July 26, 2016 Mastering the Elements

Volume 8 | Issue 4

For 28 years, this pioneer in indoor dehumidification has been keeping indoor humid environments comfy by taking water out. Now, by combinin

Whether it’s a flood or just the insidious creeping sprawl of mold and mildew, water and humidity are some of the most damaging elements to man-made structures. At the same time, water is one of our most precious and sought-after resources. Dectron Internationale is doing its part to ward off water’s ill effects as well as tap into and create new water sources.

This corporation originates from a consortium of private companies in the indoor air quality industry and designs and manufactures indoor air treatment solutions to maximize human health, productivity, comfort and quality of life. Dectron Internationale manufactures a wide range of custom and semi-custom IAQ (indoor air quality) and HVAC (heating, ventilation & air conditioning) products and services for various commercial and industrial markets. Its products are engineered to perform in highly specialized and demanding applications where precise temperature control and energy recycling are crucial. Dectron Internationale has the ability to supply cool, dry air for comfort, as well as control the temperature and humidity of an indoor pool.

Museums, major hotel chains, ballparks, shopping malls, schools, supermarkets, major oil companies: Dectron Internationale has plenty of happy customers to sing its praises. The company has its systems in more YMCAs than any other company of its kind. Steve Wynn trusted Dectron with his new mega-hotel in Las Vegas, the Wynn Hotel, where there are four large Dectron systems in place for Wynn’s water show. The Bellagio’s now famous water show also sports Dectron components. Verizon, Bell Canada, Yankee Stadium, The Georgia O’Keefe Museum and more … the list of Dectron’s clientele seems almost endless.

High & Dry
Dectron Internationale’s subsidiaries include Dectron, Circul-Aire, Thermoplus Air, RefPlus, and International Water Makers. Dectron itself was actually founded in 1976 with the objective of preventing structural damage caused by high levels of humidity in indoor pools. Dectron became a pioneer in the indoor pool dehumidification market with the introduction of the DRY-O-TRON(r), a mechanical dehumidification system that uses a revolutionary energy saving feature that controls humidity levels while helping maintain comfortable temperature levels of a pool’s water as well as the air inside the building where it is housed.

In 1995, Ness Lakdawala, president and chief executive officer acquired Dectron to form the Dectron Group. The group included RefPlus, a manufacturer of refrigeration equipment supplying a range of industrial and commercial industries, and Thermoplus Air, a manufacturer of specialized air conditioning and heating solutions supplying commercial and industrial sectors.

In 1998, Dectron Internationale began trading on the NASDAQ. Soon after going public, Dectron Internationale acquired Circul-Aire, a supplier of air purification technologies to the oil, mining and paper industries, among others. Circul-Aire, Inc. also manufactures a line of precision air conditioning equipment, providing solutions for computer and control rooms for the telecommunications industry and similar applications calling for precise temperature control allied to superior air purification.

Most of Dectron Internationale’s products are destined for the U.S. (50 percent) while Canada and the Pacific Rim round out the rest of its customer base. The company has offices in Montreal, Toronto, Niagara Falls, New York and Atlanta, Ga. and employs about 400. Combined, its manufacturing spaces measure a generous 500,000 square feet.

Designer Air
Dectron introduced the revolutionary concept of “designer indoor air(r)” more than five years ago allowing for the engineering, specification, design and manufacturing of solutions to address multi-spectrum indoor air problems as a single source supplier and demand has been great ever since. Dectron’s Ecosaire(r) brand units are specialized and highly engineered fully packaged systems for commercial and industrial applications to meet or exceed standards for temperature, humidity and overall quality of indoor air. Its installations consist of one-ton ceiling mounted units to 500-ton industrial systems with ambient operating ranges of -40ºF to 110ºF.

“We’re seeing more and more companies trying to bring outside air in, but it’s not fresh air. What we’ve done is we’ve combined the technologies of several of our companies to create this concept. We are able to tailor the indoor air to the requirement of the client no matter what the outside conditions may be pollution, heat, or humidity. We can meet the most stringent of specifications,” says Harry Topikian, vice president of business development for Dectron Internationale.

Dectron Internationale was responsible for the system at the Governor’s Mansion in Texas, one of its most sophisticated and finest systems installed to date. The JFK Library in Boston is also another large project for Dectron. “We’re completing this project in phases. We’ve removed all the air conditioners and replaced them with our units. In the end, the change will not only provide better air quality within the library but help preserve the archives, and artifacts there,” says Topikian.

Water from Air
In 2002, Dectron Internationale acquired the intellectual assets of International Water Makers, a manufacturer of water generation equipment using a patented breakthrough process to generate water from air. “By combining the technologies of three Dectron Internationale companies, the water making capabilities of International Water Makers, the air purification of Circul-Aire and the dehumidification of DRY-O-TRON(r), we are able to clean the air and produce a clean air flow,” explains Topikian. The units are capable of producing 1,000 gallons of water a day in a humid environment. In fact, Dectron donated several of its units to Tsunami relief efforts to provide victims and rescue workers with much needed fresh water derived completely from the air stream.

Dectron Internationale, Inc. has also leveraged its water-making technology to produce a patented Moisture Recovery Unit(r) that supplies pure water, pre-programmed for automatic on-line gas turbine blade cleaning. The system, used by multi-national oil companies, has been designed to generate significant quantities of water from the ambient air surrounding an oil-rig platform. Once generated, the water is filtered through Dectron’s multi-stage purification and deionization process to render it safe for both turbine washes, and potable use accordingly.

Acquire & Prosper
Future plans for Dectron Internationale will see the company continuing to leverage its unique ability to provide indoor air quality solutions that combine state-of-the-art particulate filtration and chemically engineered gas-phase filtration media for toxic air removal, together with very specialized energy recycling, humidity and temperature control systems. The “designer indoor air(r)” concept will continue to ensure single-source responsibility.

“Our engineering applications and engineering design are very unique,” says Topikian. “Most of our competitors present themselves to a new client solely as a dehumidification company or a purification company. We have divisions that cover a wide spectrum of the market. We are also one of the only companies in our field that is vertically integrated. In addition to our own outer coating operations, we also manufacture our own coils and air-cooled condensers. Anything you find in a Dectron product has all Dectron components. This cuts back on our lead times and allows us to deliver a more flexible custom engineered product.”

For engineers, architects, general contractors and consumers alike the vertical integration, inventiveness and business savvy nature of Dectron Internationale guarantees the highest quality in design and fabrication of solutions to meet the most stringent requirements for safe and comfortable indoor air and the most innovative ways to create water.

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