Air conditioning manufacturer secures £1m contract for Saudi Arabia transport system

A manufacturer and distributor of cooling, heating and HVAC systems, has secured a £1m export order to supply specialised air conditioning units for the new Riyadh metro system in Saudi Arabia.

Airedale International Air Conditioning, which employs over 400 people at its Leeds production facility, specialises in producing air conditioning units designed for use in data centres where computer servers need to be maintained at a controlled temperature.

The Airedale ‘EasiCool’ units destined for Saudi Arabia are designed for precision applications and will be used to cool the server rooms incorporated in the new metro stations currently under construction.

Riyadh’s new £18bn metro will consist of six lines covering 110 miles and will incorporate 85 stations, with the first phase due to open next year.

Asim Ansari, Airedale’s export sales manager, said: “This is a fantastic contract win for us, on a huge and very high profile project. Exports now make up around 30% of our sales at Airedale and we have been growing our presence in the Middle East over the last few years, after establishing an office in Dubai in 2014.

“This has allowed us to strengthen partnerships in the region, in this case with Saudi Temco, SETRA and the BACS Consortium, which are heavily involved with the design and construction of the project.”

Airedale, which was acquired by US thermal management business Modine in 2005, is a member of the Leeds City Region-based ExportExchange network of Yorkshire businesses.

Mr Ansari added: “We have been exporting our products for several decades and it’s very rewarding to be able to help other businesses by passing on some of that expertise.

“A carefully planned export strategy can be a way to future-proof a business, providing some protection against the anticipated after effects of Brexit and the negative impact on the UK economy that it’s forecast to create.”

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