If your refrigeration system has a screw compressor, you already rely on SRM technology. Probably without knowing it. The brand does not appear on the nameplate of most machines, but the engineering spinning inside was born in an office in Stockholm more than a century ago. This is the story of Svenska Rotor Maskiner, and of why it is now arriving in Argentina.
1908: an expander that opened a path
The story begins in 1908, when SRM's founder invented the world's first twin-screw expander. The screw compressor as we know it did not exist yet, but the core idea was already on the table: two meshed helical rotors could move gas in a continuous, compact and reliable way.
1934: the screw compressor is born
Twenty-six years later, in 1934, SRM turned that idea into the world's first screw compressor. It was not an incremental improvement on an existing machine: it was a new architecture, one that would eventually displace other technologies in medium and large capacities thanks to its mechanical simplicity, reliability and efficiency.
1946: the technology becomes the world standard
SRM made a strategic decision that explains why its name is little known while its technology is everywhere: instead of mass manufacturing, it licensed its design to the world's leading manufacturers. Atlas Copco, Hitachi, Ingersoll Rand, Carrier, York, Trane and Kobelco, among others, were SRM licensees.
The result, in the company's own words: virtually all screw compressors in the world are based on SRM technology. Today there are more than 3 million units in operation, backed by more than 900 patents registered in more than 30 countries.
The rule of thumb: if your plant has a screw compressor, the geometry of its rotors almost certainly descends from an SRM patent.
1961 and 2000: a pioneer twice more
In 1961 SRM invented the bilateral asymmetric profile and developed the oil-injected refrigeration screw compressor, the configuration that dominates industrial refrigeration to this day. And in 2000 it pushed the frontier again: it developed the world's first oil-free refrigeration screw compressor.
The Snowman chapter: global industrial scale
In 2010, SRM began the joint development of a new generation of refrigeration compressors with Snowman Group, the Chinese industrial refrigeration equipment manufacturer listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (code 002639) since December 2011. That collaboration gave birth to the current line of fifth-generation "i" profile rotors with the patented 5:7 ratio.
The relationship kept deepening: in 2013 Snowman became the second-largest shareholder of OPCON AB, SRM's Swedish parent company, and in 2015 it acquired 100% of SRM. Since then, Swedish engineering has had the scale of a global group behind it: 4 manufacturing bases, 5 R&D centers and more than 4,000 employees worldwide.
This is the combination that reaches the market today under the SRMTEC brand: design and experience built on more than 110 years of continuous innovation, with global-scale manufacturing capacity and support.
2026: SRM arrives in Argentina
Until now, SRM had no direct presence in Argentina. That changes this year: Thermomac is bringing the SRM line of compressors for ammonia and natural refrigerants to the country and the region.
The line includes single-stage open compressors (19 models in 6 series, from 265 to 10,850 m³/h, with evaporation from -45 °C to +15 °C) and two-stage compound compressors (12 models in 4 series, with evaporation down to -65 °C for freezing and ultra-low temperature), with continuous capacity regulation from 10 to 100%, adjustable Vi and bearings with a 100,000-hour design life.
The official presentation will take place at the XXX IIAR Natural Refrigeration Seminar for Latin America, of which Thermomac is a sponsor, on August 19 and 20 in Buenos Aires. Registration is available at www.iiarlatam.com.
Final thoughts
Some technologies win through marketing and others win through physics. The screw compressor belongs to the second category: an idea from 1908, brought to life in 1934, that conquered the entire world through licensing and keeps evolving more than a century later. Knowing the inventor behind the standard is not a piece of trivia: it is understanding where the reliability your plant needs comes from.
Thermomac is a member of IIAR and represents SRM compressors in Argentina and the region, with selection engineering, original spare parts and support from Buenos Aires and Miami. Want to learn more about the line or schedule a meeting at the seminar? Write to us at info@thermomac.com or via WhatsApp at +54 9 11 6816 9002.
