|
In
the Cuban capital of domestic refrigerators
BY ALBERTO D. PÉREZ—Special for
Granma International—
THREE
years after its rebirth as a manufacturer of
efficient domestic refrigerators under the brand
name ANTILLANO, the Domestic Appliance Production
Enterprise (INPUD) in Santa Clara has confirmed this
central Cuban city as the country’s capital of home
refrigerators.
During
the last three years, the enterprise has restarted
its production of domestic refrigerators, which
feature two attractions lacking in those made by
other manufacturers: the motor compressor is much
more efficient and therefore consumes less
electricity, and the refrigerant gas is no longer a
threat to the ozone layer.
That
was confirmed for Granma International by
Ramiro Valledor, an exceptional witness to the
productive history of the enormous enterprise, whose
first factory was inaugurated on June 24, 1964, by
Ernesto Che Guevara, who was Minister of Industry at
the time. The complex also produces gas stoves,
fans, bicycles, coffeemakers and other lines of
other popular consumer items, and is the region’s
main employer.
The
beautiful capital of the central province of Villa
Clara was the setting, six years earlier, of a
crucial victory by the revolutionary forces, and was
liberated by guerrilla leader Comandante Che Guevara
himself. The victory of the Rebel Army’s 8th Column
during the Battle of Santa Clara at the end of
December 1958 confirmed the downfall of the Batista
dictatorship and led to his hasty flight.
For
Valledor, the ANTILLANOS are like his children. “I
saw them being born on the design table and come out
by the tens of thousands on the production line.”
Unfortunately, the Special Period – which began in
the 1990s – seriously affected the factory, and the
refrigerator line was one of the most affected
production casualties.
“When
the moment arrived, we decided to incorporate
technological and productive advances into the new
line of appliances. Therefore, we requested
collaboration from the UN Development Program
(UNDP), with the goal of achieving more efficient
motor compressors and reducing electricity and fuel
consumption, something truly vital for the country,”
he recalls.
“We
also decided to search for a new refrigerant gas to
replace the traditional Freon, which was harmful to
the ozone layer, and in that way kill two birds with
one stone.” The Cuban state undertook the total
renovation of the old factory, investing $5 million
USD and a similar amount in Cuban pesos in the
modernization.
The
request was accepted by the UNDP, which took it to
the Global Environmental Fund (GEF), an
international body that supports efforts aimed at
environmental protection on a world scale. Work is
ongoing between both to reduce the volume of
atmospheric pollution from thermal electric plants –
the so-called “greenhouse effect” gases – which are
causing progressive global warming and climatic
changes with potentially catastrophic consequences.
The GEF
expressed its pleasure at the additional idea of
protecting the ozone layer through replacing Freon
with harmless refrigerants.
Upon
verifying the seriousness of the new effort, the GEF
approved a $750,000 project to finance special
equipment, technical offices and research trip, as
well as the strengthening of a trial laboratory
where the parameters of domestic production could be
confirmed and related to those of similar equipment.
Valledor, who has functioned as project director for
the last three years, remembers that that is how the
new ANTILLANO rose from its ashes like a Phoenix,
flying higher than its predecessors.
This
last judgement was confirmed at the modern trial
laboratory that emerged as a result of the project,
capable of taking exact measurements of the most
diverse parameters of home refrigerators and many
other appliances and equipment.
One of
the laboratory’s prospective efforts – which would
require extra support – is the measurement of
electricity consumption by existing home
refrigerators in the country, the majority of them
more than 30 years old, in order to evaluate current
energy use and the large savings that would be
possible through their substitution with more
efficient machines.
The
laboratory’s quality work was recently confirmed by
an international contract it won – with UNICEF as
facilitator – for determining operation parameters
for a mini-refrigerator using solar panels, destined
for preserving vaccines and other medications for
boys and girls in isolated regions of the planet.
When
the UNPD/GEF project completed three years in April,
an assessment meeting took place at INPUD, with the
participation of the Ministry of Foreign Investment
and Economic Cooperation (MINVEC) representing the
Cuban government.
Speaking for the UNDP, program official Antonio
Perera expressed that agency’s satisfaction at their
labors and results to the ANTILLANO workers and
management, even though the production quantities
did not meet the estimated figure, requiring
additional financing to do so.
The
quality and efficiency of the ANTILLANO fridges and
the fact that their energy consumption is less than
other refrigerators, together with the introduction
of isobutane as an ecological refrigerant gas,
assures them of an auspicious future both
domestically and internationally, where they are
also very appreciated. “In some Cuban stores, our
refrigerators can’t be seen, because as soon as they
come in, consumers buy them,” Valledor says, adding,
“In addition to their ecological and economic
advantages, the ANTILLANOS have spare parts
available when needed.”
The factory
is currently evaluating a new model that would
include the benefit of an external evaporator,
easily replaceable in case of damage. This new
ANTILLANO also offers an independent freezer and
maximum protective measures to the internal cooling
system.
The
laborious collective of specialists, technicians and
workers had to negotiate numerous hurdles to get
where it is today, and continues its march in spite
of the difficulties.
That’s
because, in the very heart of Cuban territory, where
the revolutionary victory was sealed at the end of
1958, INPUD continues to labor to be worthy of such
a historical past and its founder, Comandante
Ernesto Che Guevara, whose remains rest in the
nearby Mausoleum together with those of his fallen
comrades of the Bolivian guerrilla and jealously
watch over the city of Santa Clara.
|
