Thermo King to expand R&D in Galway

Ireland’s Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin TD announced that Thermo King, a specialist in the design and manufacture of transport refrigeration equipment, is to carry out research and design work on the next generation environmentally friendly products at its facility in Galway. The work will be supported by the inward investment agency IDA Ireland.

This will add 19 new positions at the Galway site, Thermo King’s largest European facility.  

Thermo King is part of the Climate Control Technologies division of Ingersoll-Rand Corporation

Martin said, “Thermo King is an excellent example of a company that has adopted a strategy of sustainable manufacturing by focusing on core competencies supported by R&D to build future opportunities, sustain profitability and provide a basis for a medium to long term product strategy.  It is a model of how a manufacturing operation can be supported by successful high value-added integrated activities that ensure long-term growth and survival.”

Cormac MacDonncha, Plant Manager said, “We are delighted to be at the leading edge. [..] This level of innovation will involve close collaboration with Third Level Institutes in Ireland, our supplier base, SMEs and overseas specialists. This will also greatly enhance the reputation of the facility’s R&D capabilities.

“The skill sets and competencies of our employees, as well as a proven track record of significant contributions by the Galway R&D department, together with the transformation of the business model in Galway over the last number of years, were seen as critical influences in locating this development at the Galway site,” added Mr. MacDonncha.

The projects for which the Galway facility has been given R&D responsibility are:

• Trailer Cryogenics Products – the displacement of fossil fuel energy with CO2 recovered from waste sources. The Trailer cryogenic unit provides high performance transport temperature control with zero emissions from refrigerant or engine sources. Almost silent in operation, the unit requires much less maintenance than a conventional system. All CO2 used is evacuated outside the trailer and being second use, that is, collected from industrial processes such as brewing and fertiliser production has no incremental global warming effect.  
• SLX Trailer Product Range – a diesel-powered trailer product that offers improved cooling capacity with fuel savings of up to 20 percent.  Lower operating noise and reduced CO2 emissions substantially reduce the environmental footprint of the SLX.
  
• The robotic welding project - The introduction of Cold Metal Transfer (CMT) will deliver several key technical benefits, such as less weld distortion, less weld splatter, and also a process which is less sensitive to varying gaps between metal parts being welded.