Every successful project starts with a framework. A vision statement. A blueprint. The staff of Engineered Systems is proud to present The Blueprint — a monthly Q&A interview with HVACR engineering’s leading voices. These one-on-one discussions examine the trade’s history, current industry trends, the factors shaping the sector’s future, and more.

In the most recent installment, Alex Lee, vice president of channel business at Delta Electronics (Americas), discusses the company’s 50^th anniversary, its commitment to the RE100, its activity on the acquisition front, and more.

Engineered Systems: The company celebrated its 50^th anniversary in 2021. Over that time, what has changed the most and what has stayed the same?

Lee: The entire world has seen unprecedented change over the past 50 years, especially given the rise of the IT industry. Global connectivity has accelerated the need for high-speed data centers and mobile devices. Mankind’s current urge to lower its carbon footprint has also been historic, especially as the world strives to nurture energy conservation in carbon-intensive industries, such as manufacturing, transportation, buildings, energy generation, and IT infrastructure. These two megatrends are at the core of Delta’s strategic development as reflected in our ESG-embedded business model as well as in our product and solution portfolio. An example of how things have changed is our new Delta EV Charging Station in Yokohama, Japan, which was created on the site of a traditional gas station. The station features Delta’s fast DC power EV chargers, AC power chargers as well as our energy storage solutions to enable efficient use of energy. Also, the station includes a smart coffee shop that provides EV drivers with a comfortable, safe, and healthy environment while their EV gets recharged.

Some things have not changed in these 50 years. For example, the world keeps expanding, the physical world (population, cities, industries) keep growing in size and depth, and now it seems to be expanding in the digital world as well (metaverse, etc.). Also, the critical need of our customers to enhance their competitive edge has also remained unaltered, and that makes them demand solutions with increasingly higher added value.

Engineered Systems: What does the next 50 years hold for the company?

Lee: Delta’s direction for the next 50 years is to contribute significantly in mankind’s goal to realize a carbon-neutral world capable of securing the sustainable global ecosystem for our next generations. Thus, we are committed to the development and deployment of innovative solutions that leverage next-generation technologies (AI, IoT, next-generation semiconductor technology, etc.) as well as our decades-long experience in smart manufacturing, energy efficiency, and system integration to ultimately nurture that vision. Within that journey, we look forward to expanding further across all five major continents to build a more capable company through research and development and mergers and acquisitions as well.

Read the entire interview on Engineered Systems’ website.