Association News, Health & Safety

Graeme Fox, past chairman of the HVCA Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Group, is the new president of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration European Association (AREA).

Fox (42), whose unanimous election to a two-year presidential term took place at the AREA general assembly in Krakow, Poland, earlier this month, has been a member of the board of AREA since 2008. He has served as chairman of its Technical and Environment committee for the past six years, and is also chairman of the F Gas Review committee.

In his inaugural address, Fox thanked his fellow board members for the trust they had placed in him – and whose ambitions he shared in ensuring that AREA became “even more effective in supporting contractors’ issues at European level.”

He went on to pay tribute to the outstanding contribution made to the work of AREA by outgoing president Gerhard Neuhauser of Austria, whom, he said, it was “an honour and a challenge to succeed.”

Established in 1988 as the pan-European organisation for air conditioning, refrigeration and heat pump contractors, AREA represents the interests of 23 national members across 20 states, with a total membership of 9,000 companies, a workforce of 125,000 and a combined turnover approaching €20bn.

Graeme Fox served as chairman of the RAC Group from 2005 to 2008, and recently retired from the HVCA Council after four years’ service. He has been a member of the Technical Committee of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Industry Board since 2006.

He is also managing director of refrigeration and air conditioning contractor Specialist Mechanical Services, based in Dundee.

www.area-eur.be