Copeland Reintroduces Itself as a Stand-Alone Company
Ross Shuster, CEO, shared insights into the company’s history and innovations
SHARED INSIGHTS: At a press conference on Tuesday during the the AHR Expo, Copeland CEO Ross Shuster shared insights into the company’s history and innovations. (STAFF PHOTO)
During an AHR Expo press conference hosted by Copeland, company CEO Ross Shuster shared insights into the company, as it has joined forces with Blackstone and emerged as a pure-play climate technologies company. He also delved into how Copeland, with a century-long legacy of innovation, is uniquely equipped to navigate industry challenges and drive the adoption of sustainable climate solutions.
“Copeland was founded over 100 years ago, by Edward Copeland, with a focus on the refrigeration industry,” said Shuster. “And then in 1986, we became part of Emerson, and that was a very successful and fruitful time in the Copeland history. But in June of last year, we became an independent stand-alone company, going back to our roots. And while the time under Emerson’s ownership was a successful period of time, both for ourselves as well as Emerson, our private-equity sponsor felt that the focus that we would obtain for being a stand-alone company would benefit the company, our employees, and the industry as well.”
Shuster said that in introducing “the newest 100-year-old company in the HVAC industry,” there were three things he wanted everyone to know about Copeland. One is the scale that Copeland has as a global organization. Second is the innovation, which is part of Copeland’s core DNA, and third is the breadth of business that Copeland has as an organization.
“In terms of scale, as a stand-alone business, we are nearly $5 billion in annual revenues,” said Shuster. “We have 18,000 employees, and we cover geographically all parts of the world, the Americas, Europe, Middle East, as well as Asia. One of the things we’re very proud of is our installed base. We have over 200 million units installed around the world, and about 140 or 150 million units installed here in North America.”
As for innovation, Shuster said that it’s at the heart of what Copeland does. “We’ve got over 1,700 engineers globally, 12 R&D facilities across the world, and we hold more than 3,000 patents,” he said. “I think what’s also important is how we’re committed to that. We spend over 4% of our annual revenues in R&D, so we are committed to new products and developments. And then third is we often are known for our compression, and more specifically, our scroll compression technologies, and that is at the heart of our business. But even in compressionm, think about the breadth and the depth. You’ve got scroll compression technologies, which are very present in residential and commercial applications, as well as a new oil-free centrifugal compressor, which is on the show floor. We also have screw chiller technology that can be used in industrial applications.”
Looking ahead, Shuster said that there are three megatrends that impact Copeland, as well as the entire HVAC and refrigeration industry. The first is the energy transition, the second is the low-GWP refrigerant transition, and third is food and pharmaceuticals.
“The energy transition is likely the most impactful to what we do and the challenges that the industry has,” said Shuster. “We all know that in order to achieve real decarbonization, we’ve got to electrify heat. And we are a leader in those technologies today. Over 90 million homes and buildings around the world use our compression technologies, and we’re absolutely committed to that.
Looking for quick answers on air conditioning, heating and refrigeration topics? Try Ask ACHR NEWS, our new smart AI search tool. Ask ACHR NEWS
“In terms of low-GWP refrigerants, obviously, we are committed to that as well,” he added. “We believe and we know that our compression technologies are a key enabler for the transition to low- and then ultra- low GWP refrigerants. About 95% of our R&D spend is either directly or indirectly tied to the compression of low- and ultra-low GWP refrigerants.”
On the third point, food and pharmaceuticals travel 25% further today than they did in the 1970s, said Shuster. That means Copeland is making sure the quality and the efficiency are there in the refrigeration technology, as well offering the ability to monitor products across the global food chain.
All these factors form the basis of Copeland’s vision, which reads, “Together, we create sustainable solutions that improve lives and protect the planet, today and for future generations.”
Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!
