McQuay International and parent company Daikin Industries Ltd. celebrated the grand opening of the new Daikin McQuay Solutions Plaza in Jersey City, N.J., May 18.
Located on the 21st floor of 10 Exchange Place and offering a panoramic view of lower Manhattan, the World Financial Center complex, the One World Trade Center site, and the Statue of Liberty, the 32,000-sq-ft plaza “is an international facility modeled after Daikin's facilities in Japan, China, and Belgium,” Daikin Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Noriyuki Inoue said.
The plaza includes a showroom featuring displays and cutaways of the companies' latest products, including Magnitude WME magnetic-bearing chillers, Pathfinder air-cooled chillers, Vision customized indoor-air handlers, Enfinity horizontal and vertical water-source heat pumps, and Energy Analyzer and Acoustic Analyzer software analysis programs. The facility's four meeting/training rooms and 17 information kiosks, meanwhile, provide opportunities for specifying engineers, architects, contractors, and building owners to learn about industry trends, earn continuing-education credits, and receive help in selecting and designing efficient solutions to building challenges.
“The Daikin McQuay Solutions Plaza represents a significant investment toward servicing the needs of engineers and customers in the New York-area market,” Ron Hanlon, chief operating officer of McQuay Americas, said. “Engineers in the New York area specify some of the world's largest and most complex HVAC systems, and we want them to know we are committed to being directly involved with helping to solve design challenges.”
Through video conferencing, engineers can connect with the Daikin McQuay Applied Development Center in Plymouth, Minn., for virtual tours and discussion of concept technologies and industry needs. Additionally, engineers are able to observe testing being conducted at McQuay's Staunton, Va., facility.
The plaza is open to industry associations for meetings and other events.
Two McQuay vertical self-contained units and Daikin VRV equipment were used in construction of the plaza. Those functioning systems are on display, so visitors can see how the equipment performs and hear how it operates.
The plaza is LEED for Commercial Interiors-certified.