Air-Conditioning, Refrigeration, and Heating Manufacturers' Associations (ICARHMA) held its annual meeting August 8-11, 2010 in Portland, Oregon.  The meeting was hosted by the U.S. member to the Council, the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), which serves as the 2010 Secretariat.  Attendees included representatives from Brazil (ABRAVA), Canada (HRAI), China (CRAA), Europe (EUROVENT), Japan (JRAIA), Korea (KRAIA), which, together with the United States, comprise the current membership of the Council. 

The chief topic of discussion was future refrigerant policy and potential successor refrigerants to the most extensively used worldwide today, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).  Following a briefing about efforts by the United States and other countries to include a phase-down of HFCs under the Montreal Protocol, a panel discussion was held, featuring representatives from equipment manufacturers Johnson Controls and Ingersoll-Rand/Trane; component manufacturer Emerson; and refrigerant manufacturers Daikin and Honeywell.

ICARHMA members will next meet in conjunction with the AHR Expo in January 2011 in Las Vegas, Nev.  The Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) will host the next Annual Meeting, scheduled for fall 2011.

---