In this exclusive Q&A with The ACHR NEWS, Ross B. Shuster, CEO of Copeland, discusses the acquisition, the future of the Copeland brand, and much more.

ACHR NEWS: Ross, it’s a pleasure to meet with you today. Please take a moment and introduce yourself to our readers.

Shuster: Following the close of the acquisition of the Copeland business from Emerson by Blackstone, I joined Copeland as its CEO and a member of its board of directors. Prior to joining Copeland, I was the CEO of Howden, a global industrial compression company. While I enjoyed leading the Howden business, it’s great to be back in the HVACR industry, an industry I know well, having started my career in HVACR and having spent more than 25 years working in it. Over the past 20 years, I have been living outside of the U.S., including Singapore, Shanghai, London, and Glasgow, leading global, sustainability linked businesses.

Since I joined Copeland in June, I’ve been asked numerous times about what drew me to Copeland. The answer is simple, it is the combination of three things:

• First, the strong foundation of the business. Copeland’s foundation is built on the strength of its well-known brands; broad technologies; deep customer relationships; and, of course, its talented team.
• Second, it's important to me to be part of a business that is both relevant to the challenges that the world faces and that does ‘positive things’ for society. Copeland checks both of those boxes. Our offerings are essential to sustainability and decarbonization through improving energy efficiency, driving electrification, reducing food waste, and capturing greenhouse gas emissions.
• Thirdly, I was drawn to Copeland by the tremendous opportunities I see to accelerate the growth of this business and to make Copeland an even better company than it is today.

ACHR NEWS: The Emerson Climate Technologies business has rebranded as Copeland following a majority stake acquisition in the business by private equity company Blackstone. What does this transaction entail?

Shuster: With this transaction, Copeland is now a standalone business focused on HVACR and industrial compression. Blackstone and Emerson are investors in the business, with Blackstone owning a majority stake of 60% and Emerson retaining a 40% stake. Copeland’s product portfolio includes HVACR and industrial solutions, including compressors, controls, components, software, and monitoring services. The broad range of products and brands that were previously part of Emerson’s Climate Technologies business are now a part of Copeland.

Blackstone invested in Copeland because of the company’s significant growth potential. Blackstone’s ownership means Copeland will not only be able to invest in delivering even more innovations in climate technology but will also be able to tap into the meaningful global network, operational resources, and expertise of the Blackstone platform.

For Copeland, there are huge advantages that come with an investor like Blackstone. We’ll be able to scale more quickly, be more flexible as we go to market with new solutions, and benefit from increased strategic guidance. Having experience working with private equity firms in the past, I know the potential of what can be accomplished under this ownership structure and from the benefit of focus that has been unlocked through becoming a standalone HVACR company. It’s an exciting chapter in our company’s history.

ACHR NEWS: Why did you elect to rebrand as “Copeland?”

Shuster: Copeland was the natural choice for the name of our new company, given the brand’s long history of pioneering in the HVACR industry with category-leading technology and solutions as well as unmatched capabilities in engineering, design, and innovation.

You may have noticed our new logo uses the Delta shape — an algebraic symbol for change — as the letter “A.” The Delta symbolizes and serves as a reminder that the world around us is changing. To be successful, we must embrace this change as an opportunity to adapt, innovate, and evolve in order to enable growth and to continue to create value for our team, customers, and investors through helping address the sustainability challenges that face our planet today.

ACHR NEWS: Will this impact the company’s size? Will employees be added/reduced in the short- and/or long-term?

Shuster: Copeland has 18,000 employees globally, and we’ll continue to maintain a global footprint to serve customers around the world. Our people are our greatest strength. As we accelerate our growth, we’ll continue invest in the talent and skillsets of our team.

ACHR NEWS: Emerson Climate Technologies is well known for its compressor offerings. How will this acquisition impact that side of the business? Outside of compressors, how will this move impact the HVAC side of the business?

Shuster: Yes, we’re well known for our compression offerings and technologies which span across residential, commercial, and industrial heating, cooling, and refrigeration. And we’ll continue to focus on these technologies.

However, while we’re well known for our compression technologies, there’s so much more to the Copeland business:

• Our Verdant controls system offering is helping many hotel chains reduce the energy used to heat and cool rooms by up to 40%.
• Our Vilter solutions can be found at a majority of North America renewable natural gas (RNG)-producing landfills, playing a significant role in decarbonization through methane abatement.
• Our Sensi smart thermostats have helped customers save more than 2,300 GWH of energy, which is the equivalent of taking 200,000-plus cars off the road for a year.
• We monitor more than 3 million trips with our temperature-sensitive cargo monitoring technology, and our cold chain and refrigeration businesses are helping to keep 100 million tons of perishable food safe and fresh annually.

Our pure focus on HVACR and industrial compression as a standalone company will allow us to explore how to better integrate these technologies as well as our global channels to market.

Across the Copeland organization and product portfolio, our shared focus is on technology innovation to enable sustainability and decarbonization at scale in four critical areas:

• Driving energy-efficient and sustainable HVACR and industrial solutions.
• Developing and deploying technologies to accelerate the trend of electrification of heating, cooling, and refrigeration as well as decarbonization.
• Building a clean, resilient power grid equipped to handle renewable energy and flexible demand.
• Reducing food waste and resulting emissions.

ACHR NEWS: For the HVAC contractors reading this, what should they expect from Copeland in the present and future?

Shuster: Copeland has long been a pioneer in the HVAC and refrigeration industries. Our products, expertise, and innovation play a key role in improving the energy efficiency of heating and cooling solutions, including the rapidly growing market for electric heat pumps and climate-friendly refrigerants, which are rising in adoption globally in order to reduce environmental impacts and carbon emissions.

As we increase our focus and investment in Copeland’s core business and markets, our customers and partners should see an increased focus on innovation and continuous improvement in the areas of technology, customer service and support.

ACHR NEWS: How, if at all, does this affect the way HVAC contractors work with the Copeland company and products?

Shuster: We expect to deepen our commitment to supporting HVACR contractors by helping them to navigate the ever-changing energy efficiency standards and regulatory changes. We’re proactively working with industry experts, partners, and equipment manufacturers to educate HVACR professionals on the impending changes and how Copeland solutions can help them meet these requirements. Contractors can be confident we’ll continue to empower them with comprehensive education, training, and certification on the latest refrigerants and regulations, as well as offering regulation ready, lower GWP solutions.

Last year, we announced a strategic partnership with the National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3). These types of synergistic partnerships foster effective training and the elevation of skilled careers while creating employment opportunities. We will continue to expand these types of relationships with vocational schools and technical colleges to help promote HVACR careers and address the future demand for a skilled HVACR workforce.