NORDBORG, Denmark - Denmark-based Danfoss A/S and Dorval, Quebec-based Turbocor Inc. today announced the formation of a fifty-fifty joint venture to be named Danfoss Turbocor Compressors Inc., which will be based in Montreal. The new company is formed with Turbocor's existing product line of oil-free centrifugal refrigerant compressors, its growing worldwide customer base, and its manufacturing facility in Montreal.

Initially, it will employ 70 people. Joe Orosz, president of Danfoss Commercial Compressors Ltd., Lawrenceville, Ga., has been appointed president of the new company.

The goal of Danfoss Turbocor Compressors will be to provide the HVAC market with energy-efficient compressors that optimize operating costs, focusing on the heavy commercial and light industrial chiller markets for commercial air conditioning in the range of 60 to 90 tons (R-134a).

With the transaction, Danfoss will expand its commercial compressor product line to include high-efficiency oil-free centrifugals, and Turbocor will tap into the sales and service organizations of Danfoss to enable further expansion in field installations.

The key to this transaction is the growing international support for Turbocor's new oil-free commercial compressor range, which combines magnetic bearings, direct-drive permanent-magnet motor, variable-speed drive, two-stage centrifugal compression, and fully digital integrated electronics. The oil-free centrifugal compressors routinely deliver integrated part load value (IPLV) energy savings of 30 percent to 40 percent, and they operate very quietly (70 dBa at 1m), states the manufacturer.

Recent industry awards include the 2003 AHR Expo Energy Innovation Award, a 2003 win in the Canadian Energy Efficiency Awards-Equipment Category, and a Climate Protection Award in 2004 from the Environmental Protection Agency.

"This compressor will set an industry standard and provide the HVAC mid-market with the most innovative and attractive product offering for many years to come," said Guillermo Diaz Trillo, president of the Commercial Compressors Division of Danfoss and a member of the board of Danfoss Turbocor Compressor Inc. "Turbocor's cutting-edge products using advanced technologies, combined with Danfoss' industry-leading manufacturing technology, marketing expertise, and extensive sales network, will strengthen our global position and add value for our customers worldwide."

Turbocor co-founder Roger Richmond-Smith said, "The whole team is delighted with the deal, because it means the technology is here to stay. With a far-sighted global major company like Danfoss as our strategic partner, we can now comfortably support rapid growth in manufacturing, in new product platforms and in field service depth. The Turbocor technology has been hailed as a breakthrough with major business potential. Joe Orosz and the team can now start to realize that goal."

Publication date: 07/12/2004