With summer back in the Middle East, the spotlight is once again on the air conditioning industry.

And with so many brands around, the customer is puzzled in matters of quality and costs.
One of the major AC companies in the region, Middle East Air Conditioners (MEAC) markets window room air conditioners (RAC) from 1.5 T to 2 T, wall-mount split units up to 3 T and ducted split systems extending to 5 T.
A good pick for solutions from heat pump or cooling-only models would be Hotpoint, says MEAC. “With compressor reliability and solid-state controls, Hotpoint delivers quality and dependable units that meet your air cooling requirements.”                                                
MEAC is a joint venture between Zamil Industrial Investment Company (ZIIC) in Saudi Arabia and General Electric Appliances in Belgium, Europe – with ZIIC holding 51 per cent of the shares and GE Appliances 49 per cent.
MEAC was awarded the licence to manufacture room air conditioners, and split system air conditioners under the brand names of GE, Hotpoint and RCA, The range includes room air conditioner basic models from 1.5 T to 2 T. Mini split units range from 1.5 T to 2 T and large split units from 2.5 T to 3 T.  MEAC also caters to a bigger air solution requirement by offering the ducted split system with a range from 1.5 T to 5 T.  All MEAC products offer Cool and Heat Pump models and are available for 50 Hz and 60 Hz cycle markets.
The production facility is situated at the Zamil Air Conditioners (ZAC) factory. The RAC Line 2, which is under MEAC, has a daily RAC capacity of 2,400 units per day.  The split units are also manufactured at the same line where the daily production output can reach 300 units.  Production quantities depend on market requirements as forecast by the company.
All products bear third-party mark certification such as UL, UR and D-mark.  MEAC has also sought the professional services of Ryan Company, a US-based consultant whose proficiency and expertise is focused on air conditioner products.  Local in-house and outside testing laboratories and facilities are commissioned to perform a number of unit tests and analyses.
All major components utilised in the production are guaranteed to have been sourced from reliable vendors. Notably all basic functional components bear varying safety certifications and conformity standards, and are sourced from international companies. Raw materials such as GE Motors, GE Industrial Systems-Thermostat, GE Switch, Tecumseh Compressors and Sanyo Compressors are sourced from Malaysia, Indonesia, India, and China.
The in-house Quality Control department under ZAC consists not only of staff overseeing the actual production standard but also a number of laboratories where various types of testing and calibration are conducted on a regular basis to ensure high quality products. Moreover, the factory/production line holds an ISO 9001 (version 2K) certificate, and complies with SASO standards.
GE Appliances in Dubai is MEAC’s marketing arm and handles international sales.  Other GE brand appliances have no direct link on MEAC’s AC production.  However MEAC has the same dealers and market network for GE and Hotpoint distribution. 
More recently, MEAC has been actively developing its local sales efforts to re-introduce the Hotpoint brand image and awareness in the kingdom through the dealer network. A contract was signed with Zamil CoolCare to cover the Hotpoint warranty kingdom-wide.
In its project pursuit, MEAC is now creating Hotpoint showrooms and will be launching marketing activities to revive awareness of the brand
The MEAC-ZAC partnership has grown through the years, and one of the benefits is the sharing of market intelligence. 
The joint venture enjoys wide range of market coverage.  In Saudi Arabia alone, MEAC products - both RAC and mini-splits - found market acceptance through an aggressive local marketing partner. In the export market on the other hand, consumers from the Gulf and African countries such as the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Yemen, and Ghana welcomed the new GE and Hotpoint air con products in their households through the collaborative marketing and sales efforts of GE Appliances in Dubai and its dealers and distributors based in those countries.  During 2005, MEAC extended market coverage and is now shipping GE AC products to Libya and Egypt.
MEAC is also working on setting up a manufacturing facility in India to support the Indian market.
The company achieved a record-breaking 100,000 unit sales during 2004. It also registered a 47 per cent increase in net profits over 2003. 
 The presence of Korean and Chinese products accompanied by heavy advertise-ment and a lowering of prices constitutes a big challenge to all local AC manufacturing in Saudi Arabia.
Fluctuations in the prices of raw materials affect most manufacturing industries and MEAC is not spared. During the 2nd quarter last year, it experienced an increase in the cost of basic components such as steel, copper and aluminum.
MEAC is continuously developing and researching products.  The company is evaluating the introduction of free stand units, ceiling and floor units and a cassette unit. These segments will be added to the MEAC product line once testing and safety issues are completed.
The Air Conditioning Technology (ATC) centre is Zamil’s house state-of-the-art test laboratory facility commissioned and built by Intertek Testing Services (ITS) based in Courtland, New York, USA.  The Lab provides a battery of extreme testing conditions for AC endurance checking. It evaluates and confirms the unit’s capacity, Energy Efficiency, adaptability, endurance, as well as gauging the units for various private and commercial applications. It consists of three calorimeters and three psychometric facilities, a reverberant room and hemi-echoic chambers for accurate sound evaluation.
All MEAC products (GE, Hotpoint, and RCA) have undergone reliability testing. One of the extreme conditions in which the units are placed is the high ambient temperature set at 55ºC.  The test ensures the unit’s continuous smooth and efficient operation during harsh climatic settings.