Members of the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute and the Gas Appliance Manufacturers have voted to approve the merger of the two trade associations to become the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) on Jan. 1, 2008.

Members of the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute and the Gas Appliance Manufacturers have voted to approve the merger of the two trade associations. The merged association will become the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) on Jan. 1, 2008. It will be headquartered in Arlington, Va., and will represent the interests of cooling, heating and commercial refrigeration equipment manufacturers.

The merger was approved by the members of GAMA and ARI on Dec. 10 and Dec. 17, respectively. The vote totals were as follows:

For GAMA, the vote was 131 in favor; 7 opposed.
For ARI, the vote was 117 in favor; 7 opposed.

The AHRI Board of Directors has appointed Johnson Controls Vice President C. David Myers as chairman. The AHRI Board consists of the current directors of the two constituent associations and is representative of the membership and its different product areas.

"The merger will create a more efficient and influential organization to serve the needs of cooling, heating, and commercial refrigeration equipment manufacturers and their customers," stated Myers in the announcement. "The interests of the memberships of the two associations are so closely aligned that we expect a seamless integration."

Other executive appointments are as follows:

CEO: Jack Klimp
President: Stephen Yurek
Executive Vice President: Mark Menzer
Sr. Vice President: Warren Parker
General Counsel: Joseph Mattingly
Chief Financial Officer: Stephanie Murphy

The first AHRI Annual Meeting will be held November 16-18, 2008, at the La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad, Calif.