Star Refrigeration Group has launched a new US subsidiary, Azane Inc, based in San Francisco.

It will act as the regional headquarters serving the North American industrial refrigeration market and manufacturing the company’s ‘low-charge ammonia’

The industrial refrigeration group, whose Azanechiller and Azanefreezer technology has been installed at some of the world’s leading organisations, developed the technology to meet the environmental and legislative challenges faced by the cooling industry as Europe started the phase out of the ozone-depleting refrigerant R22.

The technology is being introduced to the US market at a key time, just as the US refrigeration industry begins to see the effects of the EPA’s R22 phase out programme. The EPA’s phase out timetable for R-22 will gradually decrease its production until a complete ban comes into force in 2020. The cost of R-22 will continue to rise and existing R-22 refrigeration systems will become uneconomical long before the substance is banned completely.

US business development manager at Azane, Derek Hamilton (pictured), said: “We are currently trying to raise awareness of the impending R22 phase out amongst the food industry and the wider refrigeration industry. The EPA’s phase out of the refrigerant R22, which is still widely used in the US, is an issue that is going to affect a large number of businesses.”

He added: “We are in a unique position because we have experience of this process in Europe and have helped a large number of companies to navigate this process.”