Smardt Oil-Free Centrifugal Chillers

Smardt Chiller Group was founded in 2005 in Montreal, building on oil-free compressor work that began in Melbourne in 1993, and has focused only on oil-free chillers for more than 25 years. It has been fully owned by Chinese HVAC group TICA since 2022, manufactures in Plattsburgh, Guangzhou and Nanjing, and reports more than 10,000 chillers in operation.

The chillers use magnetic bearing centrifugal compressors that need no lubrication, which removes oil management and the efficiency loss from oil fouling heat exchangers. The range includes air-cooled AeroPure and AD/AE series from 105 kW, water-cooled Core and Ultra series up to about 12,660 kW, and evaporatively cooled E-Class units, plus the Smardt AIR air handler and CPECS plant optimisation. Typical buyers are data centres, commercial buildings, hospitals, campuses and industrial plants.

• Oil-free compressors: magnetic bearing centrifugal compressors that need no lubrication.
• Air-cooled range: AeroPure and AD/AE series from 30 to 520 tons.
• Water-cooled range: Core and Ultra series up to 3,600 tons.
• Evaporative cooling: E-Class chillers from 45 to 530 tons.
• Plant optimisation: CPECS controls for chiller plant efficiency.
• Certified performance: ETL-listed units with AHRI-certified ratings.

Data centre developers in Vietnam could specify oil-free chillers for new halls. Office towers, malls and hotels could replace aging screw chillers to cut cooling energy. Electronics and pharmaceutical factories could upgrade process cooling plants that run around the clock.

Smardt states that its oil-free chillers are 20% to 50% more energy efficient than oil-lubricated chillers. Removing the lubrication system cuts maintenance costs by 50% or more, according to the company. A wide range from about 30 to 3,600 tons lets one supplier cover small buildings to large central plants, with sales and service offices in Singapore and Malaysia.

Cooling is the largest electricity load in tropical buildings and data centres, and rising power prices plus green building codes push owners toward high-efficiency and oil-free chillers. Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, is adding data centre and commercial floor space quickly, and Vietnam's energy efficiency rules for large energy users encourage chiller plant upgrades.

Smardt was founded in 2005 in Montreal by Roger Richmond-Smith. Chinese HVAC company TICA formed a joint venture with Smardt in 2018 and took full ownership in 2022. It opened a sales and service facility in Singapore in 2010 and lists offices in Canada, the USA, Germany, France, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, China and Hong Kong. Sandeep Nair was named CEO in July 2026.