When the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad return to Athens in August, Carrier Corporation, a division of United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX) will be there as well, providing equipment to cool nearly half of the building projects for the Games and keeping athletes, officials and spectators comfortable.
In all, Carrier Greece has supplied a total of 635 chillers ranging from the smallest Aquasnap models to large centrifugal machines. In addition more than 3,600 fan coil units, 22 50 series package units, nearly 1150 simple split systems and 47 ducted units are equipping projects integral to the Games. "From Day One, we worked closely with consultants to develop the most energy-efficient solutions for each application," said Stavros Tsavalos, managing director of Carrier Greece. "Carrier was the only manufacturer to have a full product range operating with non-ozone depleting refrigerants from the largest centrifugal machine to the smallest split system."
In addition to the product sales, Carrier Service will control all the equipment from its remote central monitoring center southwest of Athens. A quick response team comprising 100 service technicians has been formed to be on hand round-the-clock and to act immediately in the event any service issues arise before and during the Olympic Games, as well as for the Paralympics which follow.
"Our service capability was an important factor in winning such a high proportion of these contracts. A full three-year warranty is part of all the contracts, with rapid response in the event of any malfunction during the Games," Tsavalos pointed out. The first air conditioning plant order awarded for this year's Olympic games was for three chillers with a total cooling capacity of 3728 Kw (1060 TR). It serves the Athens 2004 headquarters complex, home to the Athens Olympic Organizing Committee (AOOC). The new headquarters, in the suburb of Nea Ionia close to the main Olympic Stadium, is a cluster of three single- story and three 4-story buildings, with a total floor area of nearly 30,000 sq. m. (35,900 sq. ft.).
Since that first project, Carrier Greece has continued to win orders for many more projects related to the Olympic Games. The Olympic Village, at the foot of Mount Parnitha near the center of Athens, will be home to 16,000 athletes and team officials and will consist of 366 apartment blocks with 2,292 apartments in total for the athletes. In addition there are public utility facilities, recreational centers, halls, religious centers, a clinic, training facilities, etc. The construction of this zone was divided into four sections and Carrier has supplied 555 30RA Aquasnap Junior chillers and nearly 2800 fan coils for one section, with the remainder awarded to local manufacturers.
A further three chillers have been installed in the Village's clinic, and six more in the Medical Center. Close by are some ancillary buildings that will become schools, the National Geological Institute and administration building, where twelve chillers and 760 hydronic terminals are installed.
When the Games open, the eyes of the world will be focused on the Olympic Stadium at Marousi, a northern suburb of Athens. Carrier has supplied five heat pump machines with a capacity of 2350kW (668 TR) to keep 75,000 spectators cool at the height of a Greek summer where temperatures can reach 40 degrees C (104 F).
Twenty-one Global chillers, with a total cooling capacity of 23,451Kw (6667 TR), serve the International Broadcast Center. Situated adjacent to the Sports Complex, the 69,975 sq. m. (753,200 sq. ft.) development will be the world's largest Broadcast Center. For six weeks, from July 13 to October 3, 2004, this global village will have a population of some 10,000 people, not including broadcasters at work at individual venues. It will operate around the clock. Support facilities such as banking, newsstands, medical services and others will also be housed in this complex. Carrier's Global chillers' compact dimensions and lighter weight made the units more attractive than competitive product offerings by allowing the customer to realize considerable savings in costly roofing reinforcement.
"The technological excellence of all our products was a major factor to our success in winning such a large proportion of the projects related to the Olympic Games," added Tsavalos. "But the breadth of the Carrier range, a reputation for reliability and the ability to guarantee on time delivery from several Carrier manufacturing sources around the world, strengthened our position."
Add to the already impressive list of venues to be cooled and serviced by Carrier, the Olympic Hall at Galatsi, which will host the table tennis and the rhythmic gymnastic events. The 31,988 sq. m. (344,320 sq. ft.) building is where 6,000 spectators and athletes alike will be kept comfortable by three centrifugal machines.
On the island of Crete, south of Greece, the Pankritio Stadium at Heraklion, with a capacity of 27,000, will host the “football” (or soccer) events. It will also include facilities for track and field events like shot put and hammer throw, and will be served by a Carrier Global chiller.
Human athletes are not the only ones to benefit from Carrier's comfort cooling. Close to the new Athens airport, four chillers serve the Olympic Equestrian Center in Markopoulo, which covers an area of about 20,992 sq. m. (225,960 sq. ft.) This complex includes business facilities, permanent and temporary stands, as well as playing and training fields, and a new grand stable for 300 horses.
Not too far away, a further three Global chillers serve the new shooting center, and the tennis court, very close to the main Olympic Stadium has two water-cooled screw chillers.
Other sites to join the Carrier list are the Canoe and Kayak slalom facilities, the St. Andrew Press Village near the start of the Marathon, 41 sports centers close to the Olympic Stadium, which have been refurbished to serve as training centers for the athletes, the Panthessalikon Stadium at Volos where the preliminary soccer games are to be played, the Olympic Committee's hotel in the Central Olympic Stadium area and last, but by no means least, the Press Village in the Zografou area, which will become a student campus of the National Technical University of Athens after the Games.
In addition to those new facilities, it is not surprising that almost all of the recently completed projects in Athens are connected in some way to the Games. The new tramlink, for example, which connects the center of Athens to the bay area and southern suburbs, has its offices and terminus cooled by Carrier, as does the new National Television Center.
Sports fans will flock to the city, and Carrier has sold 19 chillers of various types and capacities for installation in both new and refurbished hotels. The biggest hospital in Athens, Evangelismos, has also been refurbished in time for the Games and is cooled by Carrier. In addition to cooling the visitors inside the venues, Carrier will also provide comfort as they travel to the events. Carrier Sutrak, the world leader in bus air conditioning, is the sole supplier of air conditioning units for the 150 buses that will transport athletes and spectators on the Olympic sites.
Carrier Corporation, headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut , is the world’s largest provider of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration solutions with operations in 172 countries. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., a diversified company that provides a broad range of high technology products and services to commercial building systems and aerospace industries worldwide.

[From www.photos.com we might be able to download some stock imagery for this showcase.]

The XXVIII Olympic
Games keep cool with Carrier air conditioning