In a recent speech delivered at the CDA's annual meeting, Heatcraft Inc. President and COO Horace E. French noted that air conditioning and refrigeration now comprise America's third-largest market of copper, and that the industry can expect sustained growth. The market is being driven by external factors such as environmental concerns, regulatory issues, societal demands for comfort and global competition for labor. Until the early 1990s, architectural uses for copper in the U.S. and elsewhere were generally limited to roofing, gutters and downspouts. Daniel Sternthal, manager of architectural programs at CDA, maintains that a major paradigm shift has overturned that tradition completely. That's an important plus for copper because it suddenly expanded our market.
Buildings have only one roof, but they have many walls.
The second important development was the introduction of new technology. The surfaces can be of copper, bronze or brass, and they can be pre-patinated. That opens a lot of possibilities to a creative architect. The market is responding. Global outlook promising In the developing world, copper continues to face challenges from building materials such as iron water pipe and aluminum house wire that are no longer often seen in Europe and North America.