DAIKIN, the world’s No. 1 air-conditioning company, recently introduced in the country its newest products that promise to deliver better cooling, quieter operation, better efficiency resulting in more savings, as well as environment-friendliness, compared to their predecessors.
The event took place in Grand Ballroom C of the posh Shangri-La Hotel inside the upscale Bonifacio Global City (BGC) on February 23. Members of the media, who attended the event, were already impressed even before the event began, as they passed through a giant façade with an automatic door on the way to the ballroom. The futuristic setup gave one a preview of what to expect in the presentation that followed.
Displayed on the right side of the venue, just outside Grand Ballroom, were the company’s new offerings, such as the D-compact (FTWK-series), which Daikin claims is the country’s first window split-type hybrid inverter air conditioner. Also on display was a new BMC cassette that promises to deliver more savings with the cutting-edge technology that Daikin has incorporated in it.
In a one-on-one interview with Chengxian Cai, division manager of marketing development, on the difference of their newest offerings from their predecessors, he said, “The new Home Central Air-conditioning System is actually the first VRV system that is intended for the residential market. Its difference from the previous highly successful VRV commercial system is that the design of the indoor unit is more beautiful. Secondly, we believe that the house is a place where you stay with your loved ones and your family. So, we want to provide a more comfortable environment with our air conditioner with the airflow distribution. The control of temperature and humidity is more powerful. The last point is that we customize the units depending the rooms of the house.”
On the question of what the advantage of Daikin has over other brands sold in the market, he said: “I think for Daikin, the biggest advantage is that we are a 100-percent aircon company. We only do air-conditioning, so we want to dig deeper in this area for better technology. Thus, our finances and efforts are concentrated in making better air-conditioning.”
As to the buyers who are accustomed to buying other brands and who are having second thoughts about buying the Daikin brand as it may not be able to withstand the hot and humid conditions in our tropical country, he assured that, “Believe it or not, sometimes Japan is even hotter than the Philippines. I think it is not about the temperature but the technology of the air-conditioning system. In Japan, for example, we have four seasons. So, the air conditioners there are designed to cover all four seasons. Our research and development team takes into consideration the place where our products will be sold.”
Meanwhile, in a separate interview, Daikin Philippines President Lee Wai Kok mentioned they’re progressing steadily in sales since they came into the country in 2010 from zero percent to the current annual sales figure of at least 20,000 units of split-type aircons. He is happy to report that their advertising campaigns on radio and in newspapers are already paying dividends in terms of awareness on their products.
He said, “We want to promote Daikin as premium brand with high technology—a quality product with an affordable price in the market.”
DPH, or Daikin Philippines, also announced that they are phasing out the use of R22 (refrigerant) in their product this year, which is three years ahead of schedule (2020) in the road map set by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and as agreed upon in the Montreal protocol. This is in line with their commitment to charge all its products with environment-friendly refrigerants with no ozone-depleting potential. This puts them one step ahead of the competition in producing high-quality and environmental-friendly products. While most air conditioners still use R22 or R-410a refrigerants, which was the standard in 2014, Daikin’s Urusara 7 model uses R-32 refrigerant—the most environment-friendly refrigerant to date, the first air conditioner to do so. This certainly proves that Daikin deserves to be called the market leader not only in terms of worldwide sales, but technology, as well.
Image credits: Daikin, Patrick P. Tulfo