Johnson Controls-Hitachi has announced the addition of five regional companies to its roster of North American distributors for the Hitachi Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) systems and SmartFlexTM Mini-Split systems. The new distributors strengthen the North American distribution footprint for these popular Johnson Controls-Hitachi products.

The new distributors include the following:

Johnstone Supply of Waltham, Massachusetts, serving Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Engineered Building Systems of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, serving the Philadelphia area.

Carr Supply of Columbus, Ohio, serving Ohio and Northern Kentucky.

Epting Distributors of Lexington, South Carolina, serving South Carolina, North Carolina, and the Georgia cities of Augusta and Savannah.

HATCH Company of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, serving the province of Alberta.

"This expansion of our distributor network allows us to elevate our presence in North America while also providing new, local points of contact for engineers, mechanical contractors and building owners," said Dave Burggren, sales director, Johnson Controls-Hitachi North America. "These five companies, along with the rest of our distributor team, offer the HVAC expertise, experience and service that our customers value, and we look forward to a successful partnership with each."

Hitachi VRF systems offer a cost-effective and energy-efficient HVAC choice with multiple advantages, including the following:

• A modular design that enables systems to be customized to each project's exact requirements. Options include sustainable heat pump and heat recovery systems and a host of fan coil choices.
• Design freedom. Options include ducted systems with short or long runs as well as non-ducted systems that require much less plenum space (reducing construction costs and increasing alternatives).
• Energy savings, on average, up to 39% compared to conventional systems.
• Impressively quiet, personalized comfort delivered with precision to each zone.

SmartFlex Mini-Split systems are available when traditional HVAC systems are not the right fit, including the following:

• Light commercial applications where buildings have remote or separated offices, small stores or restaurants, as back-up cooling, in electrical or IT closets, and areas with stringent heating or cooling requirements.
• Residential applications such as apartments, condos and townhouses or in older homes where ducts are not available.
• Building additions where connecting ductwork isn't feasible or economical.