The ACRA, established in 1961, has witnessed this period and the decades of development in the local air-conditioning industry since then. In the years since the Association was conceived, Hong Kong’s air-conditioning industry has rapidly developed, in step with the rising local economy. As the scale of buildings continued to increase, so too did the complexity of the air-conditioning engineering works required for landmark projects.

The ACRA was founded by four industry-leading companies: Jardine Engineering, American Engineering, International and Gilman. The Association arranged its first annual dinner in the Country Club. Although there were only four companies as members, there were approximately 200 people in attendance. Apart from representatives from the four companies, many architects were invited as guests.

The Association was initially formed to stop the period’s unhealthy competition in the market. At that time, competition in the window unit air-conditioning and refrigerator markets was strong. All companies provided installation to attract more customers and some event provided payment plans as lengthy as 36 months. In order to stop this practice, the ACRA was set up and the four member companies agreed to limit their payment plans to less than 24 months.

The committee roles initially changed yearly but later covered two-year terms. At the beginning, members of the four companies alternated roles as President, Vice-President, Secretary and financial Secretary. Fellow Members, Corporate Members and Associate Members were later set up in the Association when the number of members increased.

In the 1970’s, the monthly meeting were held in the American Club and simple marketing statistics were calculated during the meetings. Every company reported the number of air-condition and refrigerator units sold while the waiters assisted to mark up the results and add up the total. As a result, members could gain a clearer picture of the state of the market. At that time, the market was monopolised by the four largest companies. The most popular brands of units at the time were York, Philco and Carrier.