ISH China 2015 — Day 2

The second day of the ISH China show at the New China International Exhibition Center in Beijing started a little slower than Day 1, but by 10:30 in the morning you’d be hard pressed to say which day was stronger. The crowds here have been impressive each day and exhibitors continued to be positive on Day 2.

I stopped by the Grundfos booth in the morning. The pump manufacturer had a smaller booth presence than you would see at a show in the United States, but it was filled with visitors.

I spoke with Stig Larsen, a business development director based in Shanghai, and he was pleased with the amount of business leads Grundfos was developing. Larsen says that the market in China is slowing down – he approximates it is down to 7% from a peak of 10-14% – but he believes the Chinese developers and designers will continue to adopt the high-end products and premier benefits Grundfos will provide.

A Grundfos booth worker discussed with me about how the company’s UPM3 line of pumps is being accepted by the new generation of building designers and owners. When he travels and speaks with potential business partners, he makes sure to highlight that a UPM3 pump will save 350 kilowatt hours of energy over four months and that will equal a two- to three-year payback on the unit.

A.O. Smith has one of the largest booths at the show and it shows. As a walked down a quiet hallway just outside the expo hall, I looked up to see many banners from A.O. Smith and the first one I saw had a rendering of Miller Park, home of my beloved Milwaukee Brewers. Unfortunately, the Brewers are off to a terrible season in 2015 and I was hoping this trip to Beijing would take my mind off of them even for a few days. But, no matter how far away you travel, they will find you!

As for A. O. Smith’s booth, the company displayed a large amount of its products. Many visitors who stopped by gravitated to its MasterFit commercial gas water heater. While I could not speak to any A. O. Smith representatives at the booth, it was clear that the company and its visitors were pushing its extensive commercial product line — even breaking down its line to ideal applications such as high-rise residential buildings, spas and healthcare facilities.

During the afternoon, I sat in on the “China Air Source Heat Pump Heating Technical Forum.” The meeting was filled to capacity and standing room only available. During the session, the Heat Pump Industry Committee of China Energy Conservation Association christened its air source training program, which will being in August, to a warm reception.

“We hope we can improve the technologies, performance and installations of these heat pumps,” said Zaho Hengyi, the deputy secretary general of Heat Pump Industry Committee of China Energy Conservation Association.

Final thoughts on my ISH China visit:

• Many thanks to the people of Messe Frankfurt who help put on the show and have led me around Beijing. I want to say thank you to Keena Tsui and Eric Chan for being so accommodating to me, a stranger in a strange land.
• Living in Chicago, I would have thought I had seen it all while on the roads. But, man, Beijing drivers are confident, loud and good. I have never seen so many U-turns (legal here) and incessant honking of the horn.
• So now begins my trip home. Here’s to no mechanical problems, friendly flight attendants and leg room.

Read here for my observations from ISH China 2015—Day 1.