ACHR NEWS Editorial Staff

ST. LOUIS — Copeland has announced regional investment in the manufacture of its compression products that are qualified for use with the natural refrigerant CO₂ (R-744).

Copeland has expanded the production of its CO₂ semi-hermetic and scroll compressors, currently being built in Mikulov, Czech Republic, and Cookstown, Ireland, to two of the company’s North American locations.

Manufacturing recently began in Rushville, Indiana, on the Copeland 4MTLS transcritical and 4MSLS subcritical CO₂ semi-hermetic product lines; simultaneously, the manufacture of Copeland ZO(D) CO₂ scroll and digital scroll compressors commenced in Sidney, Ohio.

This change comes as the industry anticipates accelerated adoption of CO₂ refrigeration technology being driven by food retail businesses pledging sustainability targets and needing to comply with environmental regulations, a press release from Copeland said. There has also been additional growth in cold storage infrastructure.

Bringing CO₂ compressor manufacturing to North America will help Copeland’s OEM and end-user customers more quickly achieve their sustainability and regulatory compliance goals and build out their cold storage infrastructure as product lead times shorten and CO₂ compression is implemented within new store builds and remodels, the company said.

“The investments we are making in our facilities, supply chain and people in North America will allow Copeland to increase production capacity and flexibility,” said Dave Bersaglini, vice president and general manager of refrigeration at Copeland. “Positioning operations closer to customers and improving delivery times will allow us to be more responsive, providing customers with local support to help ensure their success.”