About KKA - Kälte Klima Aktuell

KKA - Kälte Klima Aktuell

KKA, Kälte Klima Aktuell, is the German trade magazine for refrigeration and air-conditioning technology, published six times a year in Gütersloh by the Bauverlag BV GmbH. First issued in 1981, it is the official organ of several professional guilds in the refrigeration and climate technology sector and addresses refrigeration and air-conditioning installers, equipment manufacturers, commercial and industrial users, and SHK businesses with practice-oriented specialist journalism. With its combination of technical features, product coverage, trade-fair reporting and association news, KKA is one of the central professional information sources for decision-makers in the German refrigeration industry. Together with NürnbergMesse, the magazine presents the Chillventa Award for exemplary collaboration on refrigeration projects, and its online platform kka-online.info extends the print offering with news, a newsletter and an issue archive.

Overview

KKA, Kälte Klima Aktuell, describes itself as the specialist magazine and professional journal for refrigeration and climate technology. Its target readers are the decision-makers of the refrigeration market: executing refrigeration and air-conditioning installers, manufacturers of refrigeration and air-conditioning systems, users in commercial, industrial and business enterprises, and SHK businesses working in sanitary, heating and climate technology. The editorial concept is practice-oriented, with carefully researched specialist contributions from competent authors on the technology areas that define the trade.

The magazine appears six times a year, plus a special issue on large-scale refrigeration ("Großkälte"), in German. Its print ISSN is 0722-4605, and its IVW-audited distributed circulation is 4,000 copies. KKA is the official organ of the ÜWG Überwachungsgemeinschaft Kälte- und Klimatechnik e.V., the Kälte- und Klimatechnik-Innung Nordrhein, the Fachinnung für Kälte- und Klimatechnik for the Arnsberg administrative district, the Innung für Kälte- und Klimatechnik Bremen-Oldenburg and the Innung für Kälte- und Klimatechnik Berlin-Brandenburg, giving it a firmly anchored position in the organised craft. The editor-in-chief is Dr.-Ing. Matthias Schmitt, and the editorial office is based in Gütersloh at the Bauverlag's address, Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 62.

The brand extends beyond print through kka-online.info, the magazine's website, which carries news, product information, event dates and an archive of issues, and through a free monthly newsletter delivering industry news from the refrigeration, climate and heat-pump sectors. Together with NürnbergMesse, KKA presents the Chillventa Award, honouring exemplary collaboration, beyond technical standards, on a project convincing in functionality, energy consumption and technical innovation.

History

KKA, Kälte Klima Aktuell, was first published in 1981, at a time when refrigeration technology was becoming an independent craft discipline in Germany and the trade needed its own professional medium. The magazine was established to serve the refrigeration and air-conditioning installers, the manufacturers and the growing community of commercial users, and it quickly became the official organ of the sector's guilds and monitoring associations. The Bauverlag BV GmbH of Gütersloh, a publishing house specialised in construction and building-services media, has published the title throughout its history.

The 1980s and 1990s saw the magazine accompany the professionalisation of the refrigeration craft: the development of training regulations, the establishment of the master craftsman qualification in refrigeration system construction, and the growing environmental regulation of refrigerants. The phase-out of CFCs under the Montreal Protocol and its European implementation was one of the defining technical and political stories of these decades, and KKA documented the industry's transition to alternative refrigerants in detail.

The 2000s brought the F-gas regulation and the increasing focus on energy efficiency, as refrigeration and air conditioning became significant factors in the energy consumption of commercial buildings. KKA covered the rise of natural refrigerants such as CO2, ammonia and propane, the development of heat-pump technology, and the digitalisation of system control and monitoring. The magazine celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2012, with industry partners acknowledging three decades of well-founded specialist information. The Chillventa trade fair in Nuremberg, the world's leading exhibition for refrigeration technology, became the industry's central meeting point, and KKA's partnership with NürnbergMesse on the Chillventa Award deepened the magazine's integration into the industry's institutional fabric.

In recent years the magazine has covered the implementation of the revised EU F-gas regulation, the boom in heat-pump installations driven by the energy transition, and the skilled-labour shortage affecting the craft. The online platform kka-online.info, launched with the May 2008 issue, has grown into a comprehensive digital companion to the print magazine, and the monthly newsletter keeps the industry informed between issues. After more than four decades, KKA remains the reference publication for the German-speaking refrigeration and climate technology trade.

Content and Sections

The content of KKA is organised around the technology areas of refrigeration and climate engineering. Climate technology coverage addresses air-conditioning systems for commercial and residential buildings, ventilation technology and the planning of RLT systems, with attention to European regulations and energy-efficiency requirements. Commercial and industrial refrigeration articles deal with refrigerated display cases and cold rooms, large-scale refrigeration plants, refrigerated transport and mobile refrigeration systems, covering both the technology and its applications in food retail, logistics and industry.

Heat pumps have become one of the magazine's most important topics, reflecting the technology's central role in the energy transition. Articles cover heat-pump system design, installation practice, refrigerant choice and the integration of heat pumps into existing buildings. Control, electrical and insulation technology features address the components and systems that determine the efficiency and reliability of refrigeration plants, while the refrigerant debate, from natural refrigerants to the regulatory framework of the F-gas regulation, runs through the magazine as a continuous theme.

Beyond technology, KKA publishes business management and tax-law features addressing the everyday problems of craft businesses, from calculation and personnel management to succession planning. Current news, product presentations, specials, application reports, trade-fair coverage, market developments, training reports and association information round out the editorial programme. The Chillventa Award coverage, the "Schnappschuss" reader photo feature honouring curious refrigeration installations, and the event calendar for the industry's training institutions add distinctive elements to the magazine's identity.

Publisher and Organization

KKA, Kälte Klima Aktuell, is published by the Bauverlag BV GmbH, based at Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 62, 33330 Gütersloh. The publishing house is a specialist in construction and building-services media, and its managing director is Michael Voss. The editor-in-chief of KKA is Dr.-Ing. Matthias Schmitt, supported by editors including Nicklas Paschedag and Maik Sommer, with Markus Münzfeld heading the TGA editorial departments.

The magazine appears six times a year plus the "Großkälte" special issue, in German, with the print ISSN 0722-4605 and an IVW-audited distributed circulation of 4,000 copies. It is the official organ of the ÜWG Überwachungsgemeinschaft Kälte- und Klimatechnik e.V. and four regional guilds for refrigeration and climate technology. Advertising sales are handled by Christian Berger. The magazine's media data and subscription information are published through the Bauverlag and the schweitzer-online journal service.

Digital Presence

The digital home of KKA is kka-online.info, the magazine's website, which presents current issues, news articles, product information and event dates for the refrigeration and climate technology industry. The site carries an archive of past issues, with recent editions available online shortly after publication, and it hosts the magazine's distinctive online features, from the reader photo competition to training event calendars. A free monthly newsletter delivers industry news from the refrigeration, climate and heat-pump sectors to subscribers' inboxes, with links to apps, white papers, videos and event dates.

The magazine is also present on the professional networks where the building-services industry communicates. For advertisers from the refrigeration industry, from component manufacturers to system builders and refrigerant suppliers, the combination of the print magazine, the website and the newsletter offers a targeted platform reaching the installers, planners and operators who specify and purchase refrigeration technology. The Chillventa Award, presented jointly with NürnbergMesse, gives the brand additional visibility at the industry's leading international trade fair, reinforcing KKA's position at the centre of the German-speaking refrigeration community.