The Gree Group based in China, the world’s largest manufacturer of residential air conditioning solutions according to the Nikkei newspaper in 2018, and one of the largest manufacturers of commercial air conditioners. In 1991, Gree Electric Appliances Inc. set out to make the world a cooler place. To this end, they have become a global leader in air conditioners, developing some of the most advanced commercial and residential air conditioners in the world. As one of the largest air conditioning manufacturers’, Gree Electric Appliances Inc. specialises in integrating end-to-end solutions through manufacturing research and development (R&D), manufacturing, sales, and service globally.

In 2016 Gree invested in a tube cutting machine from the MicroStep Group which has been in operation for their production process since then.

Gree are one of the worlds’ largest manufacturers of electrical appliances for good reason. The Gree Groups’ product portfolio ranges from residential air conditioning and central air conditioning systems, and extends to air sourced water heaters, smartphones, home appliances and refrigerators. Their portfolio offerings are for small and larger homes and many large-scale international projects such as the National Stadium of South Africa that was built for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

Refer to their website at www.gree.com.

When it comes to air conditioning, Gree Electric Appliances Inc., rely on machinery from MicroStep in their production set up.

The Head Quarters of Gree are located in the vibrant city of Zhuhai, where the company develops and manufactures air conditioning units with a turnover of more than 13 billion euros per year. Air conditioning solutions from Gree find their applications in many housing and industrial facilities worldwide, from single family homes up to large prestigious projects such as at the site of the final match of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, the National Stadium in South Africa (Soccer City) in Johannesburg. Projects like these require a high degree of precision when manufacturing components. Large construction projects require pipes with extreme lengths to be cut with utmost accuracy.

In 2016, Gree searched extensively for a cutting solution that would suit their needs. During their exploration, the company focused on a CNC system for long pipes that would offer the possibility of cutting holes with weld edge preparation. Within the same year, the decision was made to purchase a PipeCut machine from MicroStep, configured for cutting pipes with the maximum length of 12 meters and a maximum diameter of 610 mm. The machine is equipped with MicroStep’s industry-proven plasma rotator that enables easy and precise bevel cutting of pipes up to 45° for weld egde preparation. Furthermore, in accordance with Gree’s requirement for a combined machine that could process pipes as well as dished ends, the design of the machine for the air conditioning expert has been tailored to include a 1,400 x 1,400 mm large cutting table for 3D processing of dished ends.

The profile of the Microstep machine procured:

• PipeCut series
• Cutting of pipes Ø 48 – 610 mm and hollow sections up to a length of 6,000 mm
• Cutting of domes up to Ø 1,200 mm and a height of 350 mm
• Plasma rotator for weld preparation up to 45° with auto- calibration feature (ACTG®)