The North American Sustainable Refrigeration Council (NASRC) has launched the R-TRADE Supporters program, which enables organizations to contribute funding directly to the training initiative without becoming a member of the NASRC.
The NASRC launched the R-TRADE (refrigeration technician recruitment, advancement, development and education) training program last fall with seed funding from five major stakeholders in the U.S. grocery retail sector: Albertsons, Amazon, Costco, Kroger and Walmart. The nonprofit organization’s membership network includes over 180 retail industry stakeholders.
“[Our] members are excited about the opportunity to help grow and support technician training,” Danielle Wright, Executive Director of the NASRC, told NaturalRefrigerants.com. “The R-TRADE supporter program recognizes our industry’s commitment to investing in technicians.”
In its announcement, NASRC clarified that being an R-TRADE supporter is distinct from being a member of the nonprofit, though it welcomes new organizations to join its membership.
Generating momentum: The concept for the R-Trade Supporters program developed as additional NASRC retail members approached the group’s leadership with interest in expanding training efforts, Wright said.
- “In the last year, we have provided over 25,000 hours of training to more than 2,200 technicians, which is double the number from the previous year,” Wright said. “At this rate, we are well on our way to reaching our goal of training 15,000 technicians by 2027.”
Potential perks: Based on the size of the donation, R-Trade Supporters’ benefits include a display logo, sponsoring or exhibiting at training summits, on-site technical training and more.
- Donations start at $5,000 (€4,300), with the $100,000 (€85,800) tier including media coverage, sponsorship of every natural refrigerant training summit and one seat on the R-TRADE advisory committee, if there is an opening in its 15-member body.
Just one facet: Training is only one part of R-TRADE’s three-prong approach, which also includes recruitment and retention.
- Wright said that recruitment presents the most challenging aspect of workforce development. However, the group is focused on strengthening existing programs and resources, including train-the-trainer programs for trade schools to include a refrigeration curriculum.
- “All stakeholders can play a part in establishing best practices for work–life balance to support technician retention,” Wright said, adding that the NASRC is positioned to bring the industry together to help make it happen.
Rising demand: According to ATMOsphere’s 2024 Natural Refrigerants: State of the Industry report, both the number of transcritical CO2 (R744) retail stores and the use of self-contained hydrocarbon cabinets are on the rise in North America. ATMOsphere is the publisher of NaturalRefrigerants.com.
- An estimated 4,100 food retail stores in the U.S. and Canada used transcritical CO2 refrigeration systems in 2024, representing a 40% increase from 2023.
- In addition, a 2024 NASRC survey of 14 major U.S. food retailers – representing more than 28,000 store locations – projects the number of stores using transcritical CO2 refrigeration to grow by 176% from 2024 to 2028.
- According to the NASRC, in 2024 there was a starting total of 1,067 stores among the 14 food retailer companies with transcritical CO2 systems, with another 185 new stores expected to be added.
- ATMOsphere estimated that 4.6 million self-contained hydrocarbon cases ‒ mostly propane (R290) ‒ had been installed in North American food stores as of December 2024, based on data collected from OEMs.
“The R-TRADE supporter program recognizes our industry’s commitment to investing in technicians.”
Danielle Wright, Executive Director of the NASRC
