Geddes Refrigeration Limited has partnered with a Japanese-owned but Puerto Rico-based company on a distribution deal that it says will give it an added five per cent market share and tighten its hold on the air-conditioning market.

Geddes Refrigeration already lays claim to 60 per cent of the market.

The deal that chief executive officer and principal shareholder Roy Lafayette has with Air Green Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will see Geddes distributing and servicing the air-conditioning units in Jamaica.

Air Green will supply the product, as well as provide training and technical assistance.

Retrofit to specifications

Geddes will also retrofit the units to the specifications of individual clients.

LaFayette, who is also chairman of Geddes Refrigeration, said at the launch of the energy-saving units on the market Wednesday in Kingston, that they are projected to cut as much as 40 per cent to 50 per cent of electricity bills for a/c users.

The units eliminate voltage fluctuations or 'spikes', gives better temperature control with minimal fluctuations, and extends the life of components.

Under the partnership, LaFayette said Geddes Refrigeration would be the sole distributor for Air Green Mitsubishi.

His target market is corporate Jamaica as well as residential customers.

"We have installed quite a few in Jamaica and we have very satisfied customers and we have seen the savings in electricity bills," he told the Financial Gleaner.

Some of his customers, he said, include Crowne Plaza, now owned by the American Embassy, Advantage Insurance, the British Embassy and some private residents.

The aim

LaFayette said his aim was to get the government to buy into the product.

Raul Esparza, general manager of Air Green Corporation, a subsidiary company of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Limited, said the company has been pursuing eco-intelligent solutions in air-condition systems for the past two years.

He said so far, Air Green has markets in Latin America, The Bahamas, Barbados, Turks and Caicos Islands and plans to go to Trinidad and Tobago.

dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com