From working in a factory that made bulletproof glass to being part of pioneering district cooling projects in the region, George Berbari has come a long way.  Here, the CEO of UAE-based DC PRO Engineering talks about HVACR issues that concern him and about his philosophy approach to life.

MY BACKGROUND
I was born Beirut, Lebanon in 1963 and went to school there.  I attended the American University of Beirut and passed out with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1985.

THE ROUTE TO HVACR
After university, I joined a factory that manufactured security glass and bullet-proof glass, which were popular in war-afflicted Lebanon.  The work did not appeal to me, though, and so I moved out to work for a company that manufactured HVACR equipment.  The company was Tecmo Industries, and the assignment involved longer working hours and a pay packet that was 15% lower compared to the glass factory.  Also, the daily commute from home to work was longer.  However, all these factors dimmed in front of the sheer excitement and energy that HVAC generated in me.  And thus began my journey!
            At the time of my joining, Tecmo Industries was manufacturing air conditioners and water chillers.  I saw in the company an opportunity to design equipment and develop a brand name.  It was while there that I developed extensive software to optimize heat pump design.  After four months of my joining, I started a company within Tecmo Industries, called Tecmo Clima.  I did this to concentrate on design and installation, and it was a thrilling experience.  I was just 23, and had 30 people working for me.  The work included finance, planning and inventory management.  It also included production and development of a new brand of air conditioners, water chillers and refrigeration equipment called Climax.
            My team and I derived enjoyment in other ways, as well – we designed and executed HVAC and plumbing projects in Lebanon, Syria and Gabon.  Things were going swimmingly well for us, despite on and off war in Lebanon.  In fact, the war meant that our business flourished, because we had a healthy stock of equipment.  However, in the late 1980s, the tension escalated, and it was no longer feasible to continue in Lebanon.

“AS IN LEBANON, THE WORK WAS INTERESTING, BUT ONCE AGAIN DISRUPTION CAME IN THE FORM OF THE GULF WAR.  SUDDENLY, BANKS STARTED ASKING FOR 100% GUARANTEE IN THE FORM OF PERFORMANCE BONDS.  IT WAS RATHER HARSH ON US.”

COMING TO UAE
In June 1990, I came to Abu Dhabi, where I established a branch for Tecmo, called Tecmo Eastern.  Like with Tecmo Clima, I worked as a manager and minority shareholder.  In the new assignment, I undertook turnkey electromechanical contracting work in the realms of air conditioning, refrigeration and water treatment.  As in Lebanon, the work was interesting, but once again disruption came in the form of the Gulf War.  Suddenly, banks started asking for 100% guarantee in the form of performance bonds.  It was rather harsh on us.  Faced with the situation, we realized that we needed 100% finance.  At that point in time, it was not feasible.  As had happened in Lebanon, the business froze.  I decided that two wars were enough and that it was time to move.

CARRIER MOVE
In November 1990, I joined UTS Carrier in Abu Dhabi as sales manager.  My brief was to handle sales of centrifugal, screw and reciprocating chillers, and package and ducted split units.  In the course of my work, I introduced technical sales solutions for extremely high-end projects.  Among assignments that I was involved in was the series of ADNOC Offshore Gas Development projects and also military projects.  My team and I managed to grow the market share to a substantial height.  Carrier air-cooled chillers enjoyed 40% market share at the time.

THE QUESTION
I was enjoying my tenure in Carrier without much of a thought for anything else but the focus of my assignment.  Then, one day during a visit to the Abu Dhabi Planning Department, I received a question:  ‘What equipment do you have that will work on a natural gas?’  Though I did not know it then the question would change my life forever.
            Once back in office, my team and I took the question very seriously, indeed, and the answer was a central plant that would operate on natural gas – in short, a water-cooled centrifugal chiller with direct gas engine driver.
            The year was 1992, and in many ways, this was the beginning of district cooling in the region.  At that time, Dany Safi, the CEO of Tabreed, was my boss.  With lot of zeal, Carrier and he pursued the idea with UAE Offset Programme.  Another important development happened in the person of Gabris Garboushian, the Energy Director of Special Projects in Carrier.  In 1993, he joined Gulf Energy Systems, the predecessor of Tabreed.
            To cut to the chase, we began to work on central plant.  The site for our activity was Zayed Military City.  The result of our exertions was the first gas engine-driven chiller outside the US and Australia.  It had a capacity of 4,000 TR and was installed in the Maintenance Directorate of the Military City.  It was so well engineered that Bosch, Caterpillar and York recognized it as the best installation worldwide.
            The installation worked so well that the military consumed half the gas we advised them.  They were very, very happy, indeed, with the performance.
            The success of the project led the UAE Offset Programme to launch an IPO for Tabreed.  And eventually when Tabreed was established, it acquired Gulf Energy Systems.

TURNING POINT
During the initial days of Tabreed, the first system was consuming water.  We needed 600 m3 a day, and the military city had a storage of water, owing a leak in the distribution system.  Naturally enough, the military was concerned that Tabreed was using its water and, hence, did not allow new developments.  This was a big challenge, because the other route – air-cooled systems – was very expensive and did not show lifecycle cost savings.
            It was quite obvious that we were facing a psychological barrier, considering that water is life.  Simply put, it was an issue of the military safeguarding precious water resources.  So I developed an infrastructure study involving power production and distribution costs, water desalination, and sewage collection and treatment, which proved beyond doubt the savings to be had by opting for district cooling.  The figures of the study revealed the substantial benefits that a district cooling system could offer.  The psychological barriers fell down, and we were on the move.  We embarked on a massive drive installing gas-based systems.
            A second challenge was to arrange for the water.  Since the military network was leaking, the solution was to bring a separate line from the utility company (ADWEA), and that’s what we precisely did. 

  It began to cater to seven district cooling  plant in the Military City.  Today, the total capacity of the seven plants is 80,000 TR.

DC PRO ENGINEERING
The Tabreed days were among the most professionally satisfying.  We transferred 20 technical innovations to the Middle East and six to the world stage.  And we accomplished more than anybody else in the air conditioning world.

            But it was time for me to move on.  I was not planning to leave Tabreed.  Things happened, and it is a fact that changes happen in your life that draw you to somewhere else.  And things that you don’t like at that time, you now find a blessing.  For me, it has been a blessing to start DC Pro Engineering and to see it flourish.  It has been a lot of work, but it has all been quite interesting.
            At DC PRO Engineering, we undertake electro-mechanical work for highly specialized district cooling projects.  Among other activities, we monitor operational data and recommend corrective action.  I do believe there is a need for automated reporting on an hourly, daily, monthly and yearly basis for water consumption, power consumption and blow down water.  Also, there is a need to monitor the operating team.  You do need to put certain guidelines in place.  Without these, you are operating in the dark.

ISSUES THAT CONCERN ME
I feel there is a paucity of operational experience in the region.  With the exception of Tabreed, no one else has solid operational data.  And probably the systems have not been designed for monitoring.
            Strangely enough, for 20 years, no MEP designer has sought to put metering for chillers and pumps, and that has deprived us of historical operational data.  Even now, standalone buildings do not segregate and meter critical HVAC systems.  Nobody measures fresh air AHUs and how much electricity they are consuming.  Nobody tries to ascertain how much electricity is consumed and how much cooling energy they are producing.
            The point is, if you do not measure, you cannot manage.  Certainly, there is a big room for improvement as regards MEP design and district cooling plants.  Today, it is easy, because there is a big gap to fill, and you can do hundreds of things to improve.
            The design levels now are in the middle way to excellence, and so the road to excellence is long.
            The other trend that concerns me is the reluctance on the part of people to conduct research.  Consultants are so busy that they have very little time for advancement.  The so-called experts are experts, because they have been doing the same thing for 30 years.  Since operation costs are getting higher, consultants are concentrating on producing designs in a hurried manner.  It is really a copy-and-paste culture.
            To develop new technology, you need to read and research.  That is why I encourage my staff to read and research.  I persuade them to invest in software, know-how and technical libraries.  I also encourage them to write, for only then will they appreciate other people’s writings.
            Writing is like squeezing the brain into a paper.  For a recent paper that was published in the January 2007 issue of the ASHRAE Journal, my tow co-writers and I spent a year and a half working on it.  It was peer-reviewed by ASHRAE seven times, and that process alone took more than a year and a half.  In the end, it was well worth the effort.
            Generally speaking, my response to issues is to resolve them as early as possible.  In 1990, when I came to UAE, the dominant issue in Abu Dhabi was mildew and fungal growth in buildings owing to the high inside humidity.  They damaged furniture, wooden doors and were bad for people’s health.  On joining Carrier, I put forward a statement that the practice of oversizing the air conditioning equipment was a reason for mildew and fungal growth.  Generally speaking, everyone at the time was oversizing to provide 16-17 square meters / tonne of cooling.
            At Carrier, our advice was to use a run-around coil and fresh air system and to have the air conditioning system more properly sized.  That led to a reduction of cooling need to 25 square meters / tonne.  When we started in Tabreed, we discovered it was possible to reduce cooling need to 30-35 square meters / tonne.  I believe if we apply ASHRAE 90.1 standard for energy efficiency and also LEED requirements, we can achieve  better results.  In fact, I demonstrated at an ASHRAE seminar three years ago that we can go with cooling  needs of 50 square meters / tonne.
            This is my vision – to have properly sized equipment and use less energy.

UAE
I am thankful to the UAE, because it has given me the opportunity and time to invest in research and, generally speaking, in the pursuit of knowledge.  At Tabreed, we invested $500 million over a five-year period, which gave me a rich exposure to HVACR.  I am also thankful because this country is open to criticism. It has been open-minded whenever I have been critical and has taken the opportunity to improve.
            Of course, it is important that I contribute to this country.  Till date, I have contributed to the industry largely through district cooling, fresh air systems and energy-efficiency drives.

MY PHILOSOPHY
I believe that we have reason to be satisfied if we do our best everyday and make a small difference.  It is important to remember that we have to be realistic about life – we are people, not God.
            When I was 30, single and with little money in my pocket, I developed a philosophy that you don’t have to be rich to be happy and that you don’t need to be in love to be happy.  That night in my thirtieth year, I slept like a baby.
            I have been steady in following my philosophy – I don’t chase money, and I make more now.  Fourteen months ago, we started DC Pro Engineering with six people, and today we are a 26-strong company.  By year-end, the plan is to hire 10 more people.  I say this, because I never planned for this to happen.
            Simply put, you do not choose your journey in life.  After university, I went off to work in a glass factory, but destiny had something else in mind for me – HVACR.  And here I am.  Today, I have 22 years of experience, volume and technical exposure.  While at Carrier and at Tabreed, I was exposed to the most technologically advanced systems in the world.  Also, I had the good fortune to read a large volume of books and interact with operators and technical people.  I am ever grateful to them, because they enriched my knowledge.
            If you build your theoretical know-how, you can only travel so much distance.  Likewise, if you build your practical know-how, you can travel a bit farther.  But if you combine the two, you can achieve excellence.  You need hands-on experience and also research and theoretical background.  You need both hands to clap!

            I think I am privileged in life to be where I am today.  People made fun of us when we started district cooling.  Maybe their decision had to do with the complexity of the whole thing and the challenges involved.  But we stuck it out by riding on passion and self-belief.
            The most important thing in life is to have a passion for what you do.  That will bring excellence.  Money will come, but to enjoy your work is of prime importance.  The voice inside me urges to do my work and try to make a difference, no matter how small a difference it may be.
I have contributed to the cooling industry here, and the knowledge of having done so does not make me proud but humble.  I willingly share whatever I have learnt.  If you don’t share your knowledge, it is like lighting a candle inside a closet.

FAMILY
Somewhere during the journey called life, I found true love…my wife, Zeina.  She has a master’s degree in fine arts and has taught me in university for more than 12 years now – here in the UAE as well as in Lebanon.  She is very talented and follows a style that is between abstract and realism.
            The other member in my family is my daughter, Mandy.  She is five years old, speaks three languages – English, French and Arabic – and is adorable.

THE BLUE EXPANSE
In 1990, when I arrived in the UAE, there was no satellite television, but had the sea and my boat, I would go off snorkeling and water skiing and was at peace with the world!  I also did a lot of scuba diving and would travel to the Maldives or the Carribean.  And then, there was skiing.  In Lebanon, we have beautiful ski resorts, and so there was plenty of scope to indulge in my passion.
            Besides the sea, I love reading.  I have an abiding interest in general knowledge, be it history, politics, world religion, art, music, economy, relationships between men and women, and psychology of children.  I have learnt so many of life’s lessons from all these disciplines.  From my interest in psychology, I have learnt that nobody can make you happy – the glow comes from within you.
            I am a Libra and, as such, do not over-react to anything and am happy.  I am able to maintain a sense of equilibrium.  I survived a war that lasted 16 years.  During the war I found that the rich and the poor alike can die from 25-cent bullet.  So I guess we should cherish life and enjoy the journey.