ARLINGTON, Va. - Fifty years of industry activity will be the milestone celebrated by the Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI) at its annual meeting, which is scheduled to take place at the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Fla., Nov. 16-18.

ARI was officially organized in 1953, primarily to give the industry a united voice. ARI went on to create standards against which air conditioning and refrigeration equipment could be tested, and to create industry-wide certification programs to verify product performance.

"The challenge for us is to build on 50 years of leadership so that future generations can say that in 2003, ARI saw the future and laid the groundwork for success," said Thomas E. Bettcher, current ARI chairman and president and CEO of Copeland Corp.

The scheduled keynote speaker for the 50th anniversary meeting is Martin Regalia, vice president for economic and tax policy and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's chief economist. Another highlight planned is the planting of a time capsule, which will contain various industry-related items. Students from Meade County ATC, a high school in Brandenburg, Ky., assembled the time capsule for ARI.

Publication date: 11/17/2003