Speaking at a major customer event held at The Oval, London, Didier Genois, vice president and general manager of Carrier Commercial HVAC, Europe, said: 'The UK is an important segment for us, and we believe there is great potential for growth in the future. We will continue to invest to ensure customers have the very best products to meet UK requirements, as well as the comprehensive support needed to grasp the opportunities now opening up in decarbonisation and healthy buildings.'

He added: “Carrier is a global leader in both air conditioning and heat pumps, which together with CIAT's advanced airside range, provide coverage across the spectrum of HVAC technologies. With demand forecast to increase across the sector, there has never been a better time to be a Carrier supplier or installer.”

Exciting developments in the pipeline include a new range of high-performance cooling systems for data centres, and compact heat pumps for small commercial and residential projects, both due to come on stream in 2022.

More than 100 representatives of UK customers attended the event, held at the prestigious Oval Cricket Ground in Central London. Bertrand Rotagnon, head of Carrier UK and sales director for Applied North Europe, said: 'We were delighted to welcome representatives from our key UK customers to join us for this important briefing on vital industry topics, and to celebrate the official launch of our outstanding new Carrier Advantage programme.'

Presentations included briefings on Carrier's refrigerants strategy, decarbonisation towards net zero, expansion of UK heat networks, plus developments in indoor air quality and healthy buildings technology.

Guest speaker, David Frise, chief executive of the The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), told delegates: 'Our industry is almost uniquely placed in having solutions for some of the most pressing problems facing the world today – climate change, the need to decarbonise, indoor air quality and the whole topic of well-being. These vital issues are both exciting and challenging, and we should grasp the opportunities they present with creativity and confidence.'

The event was the official launch of the new Carrier Advantage customer support and incentive scheme, with certificates presented to the first UK companies to enroll in the programme’s three tiers – Silver, Gold, and Platinum.

David Dunn, managing director of Toshiba Carrier UK, said: 'Our aim in launching Carrier Advantage is simple. To enable customers who are loyal to us to grow their businesses and fulfil their true potential. The rewards are highly attractive and, based on early feedback, we believe Carrier Advantage will be widely appreciated by contractors keen to develop in the months and years ahead.'

While the standard warranty for non-accredited installers is one year, accredited installers under the programme will benefit from enhanced two (Silver), three (Gold) and five-year (Platinum) warranties, according to their accreditation level.

The programme is designed to support installers to take their business to the next level, with each successive stage providing higher levels of technical training, service support and rewards.

Capping the event, sporting legend and former England cricket captain Alec Stewart gave delegates an insight into his time at the pinnacle of international sport, signing miniature replica cricket bats for customers as a memento of the day at The Oval, where Alec holds the position of Director of Cricket.

“It was a stimulating and enjoyable event, and great to be able to share quality time with our customers and exchange ideas for working together even more closely to grasp the huge opportunities opening up,” said Bertrand Rotagnon. “We look forward to working with customers in the months ahead, and indeed to next year’s customer event and welcoming even more contractors into the Carrier fold.”