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Medical
Chillers By
The chiller industry as a
whole has been floundering
for a while now, but that’s
mainly because the demand
for industrial chillers and
those used for the computer tech and automobile
sectors has dropped along with
their industries. However, there is one
area where chiller sales are still doing
well - the medical chiller sector.
“For us, from September last year
we just had a steep drop-off in sales [as a
company] and then in January we started
seeing sales return. We’re not where
we were last year, but we have orders on
the book,” says Chris King, Vice Presi-
dent for KR Products Inc. “With all the
baby boomers coming along, we need
more and more medical equipment so it
has stayed steady for us.”
Although they may not be the first
thing that hospitals think about when
setting up shop, hospital equipment
such as MRIs, CT Scans and X-rays
won’t function unless they have a chiller.
So as long as OEMs continue to turn
out equipment, there will be a market
for chillers.
“The medical chiller market tends
to mirror the major diagnostic equipment
market, so right now, business is
fairly steady,” says Bob Freudenberger,
Keith Loria
VP of Ellis & Watts.
Basically, a chiller is like an air
conditioner. Since most major medical
devices generate heat while in operation,
the chilled water generated by the
chillers is the solution to dissipate the
heat that is produced. The difference is
you are removing heat from the fluid
and not the air.
“Each chiller provides a defined
flow rate and temperature drop specification,”
says Freudenberger. “Some
have optional city water bypass valve
systems to allow operation of the medical
equipment, even during a time of
service or failure of the chiller system.”
DOTmedbusiness news I s e p t e m b e r 2009 41