LG Electronics opens Mid East's first Air Conditioning Academy

The 600 square metre LG AC Academy in Al Twar, Dubai is the fourth of its kind in the world after similar facilities in Italy, Korea and China.

LG's state-of-the-art academy represents an initial capital investment of US $500,000. The global and regional digital leader aims to provide training each year for up to 1000 technicians, regional dealers, contractors and public works officials from the Middle East and Africa.

'LG is now the largest air conditioning supplier in the world and the company is committed regionally to ensure clients get the best of training and after-sales service,' said M.B. Shin, President, LG Electronics Middle East and Africa. 'This investment is a clear indication of our intention to grow this market, to be a key sector player and raise the benchmark for customer service.'

Courses lasting three to five days will be undertaken at the Academy, which will also act as an information resource centre for LG AC products.

LG's AC Academy aims to effectively manage the expansion of the Korean giant's commercial air conditioner business in the Middle East market.

'The focus of the Academy's education lies in generating experts in LG's commercial air conditioning products,' said Shin.

'The courses are designed for the entire spectrum of professionals involved in the selling, specifying, installing, commissioning and maintenance of a/cs.

'To keep the world's leading position not only in product technology but also in installation and service technology, we will spare no effort and investment in education and training.'

Global digital leader LG Electronics (LGE) has retained its ranking as the world's leading air conditioner supplier for the third year in a row.

The ranking follows a worldwide survey by the Japanese Air Conditioning Journal (JARN), one of the world's leading trade magazines for the a/c sector and Fuji-Keiai, one of Japan's leading market research firms. It puts LG's 2002 room air conditioners global sales tally at 6.7 million units.

'LG now has 14.3% of the global room air conditioning market,' said Mr. K. S. Hwang, Vice President AC and Compressor Overseas Sales, LG Electronics Inc. 'This means that one out of every seven air conditioners sold around the world last year was made by LG.

'Until the mid 1990s, the world air conditioner market was led by Japanese companies owing to the high demand in Japan, a country which, at that time, accounted for a quarter of global demand, amounting to seven million units. But LGE has now achieved significant international a/c sales in the USA, the Middle East and Europe and emerged as the world's leading supply three years ago, a position it still retains.'

According to the JARN/Fuji-Keiai survey, LGE is now the best-selling a/c across 41 countries - 11 of which are in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia.

'This is a rare achievement in the cut-throat competitive world of global home appliances,' said Hwang. 'LGE will continue to lead the industry with world-beating technologies, products and training.'

After recording total a/c sales of US $2.2 billion last year, LGE plans to aggressively target the premium air conditioning market to increase sales to US $3.5 billion by 2005. The company has conducted detailed consumer and market surveys to develop products tailored to local consumer requirements as part of its marketing strategy.

In the Middle East, known as a tough market for foreign brands, LGE has implemented customer-oriented marketing including an enhanced focus on its distribution network.

'We have organised dealer conventions and participated in regional trade exhibitions to ensure we are instantly recognised on the market,' said Shin. 'Now, with the first AC Academy in the Middle East, LG is bringing the future of commercial air-conditioning technology to the region now.

'Our goal is to be the number one supplier across all a/c sectors in the Middle East by 2005. We will achieve this by staying ahead of the curve in technological development and by continuing to deliver excellence of service placing us first on customer service indices.'