Instantor will use this week’s IRAC exhibition in Dublin to make a more direct pitch to refrigeration and heat pump contractors: move away from brazed joints where the job allows, and do it with fittings built for higher-pressure ACR work.
At stand A15 at the Green Isle Hotel on 16 April, the company is due to show its R-Press fittings alongside the new IT2030 press tool, putting a relatively new product line in front of wholesalers, contractors, and installers at a point when labour efficiency and site controls are shaping buying decisions as much as component cost. Instantor’s R-Press range is designed for refrigeration, air conditioning, heat pumps on the refrigerant side, and variable refrigerant flow systems, with pressure capability up to 48 bar.
The argument for press systems in ACR has been building for practical reasons rather than novelty. Flame-free jointing strips out hot works requirements on many jobs, reduces the need for fire watches and associated paperwork, and can shorten installation windows on live sites or in tighter plant spaces. For contractors handling retrofit work, service replacements, or heat pump installations in occupied buildings, those time and safety factors can carry as much weight as the fitting itself.
Neil Gaffney, Managing Director at Instantor, said the company had seen a strong response from ACR installers since launching the range last year and would use IRAC to demonstrate both the fittings and the new tool platform. The fittings use a three-point press design and are marketed as compatible with a range of press tools, a detail that matters in a trade where new joining systems can struggle if they force contractors into closed equipment ecosystems.
IRAC is a specialist show, but it has become a useful test of where contractor demand is moving in Ireland’s refrigeration and heat pump market. Instantor is betting that faster, flame-free jointing will now be treated less as a niche alternative and more as a standard part of the ACR installation conversation. To find out more, visit Instantor’s website.
