World Refrigeration Day 2021: Rokas Virbalas
To continue our celebration of World Refrigeration Day 2021 and its theme of: ‘Cooling Champions: Cool Careers for a Better World’ – we speak to Rokas Virbalas, a Hoshizaki engineer, about his journey in cooling so far.
When did your career in cooling begin?
I am a relative newcomer to the Refrigeration Industry as I only joined Hoshizaki in March 2020.
What qualifications do you have within cooling? How did you get these?
I have an engineering degree which helps me complete my day-to-day engineering tasks and I am looking forward to furthering my skills with Hoshizaki.
Can you give us an overview of your cooling career?
My cooling career began in March 2020 when I joined Hoshizaki Europe as an Engineer after finishing my engineering bachelor’s degree. Prior to joining Hoshizaki my knowledge of cooling was not great but knowing basic engineering and physics principles helped to quickly get a detailed understanding of machines that I am working with daily. My current duties include; working on design changes requested by companies’ clients, overlooking production issues and testing ice machines.
Can you give us some top tips on how to pursue a career in cooling?
Get a good understanding of physics and engineering principles of refrigeration circuits. This will help to break down any systems as the methods of cooling remain pretty much the same over many cooling applications. Then you can get a more detailed understanding of the area that you are planning to work in. With this knowledge you can then decide which area of cooling you want to focus on and apply for it.
For students considering an engineering or technical career in the cooling industry, are there any further education or degree courses you would recommend?
From my personal experience, graduating with an engineering bachelor’s degree has been a great start in the cooling industry. My recommendation for students would be to first get into the industry, see what areas you like and what one wants to pursue. Then it will become really clear of what additional training you need to complete to progress within the department you are in. Certificates that allow a person to charge a machine with refrigerant and degas them are a bonus, but this kind of training is likely to be part of a company’s training scheme.
How has the industry changed since you began?
I have only been in the industry for just over a year but even in that time refrigeration regulations have changed.
How has Hoshizaki helped your career development?
Hoshizaki allow me to focus on areas of engineering that I enjoy, and everyone is willing to provide support when needed. Respect is embedded in the company’s culture regardless of an employees’ role in the business.
What changes do you expect to see in the cooling industry over the next 10 years and what career opportunities might this create?
I expect to see a move to more environmentally friendly refrigerants with a need of more recent technology integrated within cooling systems. This will mean that a wide range of machines/systems need to be redesigned or developed from scratch. So there are some exciting challenges ahead!