Aubren has this week commenced manufacturing product on its new 400m² mezzanine floor. The expansion was necessary due to an increase in manufacturing activity in CleanTech and Medical Device products, where, in some cases, FDA approval of our facility is a requirement. This concentration of production of smaller type products on the new mezzanine floor clears the way for increased activities in larger air handling products such as Precision Air Handling units for Healthcare facilities and Data Centre cooling systems.

Tom Costello, Operations Director, said “We looked at a wide number of solutions for enhancing our manufacturing service offerings to meet the stringent requirements of medical device manufacture ranging from modifying the existing floor layout to extending the building. We found that the addition of the mezzanine floor would meet our current needs as it allowed us to increase the usable space within the existing building. Another important factor to consider was to ensure minimal disruption to the business. The structure of the mezzanine was manufactured off-site, resulting in on-site construction lasting only 7 days”.

As part of the expansion, Aubren has also been able to set up a dedicated prototype area which will give us flexibility to turn around rapid prototypes and pre-production runs.

Aubren, having recently established a number of local partners in African and Middle Eastern markets for their air management products,  are pleased to attend the Enterprise Ireland led Iran- Ireland Technology Forum which is taking place in Tehran from Monday 23^rd May. The forum will bring together Iranian technology professionals and some leading Irish technology companies offering innovative ICT and Telecoms technologies.

Aubren believes the Iranian market offers huge opportunities for Irish companies. With a population of 80 million and an economy estimated at €400 billion, it is the largest country to rejoin the global marketplace after long sanctions and embargoes were lifted in January 2016. The Iran Telecoms and ICT sector is growing and offering opportunities to international companies like Aubren and their design and manufacturing client companies.

During the forum, Aubrey Nuzum, MD hopes to assess market data to anticipate future market developments in Iran. It will also be crucial to develop relationships with potential local partners as this will be key to open up opportunities for the company.

Jerom Van Beuzekom, Vaventis, accepts the PHI Component Award

Our Managing Director, Aubrey Nuzum attended the International Passive House Conference in Darmstadt, Germany last weekend and was delighted to witness Jerom Van Beuzekom of client company Vaventis accepting a major award. The award recognises the product in relation to ventilation for energy retrofits, scoring highly in the areas of comfort, suitability, integration and design, planning aspects, energy savings and cost effectiveness.

Component Award: Ratings

Component Award 2016: Ventilation concepts for energy retrofits.

As a result of winning award, there was keen interest from conference delegates to find out more about the product and the Vaventis team enjoyed a very busy two days at the show. We believe that Vaventis are worthy winners of the award as they have been relentless in their pursuit of an energy efficient solution to decentralised ventilation with heat recovery. The core of the fresh-r® unit is a patented fine wire heat exchanger that consists of 8 km ultra thin copper wire with a total weight of less then 0.5 kg. With a heat transfer coefficient of 400 W/mK copper transfers heat 1000 times better than polyethylene of which traditional heat exchangers are made. Using ebm-papst  fans, the low pressure drop in the heat exchanger and the aerodynamic design,  the fresh-r has the highest capacity on the market at 30dB(a).  Combined with intelligent controls it has a higher overall efficiency, which results in more comfortable air coming in and a shorter payback time of the fresh-r®

Vaventis Stand at International Passive House Conference 2016

At Aubren, we love innovative products and we believe the SteriGrip™ from our client company Smart Hygiene is set to revolutionise hand hygiene compliance in public buildings, greatly reducing the potential for cross contamination and spread of infectious diseases.  At best, human compliance with good hand hygiene practices is typically only 40 to 50%. The SteriGrip™ removes the need for compliance regardless who used the door before you.

The SteriGrip™ completely and silently cleans and disinfects the surface before you need to use it, ensuring a guaranteed fresh and disinfected handle surface every time. This product completely eradicated the door handle as part of the disease transmission cycle and does so using a simple and robust solution powered exclusively using free energy created by the opening of the door. Keeping you in control of your own personal hand hygiene.

The product is particularly suited for use in hospitals/ healthcare, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, schools, public transport hubs.

We wish Smart Hygiene every success with the launch. Watch their video below to find out more.

https://youtu.be/DyXdc-QB0L4

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We are delighted to announce that our client company Vaventis have been selected as second place winners at the Passive House Institute Component Award 2016. The award for ventilation solutions in residential buildings is selected by an independent jury. The product award is based on two main criteria – energy efficiency and economic viability. The presentation of the Award will take place at the 20th International Passive House Conference which is to be held on 22 and 23 April in Darmstadt.

We believe that Vaventis are worthy winners of the award as they have been relentless in their pursuit of an energy efficient solution to decentralised ventilation with heat recovery. The core of the fresh-r® unit is a patented fine wire heat exchanger that consists of 8 km ultra thin copper wire with a total weight of less then 0.5 kg. With a heat transfer coefficient of 400 W/mK copper transfers heat 1000 times better than polyethylene of which traditional heat exchangers are made. Using ebm-papst  fans, the low pressure drop in the heat exchanger and the aerodynamic design,  the fresh-r has the highest capacity on the market at 30dB(a).  Combined with intelligent controls it has a higher overall efficiency, which results in more comfortable air coming in and a shorter payback time of the fresh-r®.

You can find the original press release here: http://www.passivehouse-international.org/upload/2016_03_17_Component_Award_2016_Press_Release.pdf

At Aubren, we understand the need for continuous investment in both technologies and our staff to enable us offer the very latest solutions to our clients. Recently, we added the PTC Creo Piping and Cabling Extension (PCX) to our 3D CAD software suite. As air management products become more and more complex, design engineers are faced with the challenge of more complicated piping and cabling routings in more confined spaces. The piping and cabling extension allows us prioritise electrical and fluid design as an integral part of the design process.

The key benefits to our customers are:

• Availability of documented schematics of pipe and cable routing, crucial for servicing products during their working life.
• Ability to determine the optimum paths for manufacturing, cost and serviceability.
• Acceleration of the design process leading to rapid prototyping.
• Minimization of design and manufacturing errors which occur when manually creating pipe and cable runs.

Andrew Hanson, Honeycomb Solutions, takes the engineering staff through the key features of PCX.

Congratulations to long-standing Aubren client company, Novum, on the successful launch of their Grand Cayman refrigerated display cabinet, incorporating LEAP technology. The product, described as the future of retail refrigeration, offers customers major benefits compared to competitors including a Unique Cassette Refrigeration System, the Lowest Energy Consumption on the market and a
Completely Frost Free interior. As a critical component supplier we are proud to be part of the continued success at Novum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2cOub_YIR8&feature=em-share_video_user

Sunday Times, 14th February 2016

McCabe’s clean air fund wins funding.

NOVAERUS, a clean air technology company backed by the Irish entrepreneur Bill McCabe, has raised $15m (€13.3m) in a new fundraising, writes Samantha McCaughren.

The company, which uses technology to sterilise air for the health care sector, raised 60% of the funding from the state-backed China Ireland Technology Growth Capital Fund, which launched in 2014. Other participants in the fundraising were existing investors Polaris Partners and the American venture capital firm Beacon Bioventures, a subsidiary of Fidelity Biosciences.

The music impresario Denis Desmond was an early investor in Novaerus through his vehicle Gaiety Investments. The company raised $10m in 2014 to develop its sales and marketing efforts, and was reportedly valued at $40m last year.

Newly filed accounts for the company show that shareholder funds stood at $4.7m at the end of 2014. McCabe’s Oyster Capital fund remains a significant shareholder in the company, which is actively marketing in the US and international markets.

The $100m China Ireland Technology Growth Capital Fund is backed by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, formerly the National Pensions Reserve Fund and the Chinese Investment Corporation. The fund has also backed FieldAware, another Oyster investee, which uses technology to link companies with their sales reps on the road.

Novaerus was previously headed by Kevin Maughan, a former investment banker who has since co-founded UrbanVolt, a company that plans to invest €30m in rolling out energy-efficient lighting for small businesses.

The patented SoloRAD hydronic heating units reduce boiler running costs dramatically, are extremely small and allow independent temperature control of an area. No other system offers such precise control and economy, bringing significant reduction in fuel bills. The team at Aubren have long admired the benefits of SoloRAD and are excited to now add the full product range to our offering. With our network of partners across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, we aim to exploit the benefits of SoloRAD in new markets.

The benefits that we couldn’t ignore

Ideal for use with heat pumps and condensing boilers

Because SoloRAD operates effectively at much lower water temperatures than radiators, condensing boilers will condense under all load circumstances, resulting in massive energy savings. SoloRAD is also ideal for use with heat pumps.

Rapid heat-up and response times

A SoloRAD terminal will generate significant heat immediately, once hot water becomes available to it. For example, a radiator delivering 6kW typically requires 25.5 times more energy before it starts to heat than SoloRAD.

Individual temperature control zones

SoloRAD can operate on a single flow and return pipe system, allowing zoning by grouping areas electrically and feeding them from time clocks or switches. This eliminates the need for zone valves and piping complexity.

Aubren’s key strengths rewarded

Prior to acquiring SoloRAD, Aubren had manufactured its product range for over a decade and contributed greatly to its commercial success. It is now anticipated that the design team at Aubren will adapt the product to suit new markets along with re-designing the controls to allow for interfacing the units with smart technology. Watch this space!

“SoloRAD is successful in Ireland, but the market is finite. Earlier this year I was strategising about how we could enter export markets. The team at Aubren have been paramount to the success of SoloRAD to date, but we had primarily viewed them as a manufacturing partner. I was aware that they distributed products in a number of different markets so it was a strategic fit for them to acquire the SoloRAD business. They have the expertise and network to grow the brand and this really excites me.”

Vincent Fox, Owner, Energy Remedies Ltd.