First look at Coleman's new line

Representatives of seven North American Coleman HVAC dealerships saw the first Echelon Series central air-conditioning units roll off the assembly line at the revamped York Unitary Products Group manufacturing plant in Wichita, Kan.

The visit included a thorough introduction to the new Echelon product line, and a first-hand inspection of the manufacturing process.

"It's always an honor to host customers in our facility," said Cos Caronna, a senior director in the company's residential design engineering and product management division. "But it was particularly exciting to have these loyal Coleman dealers actually see the very first Echelon units produced."

The dealers heard presentations on the design and development process, engineering, manufacturing and marketing support for the new residential HVAC products. Dealers also inspected the Coleman Mobile Unit, a traveling showroom currently on a national tour of distributor locations and special events.

York Unitary Products Group is equipping its 1.5 million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Wichita to produce the new product line. The company invested nearly $20 million in new tooling, created 12 assembly lines to accommodate the new line, constructed a sound lab and designed the manufacturing facility with the capacity to meet future demand.

The line includes central air conditioners, heat pumps and furnaces.