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Brett Hedge, M.AIRAHBrett Hedge, M.AIRAH, is the national sales and marketing manager at Kirby HVAC&R.
He’s also co-chair of AIRAH’s Refrigeration Special Technical Group (STG) and has been heavily involved in developing and advancing AIRAH’s position statement on HVAC&R licensing in Australia. Hedge provided his thoughts on the industry and the importance of change and innovation in our 100 Faces Q&A below. |
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What brought you to the HVAC&R industry? I was lucky enough to get an apprenticeship starting in 1996 with Kirby Refrigeration. It was one of many apprenticeships that I applied for as a school leaver. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do; I just wanted a trade. In some respects, you could say the trade picked me rather than me picking the trade. Since that fateful day all those years ago I have been lucky to work in many roles with many great people and leaders. What started as one of many applications to a job ad that I knew nothing about ended up being a great career choice. How long have you been a member of AIRAH? I have been a member on and off since I was a student. What's your favourite HVAC&R-related memory? Having the opportunity to help my dad fix his coolroom and freezer room systems at his butcher shop in my early years as an apprentice. Being part of a family that owned a small business, I always understood how tough things could be, and being able to assist my parents through a tough period by putting my skills (and connections) to use was rewarding and humbling. |
What's something everyone should know about you, your work, or the HVAC&R industry? The thing that people should know about me is that I am committed to making change. Being better at what I do and what we can do is what drives me every day. The most pleasing thing about my career has been the involvement I have had in accelerating the use of CO2 technologies and making them scalable, efficient, and reliable in Australia. That legacy serves as a real opportunity to shape the future of our industry and the deployment of technologies that reduce the footprint of the HVAC&R systems that we use in the future. That is where I continue to focus my energy outside of the day-to-day. As a vegetarian and the son of a butcher, I think it is fair to say that I was never going to be your conventional fridgie! How do you see the HVAC&R industry developing over the next 100 years? Given the impact on the environment and the demand associated with cooling and heating, the footprint of HVAC&R will become a significant focal point over the next 100 years. I can only hope that this increases awareness and highlights the importance of the industry and need for investment. I am hoping that the recent investment in technological innovation from Richard Branson and the Global Cooling Prize is just the start of things to come. |