ST. LOUIS — Emerson is celebrating this year as the 100th anniversary of its Copeland brand.  

Emerson completed a multimillion-dollar expansion of its Copeland engineering facility in Sidney, Ohio. This investment created 110,000 square feet of new engineering lab space for product research, development, and testing of compressors, electronics, and other technologies for the global HVACR industry. Much of the work in the Sidney labs focuses on compressor technologies that enable more environmentally responsible refrigerants with lower global warming potential (GWP) to meet and exceed efficiency standards and regulations.

“The Copeland brand has a proud legacy and even brighter future,” said Jamie Froedge, executive president of Emerson’s Commercial and Residential Solutions business. “Air conditioning and refrigeration technologies are increasingly crucial and necessary foundations of daily life around the world. Through our Copeland brand and our inventive approach, Emerson is using our stewardship position and deep history in this space to drive innovation for a more sustainable world.”

The Copeland brand traces its history to inventor Edmund Copeland, who founded a company in Detroit, Michigan, in 1921. When the business faced challenges during the Great Depression, its assets were sold and the operations were relocated to Sidney, Ohio, in 1937. In Sidney, four of the company’s young engineers purchased the business and its compressor patent. Emerson acquired Copeland in 1986.

Emerson made significant investments in the development of a new scroll compressor product Copeland was working on at the time of the acquisition and, in 1987, introduced the first scroll compressor sold under the Copeland brand. The success of the product led to the introduction of a family of Copeland scroll compressors for applications ranging from residential and light commercial air conditioning to refrigeration systems for the food and healthcare industries and marine containers.    

Want more HVAC industry news and information? Join The NEWS on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn today!