Latest / The Refrigeration Mentor Podcast / Episode 374. Growing the Refrigeration Industry Globally with World Refrigeration Day Founder, Steve Gill

Transcript

Episode 374. Growing the Refrigeration Industry Globally with World Refrigeration Day Founder, Steve Gill · The Refrigeration Mentor Podcast

• 0:00
  Trevor: Welcome everyone to the 2026 a HR Expo. We're super pumped up that you're here. I'm hanging out here with my good friend Steve Gill. We've met years and years ago. Back up. I think the first time we met was in Germany at a event called Chta where we did our first recording. But now we're here today, 2026 HR and you're doing a lot of things.
• 0:01
  Trevor: Welcome everyone to the 2026 a HR Expo. We're super pumped up that you're here. I'm hanging out here with my good friend Steve Gill. We've met years and years ago. Back up. I think the first time we met was in Germany at a event called Chta where we did our first recording. But now we're here today, 2026 HR and you're doing a lot of things.
• 0:02
  We're talking about diversity and refrigeration, how inclusion, we're talking about how we get more people into industry. Steve's outta the uk. He travels people all around Europe, Africa, and you talk with people everywhere around the world. Why don't we give a little bit of a background of what you've done in what you're doing in the refrigeration industry right now?
• 0:03
  Steve: So I've been in many plant rooms late at night pointing in, in, communicating hot and cold in all sorts of different
• 0:04
  Yeah. Engineering was well down on this, so we, it was a careers fair, so we had I think six or seven speakers and they, we all had three slides. And I, I went up with my first slide and I decided not to put up a picture of a plant room or anything else. I just put slots of where I traveled in the world and I said rather than say what I did, I said, what, what do you think I do?
• 0:05
  Steve: love that. I, I think sometimes we, we, we play ourselves down.
• 0:06
  Trevor: Yeah. No, I love it. I've, I've trained thousands of people all around the world and technicians, designers, engineers. And one of the best parts is, is getting to connect with them to find out why they, why they electoral it.
• 0:07
  So I just assumed that you put a post out on social media. So I think I posted in like 2004 today as well. Refrigeration day.
• 0:08
  Steve: And what they did, and so we, we went through about five years of them all saying it's a good idea. Why don't we have this day or that day? So the Australians wanted they've got a pioneer of a refrigerator called Harrison, James Harrison.
• 0:09
  And it has evolved. I've been involved try to be involved every year with it. This is something that is important to me, important to industry. We should be important 'cause we should celebrate what we do. Like
• 0:10
  I talk about this when I'm doing sessions, traveling around the world, talking to people. So we we're helping save people's lives, we're bringing food, putting fresh food from the opposite side of the world. We're, we're helping secure medicines, our cell phones, they wouldn't be working if we didn't have data centers to really.
• 0:11
  Trevor: Yeah. And that's what I do in a lot of my trainings when I'm talking to technicians, because a lot of times it, it can be, especially where I, like, I focus on the supermarket side of it. It can be a, a thankless job, it feels like, you're going out, and I've talked to technician before where they're, they're, they're trying to save a million dollars worth of product or a hundred thousand dollars worth of product where it doesn't really seem that important to the end user or somebody else that's there, or the manager, where. They're trying their best of there, but at the end of the day, it's doing it. I say, do do it for you. Yeah. You know what I mean? Do it for you. And then every time they solve a harder problem, you can just see the sparkle and they're like, man, I'm getting better at this. I'm getting better. I'm growing.
• 0:12
  No, and I totally agree with that. So we we're coming into 2020 World Refrigeration, day 2026, and, over the years, the last few years you had themes, different themes coming out. There was the, the cool, cool shift was one was cool, shift was one of them.
• 0:13
  And then it just. You watch it ripple across the world. There's a different, last year there was something like 17,000 events around the world, 163 countries at least. And you just watch these events and Yeah, it takes I think about 36 hours. Somebody, correct me if I'm wrong, for the sun to go from New Zealand to across the Miami or wherever.
• 0:14
  Steve: So I mean, the, the very first event in New Zealand in 2009, they, they had just had some students in and were talking to students about the future and just that one event just made me so proud that it was happening because I'd come up with the idea, but then, yeah, it just floated on around the world differently and it's free, so everybody can do whatever they like.
• 0:15
  can make.
• 0:16
  The one was ice cream, one was cooling fish, one, one was their dad's beer, which I thought was quite amazing. Yeah. Yeah. The refrigeration keeps my dad's beer. Cool. I, yeah. Okay. That's. It's this, these drip feeding of awareness over time that just opens the door to other people seeing that we are a very diverse industry.
• 0:17
  Steve: Yeah. But I mean, the other thing, just contact your local radio station. It's, it's quite, they, they always have the, well, usually in the, in the UK they have this like little slot at the end and, they're fun. The fun slot. Yeah. They like, and today is world pizza. And I'm gonna speak to Joe who's made a pizza, but yeah, world Refrige. Last year we had World Refrigeration Day featured in, in the UK and 60 radio stations. Wow. Just Oh, wow. Just a 30 minute, a 32nd slot. Somebody say, oh yeah, I've, I've, I like
• 0:18
  Trevor: So the next step? So you, you said there's lots of stuff, great things coming up for this year. Oh, okay. And what are you excited about about it? Because this is something that you haven't talked to anyone about before, but you're gonna launch it here today to talk about it.
• 0:19
  The cool intelligence. It's, it's the. It is, it's really help that helps the world go around without, without the intelligence. If you, if you think of what, what the opposite of intelligence is, it's ignorance or unintelligent. What we are engaged in is, is is some very smart work. The intelligence is, is not an, not a algorithm or anything like that.
• 0:20
  It just. Keep sucking them back in because they're having fun. Some people say, ah, it's not many people that are in refrigerated that I like is just a job anymore. After they put put a lot of time in, it's 'cause they like doing it. You wouldn't be here today if you didn't like doing it.
• 0:21
  I've only been here for, heard about it for about 30 seconds, which is good. So for those of you that are sponsored in Rural Refrigeration Day, or if you're involved with Rural Refrigeration Day, where would they reach out to rural? Where would they reach out to? To look at World Refrigeration Day? So we get that in right now, like,
• 0:22
  Steve: that's what, that's where you find everything? We don't, we don't track the events anymore. There's
• 0:23
  Trevor: So how can, the big thing is, is how can people help? 'cause I know there's a lot of main, like when I first heard about a 2019, I was working out a manufacturer and the manufacturers wanted to get involved and this is something that a lot of them are involved with now. How can people like help out, like either by doing the sponsorship route or what's the best bet because it's getting so big now, but it takes a lot of work to do this and it, it costs a lot of money too to do some of this stuff. But how can, how can you get some support or what would you like to get some support from? Like maybe some sponsors or something? How, how to help with World Refrigeration Day?
• 0:24
  How do we help more people recognize we are an industry, like from all, there's hundreds and hundreds of trades out there. There's a hundred and, and we're up against the Googles and Amazons and the Facebooks and jobs and stuff. You know what I mean? All these fancy stuff. And ours is not always fancy and always, but at the end of the day, we can travel the world.
• 0:25
  But you gotta know how to use it as well. I, I, I am in trainings and I, I get them to look up answers and, and it comes out, I'm like, is this the right answer or not? Oh, it looks right. Well, how do you know? Then you gotta go into the sources and then you gotta go to the manufacturers, or you gotta go to credible data.
• 0:26
  You know what I mean? Yeah, that's what I enjoy is having a conversation with someone who is really passionate like yourself. You're passionate about it. You wouldn't, you, wouldn't be doing it. But one of the things is I continue to see you do more like, like you're, you're gonna be your, the elect president for the IOR, is that
• 0:27
  Steve: But, but you've, you've made a name for yourself. Everybody. I, I can name all the past presidents second time around. I haven't got to re, I haven't got to, my story's already written so I can really focus on helping other people. It's all about everybody else. This time it's about moving the institute forward.
• 0:28
  And all the other accomplishments is just seeing those, those technicians be like, I'm better today than I was yesterday because of that training. You know what I mean? And that's what, that's what fires me up. That's why I keep doing it. And I'm excited about what, what lies ahead for refrigeration.
• 0:29
  There's something probably going on with this and the, the, the newer technician was like, that is just so amazing. Like, how do you do it? Yeah. It was just like spending time in it, doing the reps just like training, like people come in and training. I'm like, this is just doing the reps put like going to the gym.
• 0:30
  Steve: Find out what's going on. Yeah. Have a look around. Yeah. There's always, there's always so much to see. I mean, yeah. Yeah. I, I, I try not to plan it.
• 0:31
  Steve: that. I haven't put this year's theme up, but you can see all the stuff from last year, so
• 0:32
  We all come with us from sort of baggage of some sort, yeah. We are not quite good enough. We're not, but as soon as you, you get the conference to actually and learn, don't, don't underestimate learning and, and find a, a mentor and a sponsor. So people who will bring you along.
• 0:33
  Trevor: I think that that's a huge thing too, is like. When I talk to technician, coming into my training programs, like I, I'll ask them, what are some of your goals?
• 0:34
  So it was to help. Raise awareness that women are working the trades. And so what we do, we have them record a, a 10 minute video explaining what they're doing and we working on the tools. And I was speaking to one of 'em afterwards, I said, what is your, like, what is your perfect day? And she said, oh, that bra, when I was doing it and the soul went, that was like heaven for her.
• 0:35
  Steve: And it's not just technicians. I, I've, most of my career, I've been on the design side, but in my later career, I, I designed big process plants, coal stores, huge, huge systems.