Zamil CoolCare, a unit of Zamil Air Conditioners (ZAC), has tied up with California-based US Chiller Services for the repair and service of large-capacity chillers.

The alliance has already received its first joint maintenance contract at King Fahd Military Medical Complex (KFMMC) in Dhahran.

The three-year contract involves maintaining a number of US-made centrifugal chillers that provide a total cooling of nearly 7,600 tons. The scope of work also includes performing eddy current testing to optimise the performance of the equipment .

The deal combines the local market expertise of Zamil with the international resources of US Chiller Services. Zamil CoolCare, which employs more than 500 people across Saudi Arabia, says US Chillers' expertise in servicing larger equipment will give benefit its customers.

US Chiller Services specialises in repair, maintenance, retrofit, service and installation of all international makes and models of large-capacity liquid chillers (centrifugal, screw, and absorption types), from 100 tonnes to 10,000 tonnes. Its other services include HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) consulting, inspection, centrifugal compresor teardown and maintenance training, repeacement parts of all OEM chillers and non-destruction testing.

ZAC, a unit of Zamil Industrial Investment Company (ZIIC), makes a range of commercial and industrial air conditioners.

Over the past few years, ZIIC has acquired European firms Clima Tech and Geoclima as well as a technology and brand name acquisition of Germany's Kessler Tech.

CoolCare, previously the internal Service and Parts department of ZAC, decided to expand its porfolio of HVAC services and maintenance by moving into the highly technical, specialised area of large-tonnage screw and centrifugal chiller service, repair and maintenance.

"This partnership highlights our determination and commitment to our strategic objective of constantly providing our customers worldwide the specialised service and attention they require in a cost-effective manner," says Abdulla Al Zamil, senior vice president at ZAC.

The new partnership was recently introduced during a seminar held in late January in Jubail. The launch was attended by representatives from many Sabic (Saudi Basic Industries Corporation) subsidiaries such as Arabian Petrochemical Company (Petrokemya) and Saudi Iron and Steel Company (Hadeed) as well as the Royal Commission of Jubail and Yanbu and Saudi Petrochemical Company (Sadaf).

''Process cooling is a critical element in industrial plants requiring in many cases thousands of tonnes of refrigeration capacity,'' says Danny Mizesko, managing partner of US Chiller Services. "A small malfunction in this highly intricate cooling system may result in the disruption of the entire production line costing the manufacturer and other downstream companies millions of riyals in losses due to down time."

Such chillers can be used not only in industrial facilities, but also in commercial and large business establishments.